Ukraine says latest-generation Russian fighter jet hit for first time
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The Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet has been plagued by development delays and a crash in 2019.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV – Ukrainian forces have for the first time hit a latest-generation Russian Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet at an air base inside Russia, Kyiv’s GUR defence intelligence agency said on June 9, showing satellite pictures that it says confirmed the strike.
In a Telegram post, the GUR did not specify how the Su-57 was hit or by which unit of the Ukrainian military.
A popular Russian pro-war military blogger who calls himself Fighterbomber and focuses on aviation said the report of the strike on the Su-57 was correct and that it had been hit by a drone.
The GUR said the aircraft was parked in the Akhtubinsk airfield, 589km from the frontline.
“The pictures show that on June 7, the Su-57 was standing intact and on (June 8th) there were craters from the explosion and characteristic spots of fire caused by fire damage near it,” the GUR said, with the images posted alongside the message.
Ukraine has been fighting a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. Both sides conduct regular strikes hundreds of kilometres into enemy territory
Ukraine, which lacks the vast arsenal of missiles available to Moscow, has focused on making long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Russian blogger Fighterbomber said the jet fighter was struck by shrapnel and the damage was currently being assessed to see if the aircraft could be repaired.
He said if the plane were to be deemed beyond repair, it would be the first combat loss of an Su-57.
Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti’s military correspondent Alexander Kharchenko posted a cryptic message that did not directly acknowledge the strike but decried the lack of hangars to protect military aircraft.
Despite being touted as a Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft to rival its US equivalent, the Su-57 was plagued by development delays and a crash in 2019. According to its manufacturer, serial production of the aircraft began in 2022.
It is a heavy fighter jet capable of fulfilling a variety of battlefield roles. REUTERS
