A Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft of Russian Air and Space Force (RuAF) was reportedly shot down by country’s own Su-35 S Flanker fighter jet during a routine “dog fight” maneuver on September 22. The Sukhoi Su-30 crashed in Russia’s northwest Trevor region. Both the pilots of Su-30 ejected safely from the aircraft. They were then picked up by a search and rescue helicopter. it was an incident of “friendly fire”. According to reports, the twin-seat Su-30 had in fact been hit by cannon fire from the single-seat Su-35S.
Initially, the Russian Defence Ministry did not explain the reason of the crash. “Preliminarily, the cause of the emergency is the accidental hit of a shell on the Su-30 during the exercise,” reported TASS news agency quoting sources as saying. Some reports claimed that the Su-35S had previously was on quick reaction alert (QRA) duty due to this it had carried live 30mm ammunition loaded in its GSh-301 cannon. Budgam Mi-17 V5 Crash: Indian Missile Mistakenly Hit Chopper After Air Defence Alert Sounded Following Air Space Violation by Pakistani Fighter Jets?
Currently, it s still not clear the exact variant of Su-30 that crashed in the “friendly fire”. Notably, the Russian Aerospace Forces operate the Su-30SM and the Su-30M2. The Western Military District of Russia operates the Su-30SM from Khalino air base near Kursk, Meanwhile, single-seat Su-35S fighter jets are stationed at Besovets and Khotilovo airbases of the district..
(Picture Courtesy: Twitter)
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