Ukraine shared satellite images it said show the aftermath of the attack (Picture: EAST2WEST)
Vladimir Putin’s most advanced military jet designed to rival US counterparts has been hit.
Ukraine has claimed a successful attack on a Su-57, a twin-engine stealth aircraft worth around £28 million.
It is one of Russia’s most expensive war toys, with only a few units in service in its air force.
It can carry Kh-59 and Kh-69 cruise missiles that regularly target civilian areas in Ukraine.
Before and after satellite photos show the aftermath of the strike on the airfield (Picture: GUR/e2w)
If confirmed, it would mark the first known successful strike in Ukraine’s history on a Su-57.
The plane was reportedly damaged after a strike on the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region in southern Russia, nearly 400 miles from the frontline.
Ukraine’s main military intelligence service on Sunday published before and after satellite images of the airfield.
Black soot marks and small craters can be seen dotting a concrete strip around the parked jet in the aftermath.
Putin’s camouflage aircraft
The Sukhoi Su-57 is Russia’s first fifth-generation fighter, and only a few have been deployed during the war.
It is the first aircraft in the Russian military designed with stealth technology.
It employs a variety of methods to reduce its radar signature.
Only Russia, the US and China have serial aircraft of this class. At £28 million, it bares a heavy price tag, even for the Kremlin. But it is less expensive than its US counterpart.
The first prototype aircraft flew in 2010, but the programme experienced a protracted development due to various structural and technical issues, and the Su-57 finally entered the air force in 2020.
It was not immediately clear what weapons were used, but the airfield’s distance from Ukraine suggests it was likely hit by drones.
Pro-Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber, which is close to military aviation, acknowledged the attack, saying that three drones flew over the base.
‘The defeat of the Su-57 is the first such case in history,’ Ukraine’s intelligence said.
The strike comes after the US and Germany recently authorised its ally to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying.
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