Drone Strike May Have Damaged 2 of Russia's Most Advanced Combat Jets—Kyiv

A long-range drone attack on a Russian airfield hundreds of miles behind the frontlines may have damaged two advanced stealth jets, in what Ukraine claimed as the first ever successful strike on Moscow's Su-57 fighter aircraft.

Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said on Sunday that a Russian Su-57 fighter jet was damaged in an attack on the Akhtubinsk airfield, in the southern Russian republic of Astrakhan. The site is about 365 miles from the current frontlines in eastern Ukraine, the agency said.

In a later update, GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Ukrainian media that "preliminary information" indicated two Su-57 aircraft may have been damaged.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.

Russia's twin-engine, fifth-generation Su-57 stealth jets have stayed on the periphery of the war in Ukraine, with Moscow keen to avoid risking its expensive and advanced air assets. The Su-57 is often compared to the U.S. military's F-22 Raptor stealth aircraft.

Russia has a handful of the planes in operation, with more than 70 scheduled for delivery to the country's military in the next few years.

Ukrainian air force spokesperson Ilya Yevlash said in late April that Russia had made limited use of its Su-57, but was attempting to keep the jets far away from the grasp of Kyiv's air defense systems.

In early 2023, the British government said Russia had kept its Su-57 jets, also referred to by their NATO reporting name, Felon, for operations against Ukraine in Russian airspace, typically using long-range missiles.

On Sunday, one of Russia's influential military bloggers —often considered a source for information on losses in lieu of official commentary from Moscow—said on Sunday that a Ukrainian drone had attacked the Akhtubinsk airfield on Saturday, and that the Su-57 was "damaged by shrapnel."

It wasn't clear whether the jet could be repaired, the Fighterbomber Telegram channel said.

Ukraine's GUR shared what it said was satellite imagery from Friday and Saturday, the first picture showing an "intact" Su-57, and fire damage around the aircraft the following day. Newsweek couldn't independently verify the images.

Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Russia's airfields with long-range strikes, including facilities dotted around the annexed Crimean peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine and inside internationally recognized Russian territory.

Ukraine has previously set its sights on the Belbek military airfield in Crimea and Russia's long-range aviation hub in the southern Russian city of Engels.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.