Ukraine war lessons for China in downing of Russian Sukhoi-35 fighter
- Analyst says fighter jet ‘appears to have gone down from a very low altitude’, where it would have been vulnerable to attack
- Chinese military holds the second largest fleet of Su-35s after Russia but is increasingly relying on its home-grown J-16
As the war in Ukraine entered its 40th day, a video emerged apparently showing the moment the jet fell from the sky in flames before exploding. Pictures of the burned-up wreck were later posted on social media.
Ukraine said the Su-35 was shot down near Kharkiv by its anti-aircraft missile forces, in what Ukrainian deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said amounted to “US$50 million worth of damage” for the Russians.
Zhou Chenming, a military analyst in Beijing, said that judging from the images of the wreckage, “which has maintained its shape, the fighter jet appears to have gone down from a very low altitude”.
“It was probably on its return from a ground attack mission and the fire was likely from the leftover fuel it was carrying,” he said.
Flying at low altitude would increase the risk of attack from anti-aircraft weapons, and even from portable air-defence missiles such as Stingers and Starstreaks.
But Zhou said it could also be that the fighter jet had a mechanical failure.