Does Russia Have Air Superiority? Su-35S and S-400, Reportedly Shoot Down Kiev Regime’s F-16
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Much has been written about the Russian military’s top-of-the-line assets such as the Su-35S air superiority fighter jets or the S-400 long-range SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems. Taken separately, they’re among the deadliest weapons on the modern battlefield. Both the Su-35S and the S-400 have proven their dominance numerous times over the last several years, a fact that even the militaries of other countries have acknowledged. Now imagine if these two assets worked together to maximize their battlefield efficiency.
Namely, according to several military sources, including Fighter-Bomber, one of the most prominent Russian milbloggers, Moscow used both the Su-35S and the S-400 in tandem to shoot down a US-made F-16 fighter jet of the Neo-Nazi junta forces.
On March 19, the information about the event was also shared by Rybar, another prominent milblogger. Quoting as of yet unconfirmed military reports, his post alleged that a Kiev regime’s F-16 fighter jet was shot down over northeastern Sumy oblast (region). Rybar also stated that, while the information is yet to be officially confirmed, numerous testimonies indicate its high credibility.
Quoting military sources, he reports that the Ukrainian pilot was most likely eliminated and that the destruction of the US-made aircraft is yet another testimony of the combat successes of Russian pilots and air defense operators. Rybar also stated that “the appearance of objective control data about the incident will become another blow to the reputation of Western defense corporations”.
The details of the operation remain classified, limiting the possibility of a more comprehensive coverage, but relevant reports indicate that an ambush could’ve indeed been organized. A video published on March 18 shows that an F-16 was actively flying over Sumy and that its deployment in this area was also noted by the Russian military.
The US-made jet was likely tracked for several days, resulting in the deployment of an S-400 battery closer to the border area. After the F-16 took off, it was detected by the Su-35’s X band monopulse N035 “Irbis” hybrid ESA radar with abilities of both PESA and AESA. The Russian pilot illuminated the US-made jet, relaying this information to the S-400 crew which then fired one of its missiles on the target. The F-16 was reportedly flying low, which made it difficult for the S-400’s radar to track it.
Flying low to avoid detection by advanced SAM systems’ radars is common practice, so using a Su-35S (or any other jet with an advanced avionics suite) to detect hostile aerial targets makes perfect sense. Military reports indicate that the US-made jet most likely took off from the Vasilkov Air Base just southwest of Kiev, home of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade (also named the “Ghost of Kiev” brigade, after the mythical Ukrainian pilot whose “feats” were reported on extensively by the mainstream propaganda machine).
The airbase hosts Soviet-era MiG-29s that are usually used in a tactical bomber role in the vicinity of the Kursk oblast, usually dropping their payload over the Sumy oblast. The F-16 was reportedly “providing air cover for the MiG-29s at a distance” and, apparently, it was at this moment that the US-made jet was “caught off guard”.
Another possibility is that the F-16 was tasked to support the Neo-Nazi junta’s attempted push into the Belgorod oblast, although it’s unclear whether it was directly providing air support or covering the aforementioned MiG-29s in that exact role. As previously mentioned, the Kiev regime forces regularly use such tactics and almost exclusively fly very low to avoid detection by advanced SAM systems and/or air superiority fighters such as the Su-35S (or Su-57) and interceptors such as the now legendary MiG-31BM.
However, it should be noted that radars such as the N035 “Irbis” can be used to track targets flying very low, which would enable the Russian military to detect such aircraft and then relay their whereabouts to other platforms (be it other jets or SAM systems in the vicinity).
Fighter-Bomber also confirmed that aircraft like the Su-35S can be used as part of an advanced network-centric warfare approach that fuses the advanced sensors of multiple different platforms to maximize their efficiency. This includes both the S-400 and S-500 SAM/ABM (anti-ballistic missile) systems. It should also be noted that many experts and even leaders (including President Vladimir Putin) have pointed out that Western weapon systems are no match for advanced Russian military assets, while the Neo-Nazi junta itself admitted this several times.
Namely, around a week before the latest incident, the Chief of the Communications Department of the Kiev regime’s Air Force Command, Colonel Yuri Ihnat, lamented that the F-16 can’t compete with the Su-35S. He tried to justify this by the fact that the US-made jets provided by the political West are “not very new”.
However, even the latest variants of the F-16 (or any other Western jet, for that matter) are no match for the Russian military’s top-of-the-line assets. Worse yet (for the Neo-Nazi junta), the mainstream propaganda machine recently reported that the US cut support for the F-16s.
Namely, the new Trump administration allegedly stopped supplying components for the US-made jets, which made it far more difficult to repair and service them. However, such reports should certainly be taken with a grain of salt, as Washington DC could easily use this to justify the destruction of its aircraft in an attempt to save face and the F-16’s reputation that suffered serious blows in recent months.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.
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