Images of a downed Russian Sukhoi Su-35S (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) were posted on social media accounts on 3 April. The aircraft went down near the city of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine.
Operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), the single-seat multirole fighter aircraft was believed to have been conducting a Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) mission when it went crashed. The Su-35 was armed with Kh-31 air-to-surface anti-radiation missiles. It is not yet clear how the aircraft was brought down, although videos have emerged showing a Russian jet being shot down by Ukrainian forces near Izium on 3 April.
Developed from the Sukhoi Su-27, the Su-35S Flanker-E multirole 4++ generation fighter aircraft entered service with the VKS in February 2014 and is considered Russia’s premier combat aircraft. This is the first confirmed loss of a Su-35S in combat.
Su-35 multirole fighter aircraft
| Type: | Designer: |
| Multirole fighter aircraft | Sukhoi Design Bureau |
| Manufacturer: | Country of origin: |
| Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant | Russia |
| First flight: | In service: |
| December 2006 | February 2014 |
| Operators: | Crew: |
| Russian Air Force, People’s Liberation Army Air Force, Egyptian Air Force | 1 |
| Max speed: | Range: |
| 2,400 km/h | 1,900 nmi |
| Engine: | Dimensions: |
| 2 × Saturn AL-41F1S afterburning turbofan engines | Length: 21.9 m; wingspan: 15.3 m; height: 5.9 m |
| Armament: | On-board systems: |
| 1 × internal 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 autocannon; 12 hardpoints consisting of 2 wingtip rails and 10 wing and fuselage stations | Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array radar; OLS-35 infra-red search and track system; L175M Khibiny-M electronic countermeasures system |
