According to Britain, Russia has been using Su-57 planes for the operation in Ukraine since last year, despite typically only employing long-range missiles for such purposes.
“Since June 2022, the Russian Aerospace Force has probably sent the Su-57 stealth aircraft on missions to attack Ukraine. The most cutting-edge fighter in Russia, it features stealth technology and cutting-edge electronic equipment “on January 9th, the British Ministry of Defense intelligence report stated.
Five Su-57s can be seen parked at the National Flight Test Center No. 929 Chkalov in the satellite photographs acquired at the end of December 2022 and published by the British Ministry of Defense. A place where the newest toys for the Russian Air Force are tested through their paces to ensure they are up to snuff for battle.
However, the British military claims that the Su-57 planes never leave Russian airspace and instead launch their attacks from within Russia using long-range surface-to-surface and air-to-air missiles against targets in Ukraine.
“Russia probably wants to prevent Su-57 crashes in Ukraine so as to protect its image, preserve export potential, and prevent the enemy from gaining access to vital technologies. The Air Force has a similar mindset, so this makes sense. Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, “as stated in the report. There has been no response from the Russian Defense Ministry.
In June 2022, the TASS news agency reported that an unknown source inside the Russian air force said that a group of four Su-57 stealth planes had launched a campaign to locate and assault the Ukrainian air defence network.
The Su-57 aircraft reportedly joined the war in Ukraine around two to three weeks after the special military operation was launched, as previously reported by anonymous sources in the Russian defence sector.
The Su-57 used a wide array of missiles to destroy targets inside Ukraine while remaining out of the reach of opposing air defences.
At the end of August 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu claimed that the Su-57 fighter had shown “excellent self-defense capabilities against several enemy air and missile defence systems” during Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
“The most important thing is that the Su-57 has very powerful weapons. We have tested those weapons, and they all work great; there are no other words to describe them,” he said.