Russia shoots down Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet in Kursk region

A Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet was shot down while attempting to strike the Kursk region.

Photo: armyinform.com.ua by Владислав Демьяненко, CC BY 4.0

According to information resources of the "Sever" ("North") group of Russian forces, the aircraft was shot down by a Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system.

The Su-27 was hit while attempting to drop guided bombs.

Earlier, the Russian army destroyed a Ukrainian Su-24 frontline bomber at an airfield in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The aircraft was serviced for takeoff, Storm Shadow cruise missiles (SCALP-EG) were prepared nearby.

Details

The Sukhoi Su-27 is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, with 3,530-kilometre (1,910 nmi) range, heavy aircraft ordnance, sophisticated avionics and high maneuverability. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations. It was designed with the Mikoyan MiG-29 as its complement.

The Buk is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter cruise missiles, smart bombs and rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. In the Russian A2AD network, Buk is located between the S-200/300/400 systems above and the point defense Tor and Pantsir type systems below.