Ukraine Destroys Russia’s Only Black Sea Ilyushin Il-38 Anti-Submarine Aircraft.

Ukrainian special forces carried out a coordinated strike in southern Russia in December 2025, destroying a Russian Il-38N maritime patrol aircraft and later targeting a submarine in Novorossiysk, according to Ukraine’s Security Service. The operation underscores Ukraine’s expanding reach in the Black Sea and its growing ability to disrupt Russian naval surveillance and undersea operations.

According to information released by the Security Service of Ukraine and supported by videos circulating on social media, Ukrainian special operations units executed a carefully sequenced strike against Russian naval assets in the Black Sea region in December 2025. The operation reportedly began with the destruction of a Russian Ilyushin Il-38N maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, followed by a separate strike against a submarine at or near the naval base in Novorossiysk, delivering a rare blow to Russia’s airborne maritime surveillance network far from the front lines.
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Satellite imagery showing the parking position of the Russian Ilyushin Il-38N maritime patrol aircraft at Yeysk airbase prior to its destruction during a Ukrainian drone strike. (Picture source: Ukraine MoD)

Ukraine’s Security Service later revealed that the mission was planned as a multi-stage operation designed to remove Russia’s most capable detection asset before a follow-on naval attack. The initial target was an Il-38N aircraft stationed at Yeysk airbase, identified by Ukrainian authorities as the only operational Black Sea-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft available to the Russian Navy at the time. Known in NATO terminology as the Sea Dragon, the aircraft was heavily tasked with detecting Ukrainian naval drones and monitoring approaches to Novorossiysk, a key port and submarine base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

The Russian Ilyushin Il-38N occupies a unique position within naval aviation. Derived from the Soviet-era Il-18 airframe, the aircraft serves as Russia’s primary long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare platform. Its missions include the detection and tracking of submarines, surveillance of surface vessel movements, maritime reconnaissance, and the transmission of targeting data to surface combatants, submarines, and coastal defense units. With long endurance and wide sensor coverage, the Il-38N serves as an airborne surveillance node, an essential component of Russia’s layered maritime defense concept.

The Il-38N variant is distinguished by the integration of the Novella-P-38N mission system, a comprehensive modernization that significantly enhanced the aircraft’s combat relevance. This system combines a multi-mode surface-search radar, electro-optical and infrared sensors, electronic intelligence equipment, sonobuoy processing capability, and magnetic anomaly detection to locate submerged submarines. These sensors allow the aircraft to detect low-signature underwater threats, including unmanned platforms, and to coordinate responses by naval forces operating across wide maritime areas.

In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Il-38N has become increasingly important as Ukraine expanded its use of unmanned surface and underwater drones to challenge Russian naval superiority. The aircraft has been employed to protect ports, secure naval bases, and counter Ukrainian maritime drones threatening high-value assets. Ukrainian security statements indicate that the Il-38N was the only Russian airborne platform in the Black Sea capable of reliably detecting the Sub Sea Baby underwater drone, making it a direct obstacle to Ukraine’s evolving maritime strike strategy.

Video footage reviewed by Army Recognition shows a Ukrainian combat drone striking the aircraft while it was parked on the apron at Yeysk airbase. The drone detonated above the radar and mission equipment compartment, where the core components of the Novella-P-38N sensor suite and mission computers are installed. Ukrainian statements indicate that the explosion caused catastrophic damage to mission systems and at least one engine, rendering the aircraft non-mission capable and effectively destroying it as an operational asset.

The destruction of the Il-38N is of exceptional significance given the aircraft’s rarity in Russian service. Fewer than a dozen Il-38N aircraft are believed to remain in active use across the entire Russian Navy, with only a small number assigned to the southern regions. Unlike tactical combat aircraft, the Il-38N cannot be rapidly replaced. Production ended decades ago, modernization pipelines are slow, and Western sanctions continue to restrict access to advanced avionics and components. As a result, the loss represents a long-term degradation of Russia’s maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare capability.

With the Il-38N removed from service, Russian naval forces temporarily lost their most capable airborne anti-submarine sensor platform in the eastern Black Sea. This sudden reduction in surveillance coverage directly shaped the conditions for the subsequent Ukrainian strike targeting a Russian submarine in Novorossiysk. While Kyiv has not disclosed the extent of the damage to the submarine, the sequence of events indicates a mature Ukrainian operational approach focused on neutralizing surveillance and early-warning assets before engaging high-value naval platforms.

For Russia, the incident highlights the growing vulnerability of scarce and irreplaceable aviation assets to Ukrainian long-range drones, even far from the front line. For Kyiv, it demonstrates a sophisticated application of asymmetric warfare, targeting critical enablers rather than confronting Russian naval power directly. The destruction of the Il-38N represents one of the most consequential single losses suffered by Russian naval aviation in the Black Sea and signals a continuing shift in maritime power dynamics in favor of Ukraine.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.