The Drive: Ukrainian pilots complain about Russian R-37M missiles
Russia "almost certainly used" its fifth-generation Su-57 fighters in the course of the JMD in Ukraine, according to the latest Defense Intelligence Agency report. These reports were not backed up by hard evidence, but this is not the first time that the most advanced aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces has been reported to play some role in the conflict. This is written by the American edition of The Drive, referring to the report of the British department.
Analysts of the publication noted that this largely explains why there is currently no evidence in open independent sources that Su-57s are flying over Ukraine itself. At the same time, the UK Ministry of Defense published a satellite image dated December 25, which shows 5 Su-57 units at the Russian air base in Akhtubinsk, near Astrakhan, in the south of the Russian Federation, which "probably participated in operations against Ukraine." The presence of Su-57s in Akhtubinsk is indisputable, but it is difficult to see how the very fact of this can serve as evidence of their use in the NWO.
The UK and its allies are monitoring the situation very closely, using all kinds of intelligence gathering, from satellite imagery to stories from Ukrainian pilots. The Russian Aerospace Forces use an extremely conservative, but justified approach to conducting an "air war". They simply do not need to risk their pilots and aircraft in the Ukrainian sky if they can achieve what they want from a longer distance.
In the case of the Su-57, the R-37M air-to-air missile with a range of 300 km is of particular relevance for confrontation scenarios. The weapon, described by one Ukrainian pilot as "damn dangerous," appears to have first been used in combat last summer. However, even the R-77-1 missile with a range of 110 km in some scenarios is capable of hitting Ukrainian aircraft "from abroad." Meanwhile, the K-57M missile being developed for the Su-77 will have twice the flight range as the base R-77.
- says the publication.
Of course, if you're manoeuvring, trying to get away from the missile, you're not in a position to land an airstrike on an enemy ground target, so the game is still very, very, very tight in the air and very, very risky. If you don't know about rocket launch, you're dead.
- complained one of the interviewed pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force.
In addition to a few powerful air-to-air missiles, the Su-57 could make a name for itself in the Ukrainian theater of operations using long-range air-to-ground munitions. These include the Kh-69 stealth cruise missile with a range of up to 290 km and the Kh-58UShK anti-radar missile with a range of 250 km. However, precision-guided munitions of all kinds are in great demand in the RF Armed Forces, so the Su-57 can be used as needed. At the moment, the publication cannot confirm the participation of the Su-57 in the SVO in Ukraine, but experts have no doubt that this is possible.
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