From Impact to Assessment: The Luhansk Airport ATACMS Strike

A Brief Battle-Damage Evaluation

Amid the predominant public focus on the successful ATACMS strike at Berdyansk airfield, our team has also assembled a comprehensive report on the outcomes of a similar strike at Luhansk airport, where numerous Russian attack and transport helicopters are stationed.

The visual evidence from the Planet Labs satellite imagery at our disposal reveals that a minimum of five helicopters have experienced varying degrees of damage. There's also a possibility that other airfield vehicles have been affected, although the current resolution poses challenges for confirmation.

As evident in the imagery dated October 18th, several scorch marks resulting from explosions have become apparent on the airport apron, confirming the deployment of the previously reported M-39 ATACMS missile loaded with nearly a thousand anti-personnel and anti-material bomblets.

To eliminate any possibility that these scorch marks are old or from prior shelling, we have included imagery from October 10 for comparison. In this imagery, you can observe several pre-existing scorch marks and oil stains, but there are no indications of the extensive explosions seen in the imagery from the 18th.

Through an analysis of scorch mark patterns and the characteristics of submunitions, we have reached the conclusion that avoiding damage, particularly for larger objects like helicopters, would be extremely challenging if not virtually impossible. This is also evident from secondary indicators such as the absence of rotors, leaks, and missing parts.

The impacted area is quite extensive. Furthermore, there appears to be a crater, but we are not prepared to confirm whether it solely resulted from the missile impact, if it was formed due to a vehicle detonation, or possibly a combination of both occurring simultaneously.

Although the report of the attack is dated October 17th, it is evident that multiple helicopters are still present at the base, reflecting a pattern observed at Berdyansk airfield.

In conclusion, we would like to summarize that the attacks in both Berdyansk and Luhansk were successful, even though these locations were heavily fortified with various air defense systems. Our team will maintain close monitoring of the situation to gather additional data for future updates.

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