 |
| Without Looking, Russian Su-35 Fighter Shoots Down Ukrainian Mi-8 Helicopter |
Moscow - The Su-35 Flanker-E fighter shot down the Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter from a distance of 35 Km when it was detected entering the Russian border area. The Mi-8 helicopter was attacked by an R-37M air-to-air missile, a Su-35 fighter that was beyond visual range.
This incident demonstrated the superiority of one of Russia's advanced aircraft on the Ukrainian battlefield. The Su-35 fighter, which was developed from the Su-27, is capable of shooting down enemy aircraft that enter the border from a long distance, beyond visual range.
The latest version of the Sukhoi Su-35, known as the Su-35BM (bolshaya modernizatsiya or major modernization) is an advanced capable multirole air superiority fighter. The Su-35 fighter has high maneuverability (+9g) with a high angle of attack, and a modern weapon system that also contributes to dogfighting capabilities.
Combat capability beyond the visual range of the Su-35 thanks to the X-band multimode Irbis-E array radar is provided by the Tikhomirov Scientific-Research Institute of Instrument Design (NIIP), based in Zhukovsky.
Quoted from airforce-technology, Irbis-E is a high-performance radar designed for the Su-35 aircraft. The 900mm passive phased array antenna is mounted on a hydraulic actuator for mechanical steering. Electronic steering provides 60 degrees of azimuth and elevation coverage.
With mechanical and electronic scanning, the coverage is 120 degrees, This Radar can detect and track up to 30 targets in the air. The radar can detect low-flying, stealth-capable aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles with a radar cross-section of 0.01 square meters at ranges of up to 90 km.
Radar modes include air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-sea, mapping, Doppler beam and synthetic aperture radar modes. This sophisticated electronic equipment is equipped with modern weaponry on 12 hardpoints under the wings of the Su-35 fighter. One of them is the R-37M missile with a range of 150-200 km, which is a deadly combination when embedded in the Su-35.
This missile can be fired by the Su-35 fighter from a safe position without being noticed by the enemy. This capability is feared by Ukrainian troops. "They have a good view in the air and know when we fly to the front line," the Ukrainian pilot was quoted as saying by the Bulgarian Military.
In addition, there are Vympel R-27 (AA-10 Alamo) air-to-air missiles, Vympel R-77 medium-range radar-guided air-to-air missiles (AA-12 Adder), and Vympel short-range infrared guided missiles R-73E (AA). -11 Arrows).
The Su-35 fighter is also equipped with Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) Molniya tactical air-to-surface missiles, Kh-31P (AS-17 Krypton) anti-radiation missiles, and Kh-58UShE (AS-11 Kilter) long-range missiles. . These include the Kh-31A anti-ship missile, Kh-59MK long-range missile (AS-18 Kazoo), Kalibr long-range missile and Yakhont missile.