Ukraine's aerial challenge: Su‑27 losses and western aid

Ukraine's ability to replace these machines is nonexistent, as spare parts are produced only by Russia and China, and available machines are located in countries that are at best neutral towards Ukraine. However, the most crucial aspect of the shot-down aircraft, the pilot, survived and will be able to return to action in the future.

According to a statement from Ukrainian aviation on Telegram on April 28, 2025, at 6 p.m. ET, the plane was on a mission to repel a Russian air attack. It remains unknown whether it lost a duel with a Russian counterpart or was shot down by Russian or Ukrainian air defence. It is worth mentioning that so-called "friendly fire" has caused several losses on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.

Fortunately, the pilot managed to safely eject and was quickly found by a search and rescue team before being transported to the hospital. There is a possibility that, in time, the shot-down pilot will return to combat in the cockpit of an F-16 or Mirage 2000, as pilot training continues intensively.

The Su-27 fighter jet, designed by the Sukhoi design bureau, first took to the skies in May 1977. It was the Soviet counterpart to the American F-15 fighter jets, resulting in a heavy twin-engine machine with an empty weight of 15,900 kilograms and a takeoff weight of 29,900 kilograms.

A significant portion of the weight was due to the fuel reserve in internal tanks, which totaled 9,500 kilograms. The armament, which could be placed on 10 pylons, weighed 4,500 kilograms. Thanks to this, the Su-27 had a significantly greater operational range than MiGs, reaching about 3,500 kilometres, and an altitude ceiling of up to 18,900 metres.

The combination of excellent aerodynamics and a maximum speed of Mach 2.35 made it the most formidable aircraft NATO pilots could encounter during the Cold War. After the dissolution of the USSR, these aircraft ended up in countries like China, where they were copied and put into service as the J-11. Meanwhile, the Russians continued to develop the Su-27 design, creating models such as the Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35, which found buyers in countries reluctant to purchase American planes, mainly in Africa and some Asian countries.

The Su-27's armament mainly included short-range air-to-air missiles Vympel R-73 and outdated medium-range R-27 missiles, as well as aerial bombs weighing up to 500 kilograms and rocket launchers. However, the key weapon of the Su-27 was the Vympel R-77 medium-range missile, developed toward the end of the USSR, with a range of up to about 80 kilometres, conceptually similar to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, hence its nickname Amraamski.

It was the first Soviet/Russian air-to-air missile with an active radar homing head of the "fire and forget" type, capable of tracking a target independently from a distance of about 20 kilometers, thanks to its onboard radar. Ukraine had an unknown number of these missiles, and the Artem plant in Kyiv had some of their design plans as a co-designer.

Ukrainian Su-27s, though limited in number, have been integrated with Western weapons. Ukrainians, through improvisation, managed to equip the Su-27 with Western armament, as evidenced by recordings showing the use of anti-radiation missiles AGM-88 HARM and guided bombs JDAM-ER. It is worth pointing out that Ukraine likely has a very small number of Su-27s that are flight-capable.

Before the war, Ukraine had just over 30 of these machines, of which at least 17 were destroyed, including the one described here. A significant portion of the remaining aircraft may have been taken out of service due to wear and tear and issues with spare parts.