Direct proof of use
The DRL-27SE is documented in the conflict as Russian-operated airfield support equipment at Belbek air base near Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. WarSpotting records item 44768 as a DRL-27SE air traffic control radar module for the RSP-28ME mobile radar landing system, assigned to Russia and damaged at Sevastopol airport (Belbek) on 2026-05-17.
Ukrainian defense and news reporting tied the same module to a Ukrainian drone strike on Belbek during the night of May 16-17, 2026. United24 Media reported that images published on May 20 showed damage to the RSP-28ME complex, including the DRL-27SE module and a KamAZ-mounted command module, while Mezha reported that the drone attack damaged the DRL-27SE air traffic radar module and destroyed the RSP-28ME control module.
Sources: WarSpotting DRL-27SE loss record 44768, United24 Media Belbek RSP-28ME report, Mezha Belbek RSP-28ME report
Dated battlefield record
The clearest dated incident is the Belbek strike in May 2026. WarSpotting dates the DRL-27SE damage record to 2026-05-17 and lists the evidence category as loitering munition or drone-related. United24 Media and Mezha place the strike during the night of May 16-17 and describe photos published on May 20 as showing the damaged RSP-28ME components.
Loss-status reporting is not fully uniform. WarSpotting classifies the DRL-27SE module as damaged, while Oryx lists one DRL-27SE air traffic control radar module for the RSP-28ME mobile radar landing system as destroyed in its Russian equipment-loss list. The record therefore supports fielding and battle damage at Belbek, while the exact repairability or final loss condition depends on the source used.
Sources: WarSpotting DRL-27SE loss record 44768, United24 Media Belbek RSP-28ME report, Mezha Belbek RSP-28ME report, Oryx Russian equipment losses
Operational role at Belbek
The DRL-27SE was not documented as a strike system or air-defense interceptor. It was a support module inside the RSP-28ME mobile radar landing system, a Russian airfield complex used to organize air traffic control in the near zone of an operational airfield and monitor aircraft during pre-landing maneuvers.
Russian product material for the RSP-28ME lists the DRL-27SE dispatch-radar module, PRL-27SE landing-radar module, an automatic radio direction finder within the DRL-27SE module, the RSP-28ME control module, and a diesel power station. In the Belbek context, the conflict-use claim is therefore possession and fielding by Russian forces at an operational Crimean air base, followed by documented damage during a Ukrainian deep-strike campaign.
Sources: Opt-Union RSP-28ME product listing, United24 Media Belbek RSP-28ME report, Mezha Belbek RSP-28ME report
