Ukrainian Air Force reported a russian Su-35 multirole fighter jet shot down in the Kursk operational area as a result of a successful operation on Saturday, June 7. Then a video appeared showing the downed aircraft on the ground. Monitoring was carried out by a reconnaissance drone, suggesting that the enemy aircraft was relatively close to the Ukrainian border.
No other details about this episode have been officially reported yet. The main mystery is how exactly the enemy aircraft was shot down.
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Just a year ago, one would instantly assume in such cases that a Patriot surface-to-air missile system was involved. However, with the introduction of Western fighter jets into the Ukrainian Air Force, more possibilities have now emerged.
When it comes to fighter jets, the Mirage is the least likely option here. Previously, Defense Express listed down the missiles and bombs that the Mirage 2000-5 can use. The MICA is the long-range air-to-air missile and can be equipped with a radar or infrared homing seeker.
However, its range is limited to 60-80 km, so it would be too risky to use the Mirage in such a scenario.
On the other hand, the use of multirole F-16 fighter jets is a highly likely option. A while ago, an image of this aircraft flying over Ukraine had already circulated online, showing one AIM-120C AMRAAM missile instead of two.
This was a hint that the F-16 was performing a mission to cover the strike group and probably fired a missile at the enemy aircraft. It should be noted that the AIM-120C-8 variant has a range of 160 km.
That said, the highest probability is that the Ukrainian Air Force returned to operations using a mobile (aka wandering) Patriot system.
Earlier, Defense Express reported on how an aircraft can evade a Patriot missile and why the Su-34 is easier to shoot down than the Su-35. To put it briefly, the latter has a higher G-load and is lighter than the Su-34, making it more likely to successfully carry out an anti-aircraft evasive maneuver.
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