For the first time in history: Ukrainian military strikes at Su-57
How did the enemy use such aircraft in the war against us, and how significant was the loss for Russia?
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported that on June 8, 2024, a Russian Su-57 aircraft was shot down for the first time at the Akhtubynsk airfield, as confirmed by relevant satellite images. In its report, the DIU added that the Russian Aerospace Forces have literally “a few units” of Su-57s, and that such aircraft have been used to strike the territory of Ukraine with cruise missiles of the X-59 and X-69 types.
This episode can be called literally historic. This is the first time during the full-scale war against Ukraine that the Russians have lost a damaged Su-57 aircraft. And if we go further into the slippery slope of definitions, we can also say that the racist Su-57 was the first aircraft of the conventional “5th generation” to be destroyed in the history of warfare.
Of course, we can go on for a long time saying that the Russian military-industrial complex has failed to bring the Su-57 to the full level of a 5th generation fighter, so it is necessary to determine which gradation in the 4th generation this aircraft belongs to. But it would be more productive to explain how significant a loss the damaged Su-57 is for the enemy, and how such aircraft were used in the war against Ukraine.
We can start with an estimate that at the beginning of 2024, the Russian Aerospace Forces had only up to 10 Su-57 aircraft, making this type of aircraft the rarest in the Russian army (we can compare this with the fact that there are 12 MiG-31Ks as carriers of Daggers).
It is also noteworthy that the Akhtubinsk airfield is the base for the 929th Test Center of the Russian Defense Ministry, which means that even at this moment, the Su-57 may not have been fully operational in the Russian VKS yet, and that these aircraft may still be used in the “experimental combat duty” mode.
As for the Su-57 production rate, we have the following “introductory” data. In 2022, Russian propagandists claimed that their military-industrial complex was able to produce as many as 6 aircraft of this type, bringing the number of available Su-57s to 10. However, the racists were able to show only two of the claimed “sides” in the photo.
In 2023, according to the authoritative IISS, the Russians managed to produce “several” Su-57s, which ultimately gives rise to estimates that the Russian Aerospace Forces may have up to 10 Su-57s at their disposal.
For the first time in the war against Ukraine, as Defense Express reported, the Russians used Su-57s in April 2022 to launch missiles at targets in Kirovohrad region and port infrastructure in Odesa region without entering Ukrainian airspace.
At the same time, the British Ministry of Defense stated its assessment that the Russians began using their Su-57s no later than June 2022, not only for cruise missile launches but also for allegedly air-to-air missile launches.
