The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has entered its second month, the situation has changed subtly, and the Russian army seems to be gradually becoming an inferior party, not only withdrawing from Kiev, but also failing to complete the previous encirclement plan. What is even more surprising to the world is that the Russian Su-35 fighter will actually be shot down by the Ukrainian army! Previously, Russian warplanes have also been shot down by Ukraine, but they are some conventional fighters, and the Su-35 is Russia's fourth-generation and half-generation fighter, known as "super flanker", with super mobility and multi-purpose capabilities, and is a hot product for export.
But in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it was shot down in one fell swoop, and it was also shot down by the Ukrainian army with weak air defense capabilities. Although the Ukrainian army does not have an excellent air defense system, it has a large number of man-portable air defense missiles provided by NATO, and the Stinger has shot down a number of Russian fighters before. But this time shooting down the Su-35 is not the credit of the "Stinger", because its flight speed is only Mach 2, and the Su-35 can be completely thrown off. Judging from the anti-aircraft weapons obtained by the Ukrainian army, it should be the British "Starlight" anti-aircraft missile that shot down the Su-35 this time.
The missile has a maximum flight speed of Mach 4, which completely exceeds the flight speed of the Su-35, and it also has a "one-to-three" capability, which can launch three missiles in a row. Therefore, when the Ukrainian Mach 4 missile attacked, it would not be able to dodge the bullet and then explode in the air, fortunately, the Russian pilot catapulted in time and was not injured or killed. But this time the Su-35 was shot down, it should make the Russian army suffer a blow, and even if the Russian army is angry, it does not dare to easily dispatch the fifth-generation aircraft, because the flight speed of the Su-57 cannot shake off the "Starlight" missile, and can only be forced to "hide the clumsiness".
If the fifth-generation aircraft is also shot down by the Ukrainian army, then Russia's face will be pressed to the ground and rubbed fiercely, in fact, the current Russian side is enough to humiliate, the downfall of the Su-35 not only means that its air combat capabilities are limited, but also means that the Air Supremacy of the Russian Army may be difficult to protect. Even if the Russian army stressed at the beginning of the conflict that it had won air supremacy, whether 24 Ukrainian fighters took off at the same time, or Russian border cities were attacked by Ukrainian helicopters, to the present Su-35 fourth-generation and half-generation fighters have also been shot down, which fully shows the weakness of the Russian military's air superiority.
As long as the Ukrainian army continues to use the "Starlight" anti-aircraft missile, the air superiority of the Russian side will be in jeopardy, and it may even lose air supremacy. For the Ukrainian army, this is "small and big", relying on a convenient and lightweight Mach 4 anti-aircraft missile, it can volley the Su-35, this record is not too outstanding. From the beginning of the war to the present, we have to admit that the Russian army is indeed a light enemy, and I hope that the Russian army can learn this lesson, even if it is only to "kill chickens", it must use a cattle knife, so as to avoid tragic casualties.
(Text/Xi Le)