Latest news with #SukhoiSu-27
Miami Herald
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ukraine Su-27 Fighter Jet Crashes
A Ukrainian fighter jet has crashed during a combat mission, Ukraine's armed forces has said. The Sukhoi Su-27 fighter was providing air support for Ukrainian troops and repelling a Russian drone attack when the incident occurred on Monday morning, according to Ukraine's military. It added that the pilot managed to eject in time and was unharmed in the incident. Earlier this month, Ukraine confirmed that the pilot of a F-16 fighter jet had died during a combat mission. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment. This is a breaking story. More to follow. Related Articles Russia Posts North Korean Troops Highlights Reel After Months of DenialsRussia Launches Massive Ukraine Attacks After Trump Tells Putin To StopRussian Nuclear Submarine Fires Kalibr Cruise Missile Over 600 MilesKremlin Ready for Ukraine Talks as Trump Criticizes Putin Again 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
28-04-2025
- Newsweek
Ukraine Su-27 Fighter Jet Crashes
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur. A Ukrainian fighter jet has crashed during a combat mission, Ukraine's armed forces has said. The Sukhoi Su-27 fighter was providing air support for Ukrainian troops and repelling a Russian drone attack when the incident occurred on Monday morning, according to Ukraine's military. It added that the pilot managed to eject in time and was unharmed in the incident. Earlier this month, Ukraine confirmed that the pilot of a F-16 fighter jet had died during a combat mission. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment. A Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet in the Czech Republic in 2018. A Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet in the Czech Republic in 2018. CTK/AP This is a breaking story. More to follow.
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
A Russian Jet Just Bombed A Russian Dam With A Thermobaric Munition
A Russian thermobaric bomb strikes a dam in Belgorod. Effective Ukrainian radio jamming has blunted Russia's advantage in precision glide bombs by blocking the signals between the bombs and their navigation satellites—often causing the bombs to veer off target. That jamming may not extend very deep into Russia, however. Which may explain why, on or just before Tuesday, a Russian air force fighter was able to accurately strike a dam near Ukrainian positions in Belgorod Oblast in western Russia. The dam holds back a river near Popovka, a border settlement in Belgorod. Shortly after retreating from neighboring Kursk Oblast after their supply lines were severed in February, Ukrainian brigades launched a shallow incursion into Belgorod that continues weeks later. The fighting in the oblast is currently concentrated in Popovka and nearby Demidovka, both largely under Ukrainian control as of late March. According to the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, Russian troops counterattacked and marched back into Demidovka on or before Wednesday. Ukrainian air force Sukhoi Su-27 fighters have been supporting the Ukrainian forces in Belgorod, primarily by bombing bridges carrying Russian reinforcements into the oblast. A Ukrainian warplane bombs a Russian bridge. But the Russians are bombing right back. The Tuesday raid reportedly involved a new ODAB-500, a precision-guided thermobaric munition that spreads a flammable aerosol and then ignites it. 'The Russian air force helps repel the enemy's offensive with ODAB air bomb strikes, destroying the approach paths of the occupiers to Popovka,' one Russian blogger crowed. The 1,100-pound ODAB-500 is an odd choice for a dam-busting raid, as its thermobaric effect is most damaging to human bodies—especially human bodies in confined spaces. To bust open a dam and flood the surrounding area, you'd want to hit the dirt and concrete with an earth-penetrating high-explosive munition. A very big one. This kind of bomb is, in a sense, the very opposite of a flimsy thermobaric bomb. That may imply that the target of the Tuesday attack wasn't the dam itself—it was any Ukrainian troops in the open near the dam, or hiding in nearby trenches or bunkers. It's unfortunate for them that the radio jamming that protects so many other Ukrainians apparently doesn't extend into Belgorod. If the jamming does extend into Belgorod, it at least failed to throw off that one ODAB-500.
Forbes
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Bridge-Busting Su-27s Are Trying To Isolate Russian Troops In Belgorod
An Su-27 bombs a bridge in Belgorod. Ukrainian air force Sukhoi Su-27 fighters, modified to lob American- and French-made precision glide bombs, are blowing up bridges in western Russia. A video montage that circulated online on Thursday depicts bombs slamming into at least two bridges in Grafovka and Nadezhdovka as Ukrainian surveillance drones observe. It's obvious what the Su-27 pilots, members of a war-hardened community of aviators flying Ukraine's dwindling force of ex-Soviet heavyweight fighters, are trying to do. They're trying to isolate the swathe of Belgorod bordering northern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops have launched a new incursion just weeks after retreating from neighboring Kursk Oblast. Dropping bridges over the Siverskyi Donets River and other waterways in Belgorod and Kursk could be the key to this effort. The Kursk operation, which kicked off in August, failed in part because Ukrainian forces were unable to prevent Russian forces from crossing the Seym River on the western side of the Ukrainian-held salient. The Russians closed in from the west, eventually deploying an elite drone force that severed the main supply line into the salient, destroying hundreds of Ukrainian vehicles and ultimately forcing the Ukrainian survivors out of Kursk. Clearly, Kyiv's troops are determined to avoid a repeat of their defeat in Kursk. It's not yet apparent how grand the Ukrainians' ambitions are in Belgorod—the current incursion may, by design, be brief and shallow. But if they do aim to occupy a meaningful portion of Belgorod, they'll need the region's rivers to work for them. An Su-27 drops Small Diameter Bombs. Modified to carry Hammer glide bombs from France and similar Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Small Diameter Bombs from the United States, the Su-27s are equipped for the task. But flying close enough to western Russia to target the region's bridges is dangerous even for the speedy, maneuverable Su-27s. Fortunately, their pilots have help. While the Su-27s lack self-protection systems such as radar jammers, the jets are now flying alongside ex-European Lockheed Martin F-16s and ex-French Mirage 2000s that do have highly capable jammers—and can extend their electronic protection to nearby planes including Su-27s. 'We carry out flights to cover our other combat brothers, the [Mikoyan] MiG-29s [and] Su-27s,' one Ukrainian F-16 pilot said in a recent official interview. The complex strike planning, with different plane types supporting each other, appears to be working. Days or even weeks into the bridge-bombing campaign, the Ukrainians haven't yet lost any jets. Which is fortunate for the Su-27 force. Ukraine went to war in February 2022 with no more than 57 flyable Su-27s—and has lost at least 16 in action, including six that were damaged or destroyed last summer in a Russian missile attack while parked at Mirgorod air base, 100 miles from Ukraine's northern border with Russia. Ukraine doesn't build Su-27s, and none of its allies have surplus examples of the type. Every bridge-busting Su-27 Kyiv loses is a bridge-busting Su-27 it can't replace.
