The Ukrainian Air Force managed to shoot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet in the Kursk region.
The Air Force Command reported that the successful operation took place this morning.
Later, the Air Force released a drone video showing the destroyed Russian plane on the ground.
Initially, Russian aviation-related bloggers indirectly confirmed the downing, saying that the pilot had survived.
Later, the Severny Kanal Telegram group added that the Su-35 was flying to support Russian troops near the village of Tiotkine, which is being attacked by Ukrainian forces.
Militarnyi’s sources said that the plane went down near the village of Yurasovo, in the Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region.
The plane was 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border before it was shot down, the sources said.
Recently, Russian fighter jets have often tried to get closer to the Ukrainian border in order to launch more effective strikes.
In this way, Russian planes are exposed to Ukrainian air defense fire.
It is possible that the plane could have been shot down by an anti-aircraft missile system placed in an ambush near the border.
The Ukrainian Air Force also has AIM-120C-8 air-to-air missiles to shoot down such targets. The missile is equipped with an active homing radar warhead that is capable of capturing an air target at a distance of at least 20 km.
The AIM-120C-8 is the eighth generation of the American missile in version C with an improved radar homing head, communication, data transmission, and engine. The range of the missile has also increased by 30%.
