ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 276375
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| Date: | Thursday 10 March 2022 |
| Time: | 23:01 |
| Type: | Tupolev Tu-141 |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Jarunska ulica, Trešnjevka – jug, Zagreb -
 Croatia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On the evening of 10 March 2022, 23:01 CET, a Tupolev Tu-141 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft crashed into a carpark located between the Adriatic Bridge (Jadranski most) and Stjepan Radić Student Dormitory (University of Zagreb) in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. As a result 96 cars were damaged, resulting in 600,000 kuna ($86,090 USD) worth of damage.
Background
The Tu-141 is a large reconnaissance drone produced at the Kharkov Aviation Factory in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR from 1979 to 1989. It is designed to undertake many different operations with a variety of available payloads. It is launched form a specialised trailer using a rocket booster, flies using a KR-17A turbojet engine, and is recovered using a tail mounted parachute. The drone has a range of ~1000km.
The Tu-141 was in service with the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1989, largely to carry out border reconnaissance flights along the Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian and Polish frontier. In 2014, following the deteriorating situation in the Donbass region, the Ukrainian Air Force pressed the aircraft back into service, due to a lack of more modern flatforms. The vehicles sole known operator in the world is the 321st Separate Unmanned Reconnaissance Squadron, based in Odessa, Ukraine.
Timeline
22:23 CET (23:23 EET) - Entered Romanian airspace- observed by the Romanian Air Force
22:26 CET - Entered Hungarian airspace at an altitude of 3,300 ft - observed by the Hungarian Air Force
22:54 CET - Entered Croatian airspace - observed by Croatian air defence systems at an altitude of 4,300 ft
23:01 CET - Crashed into a carpark located next to the Stjepan Radić Student Dormitory.
Investigation
On 13 April, officials confirmed that the drone was carrying an OFAB-100-120 aerial bomb. An explosives expert Ivana Bacic stated that: "The bomb was charged by unconventional organic powder which the explosion tore down to the gases so it was not possible to identify it".
Since this event, a number of Ukrainian Tu-141 and Tu-143 aircraft have been used for reconnaissance purposes as well as an improvised cruise missile against Russian forces, with a number downed by Russian air defences.
The aircraft contained a Soviet Air Force red star, which was defaced over with a blue and yellow roundel on its wings. This matches cases of other crashed Ukrainian Tu-141 and Tu-143 aircraft, which contained Soviet stars as a result of their Soviet inheritance. These were later covered with Ukrainian roundels and tryzubs, but remained underneath. As a result of fire damage, the original Soviet stars are revealed underneath. This is in comparison to aircraft operated by the Russian Federation, which utilise a modified version of the Soviet red star adding an additional blue border between the interior Red star and outer white border. On older aircraft these are painted within the Star and thus do not require overlaying the entire roundel. This has been observed on several other downed Tu-141 and Tu-143 drones.
Reactions
The slow reaction of NATO air defences caused controversy among the Croatian public. President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic stated that "In such situations you depend on NATO ... while there was obviously some failure there. The President stated that Croatia was aware of where the drone flew from, stating "evidently Ukraine to Zagreb."
Croatian pilot Ivan Selak criticised NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre for not scrambling aircraft to intercept the aircraft.
The Russian Embassy in Zagreb denied ownership of the crashed drone, stating that "the drone was produced on the territory of Ukraine" and that the modern Russian Armed Forces have not used this drone since 1991 when still a part of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation is only publicly known to operate the much smaller derivative of the aircraft, the Tu-143.
Ukrainian Ministry of Defence advisor Markiyan Lubkivsky denied that the UAV belonged to Ukraine. Ukraine maintains claims that the event was a Russian "false-flag" attack.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the drone did not constitute an armed attack as the drone was not armed.
Sources:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44697/ukrainian-tu-141-strizh-missile-like-drone-appears-to-have-crashed-in-croatia
https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/bivsi-zapovjednik-ratnog-zrakoplovstva-taj-se-dron-programira-na-zemlji-logicno-mi-je-da-su-ukucali-krive-koordinate-1570021
https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/u-zagreb-pao-izvidacki-dron-iz-ukrajine-cinjenica-da-je-tako-daleko-je-zbunjujuca-i-alarmantna-1569978
https://glashrvatske.hrt.hr/en/politics/nato-secretary-general-says-drone-crash-in-zagreb-was-not-an-attack-6115713
https://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=2346624
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-croatia-blast-idAFKCN2M50XN
https://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/pogledajte-fotografije-i-snimke-srusene-letjelice-izbliza/2346724.aspx
https://avia-pro.net/blog/tu-141
https://tass.com/society/1420775
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ZUT9jor7k
Soviet Air Force roundel:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roundel_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281945%E2%80%931991%29.svg
Russian Air Force roundel:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Roundel_of_Russia.svg
Ukrainian Air Force roundel and fin flash:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roundel_of_Ukraine.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lesser_Coat_of_Arms_of_Ukraine.svg
Tu-141 Examples showing overlaid Ukrainian roundel:
https://s09.stc.yc.kpcdn.net/share/i/12/12394550/wr-960.webp
https://t.me/xronikabpla/3490
Another Tu-143 at Kyiv Aviation Museum in 2009 showing defaced Red Star roundel
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Tu-143_Kyiv_2009_1.jpg
Other Tu-141 and Tu-143 used by Ukraine to target Russia
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-target-russia-air-bases-tu141-drones-video-1824548
https://armyrecognition.com/ukraine_-_russia_conflict_war_2022/ukrainian_weaponized_tu-141_tactical_drone_resumes_attacks_on_russian_forces.html
Location
Media:
A Tupolev Tu-141 Surveillance Drone has reportedly Crashed in the Croatian Capitol city of Zagreb, the Soviet Union/Russia claimed to have retired this Type of Drone in 1989 making Ukraine the only country that Officially Operates them, so why would one be in Croatian Airspace? https://t.co/COpx7LqEe0 pic.twitter.com/VAnNOf2XaI
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 11, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Mar-2022 07:38 | harro | Added |
| 16-Mar-2024 10:59 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
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