"Military Martial Plane" Author: Jinghai Anlan
At present, the war between Russia and Ukraine has broken out for more than a month. Compared with the outstanding performance of the Russian airborne troops and special forces, the performance of the Russian Aerospace Forces is really a bit bad. In addition to the failure of the Aerospace Army to effectively play its air superiority at the beginning of the war, the multiple fighter jets equipped by the Russian Aerospace Army also overturned in Ukraine.
▲The wreckage of the Russian Su-35S fighter jet was shot down by the Russian Aerospace Army on April 3, a Su-35S fighter jet was shot down by the Ukrainian army in the area south of Ijumu City, Kharkov Prefecture, and the pilot was captured after parachuting. This time it was shot down, breaking the unbeaten record of "invincible" since its birth. As the most advanced fighter aircraft equipped by the Russian Aerospace Army, except for the Su-57, the Su-35S was shot down, which is really shocking. What weapon the Ukrainian army used to shoot down the Su-35S has also become the focus of controversy.
▲Passing-diving captured Su-35S fighter pilot
First of all, the various types of individual portable air defense missiles equipped by the Ukrainian army are unlikely to shoot down Su-35S. Individual air defense missiles are mainly used to deal with slow-speed aircraft flying at low altitudes below 1,000 meters and ultra-low altitudes of 10-100 meters. For targets such as helicopters and attack aircraft with slower speeds at low altitudes, it is very difficult to face individual air defense missiles. The fighter rarely flies at such a low altitude. At the same time, the fighter's flight speed is relatively fast, leaving a single air defense missile shooter with a short shooting window, which can be said to be fleeting. Therefore, it is very difficult to shoot down fighter jets with a single-soldier portable air defense missile.
▲The UK provided Ukraine with advanced "Starlight" portable air defense missile
In addition, there was a Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile at the crash site of the Su-35S, indicating that the Su-35S was performing an air defense suppression mission at the time. Considering the 150-kilometer range of the Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile, the Su-35S has no need to take risks at low altitudes, and can better utilize the range advantages of the anti-radiation missile in medium and high altitudes. Therefore, it is unlikely that it will use a single-soldier portable air defense missile to shoot down this Su-35S.
▲Su-35S fighter equipped by the Russian Aerospace Army
As for the fighter jets of the Ukrainian Air Force, the possibility is even less. At present, there are not many fighter jets that the Ukrainian Air Force can take off. Even if they can take off forcibly, they will either be "sieged" by Russian fighter jets or be shot down by surface-to-air missile when the Russian army has air supremacy. Moreover, the MiG-29 and Su-27S fighter jets equipped by the Ukrainian army lag behind the Su-35S in terms of technical performance, and it is even more impossible to shoot down the Su-35S.
▲Ukrainian Air Force's Su-27 fighter jet
Therefore, the possibility of this Russian Su-35S being shot down by Ukrainian surface-to-air missile forces is the greatest. In the eastern Ukrainian region, the Ukrainian army deployed several S-300 and Beech air defense missile units. The S-300 air defense missiles equipped by the Ukrainian army are mostly old models in the early stages, and they are the key targets of the Russian army, so there are very few left. On the contrary, the Beech air defense missile forces survived a lot.
▲Beech air defense missile launch vehicle
As a field air defense weapon, Beech air defense missile is installed on a tracked chassis, which has good maneuverability, especially it can keep up with the speed of armored forces propulsion and provide air defense fire support. At the same time, the degree of integration of the Beech air defense missile system is also relatively high, although the complete missile system consists of several parts: command vehicle, target search radar, irradiation and missile guidance radar, self-propelled firepower unit, self-propelled loading launch vehicle, missile and other parts. However, the missile launcher also has independent combat capabilities, and its own radar system can enable bicycle interception, tracking and guidance. Have strong independent combat capabilities. Even in the face of the Russian army's air supremacy, the Beech air defense missile forces can deploy missile launch vehicles in a decentralized manner and operate independently.
▲Beech air defense missile in maneuver
In this case, if the Ukrainian Beech air defense missile forces use a dispersed ambush, it is entirely possible to shoot down the Russian Su-35S fighter jets. When the Su-35S entered the firepower range of the Ukrainian air defense missile force, the fire-controlled radar carried by the missile launcher was completed in one go from the start-up, intercept, launch, and guidance. It is very likely that the Su-35S would be shot down without time to react.
▲Beech air defense missile system
Although there are no fighter jets that cannot be shot down. However, as an advanced fighter jet, whether the Su-35 was shot down this time will have an impact on the future export route is something that has to be considered.
