Ukraine on Wednesday claimed to have shot down another Su-34, the Russian air force’s best fighter-bomber. Two days earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down three Su-34s in a missile ambush in the south of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. The new plane was shot down over the southeastern city of Mariupol, which is under Russian control.
The loss of four Su-34s in three days is one of the worst weekly attrition rates for the Russian Air Force during Russia’s 18-month war in Ukraine.
To make matters even more inconvenient for Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force has just been significantly overwhelmed by the Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets, which are currently being delivered from the Netherlands. It is about to be strengthened.
The Ukrainian Air Force shot down three Su-34s just south of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast around noon on the 22nd. The three planes appeared to be flying at high altitude at the time to drop satellite-guided glide bombs on a Ukrainian military beachhead in the village of Klinki on the left (east) bank of the Dnipro River. The left bank of the Dnipro River is occupied by Russian forces, except for the Klinki area.
It is unclear how the Ukrainians shot down the three planes. Most of the pilots on board were reportedly killed. Notably, Ukraine recently received its third Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Germany.
The Patriot PAC-2 has a maximum range of 160 km, making it the longest air defense missile owned by the Ukrainian military. Russian planes need to get as close as 40 km from targets along the Dnipro River to attack them with glide bombs, so Patriots can easily intercept them from quite a distance from the front lines in Kherson Oblast.
The Russian military is believed to have had around 150 Su-34s before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The three confirmed downs on the 22nd bring the total number of losses in Ukraine to 25. If the shooting down on the 24th is true, the total would be 26.
The twin-engine, twin-seat Su-34 is also the only fighter-bomber for the Russian Air Force capable of instantly detecting and attacking unsuspecting targets through a combination of sensors, avionics, and smart weapons. .
Justin Bronk, Nick Reynolds and Jack Watling of the Royal Defense and Security Institute (RUSI) will bereportThe Russian Air Force “will most certainly seek to minimize further losses of this expensive and complex aircraft (Su-34).”
At the time, the Russian Air Force had already lost 17 Su-34s, each costing $50 million. The number of losses has now swelled to 25 to 26 aircraft, nearly one-fifth of the total. There is no doubt that Russia’s concerns are growing.
After three Su-34s were shot down, the Russian Air Force suspended its glide bomb attack on the Klinki beachhead, at least temporarily.It seems to have stoppedThis is not without reason.
The Chkalov Aviation Plant in Novosibirsk, Siberia, can only build a few Su-34s a year. In other words, Russia cannot sustain the current attrition rate of the Su-34. It goes without saying that if the Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16s enter combat and the attrition rate of the Su-34s increases even further, they will not be able to withstand it.
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2023-12-26 03:00:12
