Ukraine said it targeted and destroyed one of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets in attacks over the weekend.
Defense Intelligence Agency of Ukraine The strike was announced on Sunday.Russia said it had targeted a Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet at the Akhtubinsk airfield, 360 miles behind the front line of the conflict, over the weekend.
The news agency posted satellite images on its Telegram channel to back up its claim, writing that “Russian Aerospace Forces only operates a handful of these fighter jets.”
The attack came just over a week after the United States and other NATO allies gave the Ukrainian government permission to use advanced Western long-range weaponry to attack targets inside Russia, although initial reports suggested it was carried out using a Ukrainian drone.
The Su-57 is a supersonic, twin-engine, fifth-generation stealth fighter jet that was seen as Moscow’s answer to Western stealth fighters such as the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor.
According to FlightGlobal’s 2024 World Air Forces Directory: the current, There are 14 Su-57s in active service.
First developed in 2002, the Su-57 saw its first aircraft enter service in 2020, with Sukhoi only beginning mass production of the aircraft in 2022. According to the U.S. military, the aircraft has faced a series of setbacks, including a crash in 2019. According to the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the price of the SU-57 ranges from $35 million to $54 million.
TASS reported at the end of 2022 that the Russian military is set to receive 22 Su-57s by the end of the year.
Flightbomber, a popular Russian pro-military blogger that closely tracks the Russian Air Force, reposted the photo provided by Ukraine. On Telegram He said the indications were that the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian drone.
The attack came shortly after Ukraine announced it had largely thwarted a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region.
Ukraine noted in a post on Sunday that the Su-57 can carry KH-59 and Kh-69 cruise missiles and can be fired from Russian airspace towards Ukraine.
If the reports of drone attacks are true, they would be in line with the low-cost, highly effective strategy Ukraine is deploying in its fight against Russia. They are also attacking Drones are used to monitor more than 15 Russian refineries and oil depots.
