Ukraine points out the weapon that helps Russia dominate in air combat

Ukraine chỉ ra loại vũ khí giúp Nga áp đảo trong không chiến - 1 — Russian Su-35S fighter (Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense ).

ABC News quoted an anonymous senior Ukrainian official as saying that Russia's new generation of fighters, such as the Su-35, are helping Moscow increase its dominance in air combat with Kiev.

Observers say this could be an unfavorable development for Kiev, as Russia’s failure to fully control Ukraine’s airspace over the past year has been seen as part of the reason for the stalemate on the ground. If Russia increases its air dominance, Ukraine will face challenges in the next phase of the war.

Ukraine officials said Russia has replaced older versions of the Su-35 with newer variants in Ukraine.

The upgraded Su-35 is equipped with very effective radar and long-range missiles, and Russia is using these fighters to attack Ukrainian jets in the air as well as support ground forces. The official admitted that Ukraine does not have the capacity to deal with the threat from these Su-35s.

"Russia gaining air superiority is a real risk," the official said, stressing that the West's aid to additional air defense systems is Ukraine's number one priority now.

Two other Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia's dominance in the skies over the war zone is a top concern for Kiev. On the other hand, one Ukrainian official said that Russia has "12 times more aircraft" than Ukraine, according to ABC News .

"This is the problem. What we keep telling the US is that, in the end, there will be no other solution than to provide us with Western fighters," he said.

The US has so far not responded to Ukraine's call to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine, fearing the conflict could spiral out of control.

Meanwhile, retired US Colonel Steve Ganyard said he believes Russia's air superiority appears to depend largely on Moscow having an overwhelming number of aircraft.

“Sometimes quantity trumps quality,” Mr. Ganyard said. “The lack of aircraft and air defense systems is putting Ukraine at an increasing disadvantage.”

During Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Su-35S fighters were often used by Moscow to attack Ukrainian military targets. Moscow's interceptors and long-range missiles are causing significant damage to Ukraine.

For example, the Su-35S combined with the R-77-1 air-to-air missile is considered one of the most effective weapon pairs in air combat over Ukraine.

Russian Su-35S "killer" launches precision missile to destroy Ukrainian target

The Su-35S maintains altitude and uses the N135 Irbis-E radar to ensure that the airspace in the area of operation is free of enemy air threats. The Su-35S is capable of coordinating the operations of other aircraft in the air, meaning it can perform the functions of an airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS).

In normal tracking mode, while scanning, the Irbis-3 radar can scan 120 degrees on both sides and detect targets of 3 square meters in size within a range of 200km. Thanks to that, the Su-35S has the ability to see from above, lock on to Ukrainian targets from hundreds of kilometers away, then launch R-77-1 missiles to attack Ukrainian aircraft.

The active seeker radar on the R-77-1 missile combined with modern N011M and N035 radars allows Russia to fire missiles using track-and-scan (TWS) mode.

TWS mode allows the radar to track one or more targets, allowing the missile to transmit full information from the launch phase until it is close to the target. Only in the final phase does the missile’s radar become active, allowing it to bypass Ukraine’s radar warning equipment. In other words, when Ukraine detects an incoming missile, it has virtually no way to evade it.

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