The Ukrainian air drive reportedly shot down one in every of its personal Su-27 fighters on the night time of of February 24, whereas the plane was performing an air patrol mission over Kiev. The plane was misidentified as a Russian fighter, as each international locations notably deploy Su-27s whereas extra superior Su-27-derived plane such because the Su-34 and Su-35 make up the massive majority of the Russian fighter fleet. That is removed from the one report of pleasant hearth within the battle, with unconfirmed studies indicating Ukrainian plane unintentionally bombarded civilian areas when making an attempt to have interaction a Russian low-flying helicopter. The lack of a Su-27 comes follows the flight of one other fighter of the identical class to Romania on the identical day, with Ukrainian air defence websites and plane being made precedence targets by Russian items and extensively alleged to have declining morale. The Ukrainian Air Power additionally misplaced two of its fourteen Su-24M strike fighters within the opening hours of the battle after they reportedly tried to strike Russian backed separatist targets close to the Russian border. Ukrainian Su-27s have been susceptible to a excessive variety of accidents, with two crashing in October and December 2018 one in every of which killed an American co-pilot whereas a 3rd crashed right into a street signal whereas touchdown in 2020 taking it out of fee. Beforehand a Ukrainian Su-27 crash in 2002 killed 77 civilians.
The Su-27s within the Ukrainian Air Power date again to the Eighties, and have seen few enhancements made to their performances since with their sensors, missiles and digital warfare countermeasures specifically seen to be far old-fashioned in comparison with frontline Russian fighters such because the Su-30SM and Su-35. The Su-27 beforehand solely noticed air to air fight in East Africa in 1998, and it stays unsure whether or not they have been concerned in any air to air engagements since Russia started its marketing campaign in Ukraine on February 24. Clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces might see the fighters of their first and maybe their final ever air to air engagements ought to they go face to face with Russian fighters, though the technological hole between them of roughly 30 years means the outcomes of such engagements are anticipated to be overwhelmingly one sided. The small variety of fighters Ukraine has operational signifies that Su-27s could also be relegated to patrolling over the capital and the nation’s western areas relatively than contesting Russian air superiority within the nation’s jap and central areas.
