The Kremlin may have lost another Su-35 aircraft on Thursday, and the Su-27 derivative may have been the victim of friendly fire according to early reports. Video of a Russian fighter aircraft engulfed in flames as it fell back to the earth quickly circulated on social media.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-imposed governor of Sevastopol announced via the social messaging Telegram that the pilot had safely ejected, and was subsequently rescued after landing about 200 meters from the shore.

"A military plane fell into the sea… Civilian objects were not damaged," Razvozhayev wrote.

Third Su-35 Lost This Year

Multiple reports identified the aircraft as a Su-35 (NATO reporting name "Flanker-E"). If it is confirmed that the aircraft was a Su-35, it would be at least the seventh Flanker-E lost in Ukraine and the third downed this year. The first Su-35 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine on February 17, while two days later a second was shot down over the Azov Sea.

There have also been reports that the Russian aircraft lost on Thursday was mistakenly shot down by Russian anti-aircraft defense. This would be the second such Su-35 aircraft to fall victim to friendly fire, after another was targeted by a Russian S-400 air defense system in early January near Krasnoperekopsk, a town in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula. That damaged Su-35 was able to successfully land at a military airfield near occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not officially commented on the latest incident, but Newsweek previously reported that as of late August of last year, more than a fifth of the Kremlin's known manned aircraft and helicopter losses since Moscow launched its unprovoked war in February 2022 have been self-inflicted. Another Su-35 was believed to have been shot down last September over Tokmak, near the front lines in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Su-35 in the Crosshairs

The Su-35 is a heavily upgraded derivative of the Su-27 aircraft (NATO reporting name "Flanker"). It has been in service with the Russian Air Force since 2014 and made its first combat deployment in Syria in 2015 – where it was employed to provide cover for other Russian aircraft on bombing missions.

Designated the "Flanker-E" by NATO, the "4++ generation" fighter has proven itself to be a very capable foe to current U.S. aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle, the F/A-18 Super Hornet, and even the F-35 Lightning II. However, where the Su-27 was initially developed to address the development of the U.S. military's F-15 Eagle in the 1970s, the Su-35 was a response to the F-16.         

It was originally proposed to serve as a replacement for Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, and initial production of the Su-27M commenced in 1988. It was subsequently redesignated as the Su-35 – yet according to MilitaryToday.com, just a dozen of the aircraft were completed for the Russian Air Force, including 9 pre-production aircraft.

Production ceased in 1995. When it resumed, multiple improved versions emerged, including the Su-35S. The Kremlin was believed to have had 110 of the aircraft in its inventories as of December 2022. It is in service with several fighter aviation regiments of the Russian Air Force, including the 22nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Production of the aircraft is currently underway at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant located in the Russian Far East, and according to Russian state media, it delivered the latest batch of Su-35S fighter jets in July.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

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