Recently, a shocking news about the Russian Air Force has attracted widespread attention in the industry. While on a bombing mission, three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers unfortunately fell into the trap of the Ukrainian army and were shot down by missiles fired by American-made Patriot air defense systems over southern Ukraine. This is considered the worst day that has befallen the Russian Air Force since the outbreak of the war.
The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Nikolai Oleshchuk, confirmed the incident on the news**, saying that the Ukrainian Air Force managed to shoot down three Su-34 fighter-bombers in the southern regions of Ukraine. This was also confirmed by the pro-Russian Telegram channel "Russia **". Allegedly, the enemy was shot down in the Kherson operational direction while performing a targeted strike mission using the FAB-500M-62 aerial bomb.
Military experts believe that the Ukrainian army used an ingenious tactic, they secretly deployed Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems on the right bank of the Dnieper, that is, on the route where the Su-34 fighter-bombers returned from their mission. This deployment remained silent until the target came into range of another radar or AWACS aircraft, and then the active irradiation mode was activated. And the Su-34 fighter-bomber, having dropped bombs, fell into range of Patriot missiles precisely on the return route.
Immediately after receiving information about the target, the Patriot air defense system was activated with accurate automatic tracking of three Su-34s. Due to the suddenness of the attack, the Su-34 pilots simply did not have time to reduce the altitude to evade and escape from the radar tracking zone.
It is a pity that the Su-34 fighter-bombers, when performing bombing missions, are not equipped with Kh-31PD air-to-surface missiles that can perform anti-radiation (radar) operations. If the missile is carried, the Patriot air defense system operator may receive a warning, thereby suspending the attack. In addition, the on-board avionics system of the Su-34 fighter-bomber was also unable to provide sufficient electronic warfare countermeasures against the Patriot radar, making the entire fleet helpless in the face of an attack, which eventually led to the downing of all three aircraft with heavy losses.
This incident reminds us once again that every decision in war is a matter of life and death, and that special attention needs to be paid to tactics and equipment allocation. In the future, it remains to be seen whether the Russian Air Force will deeply reflect on this incident and adjust its tactics and equipment.