As rumors swirl about an alleged cagey Ukrainian operation, sanctions are likely to hurt any chances at new A-50s rolling off Russian lines with enough specialists to man it, experts told Breaking Defense.
"They will have to decide what costs them more: to lose one or more of these A-50s or to continue to see their combat aircraft and S-400 units progressively degraded," a Ukrainian expert told Breaking Defense.
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A defense attaché to Kyiv told Breaking Defense that anytime the A-50 was aloft it was accompanied by two or more MiG-31Ks and that there was no telling when or if these aircraft might launch on demand.