Russian Su-30SM downing with MANPADS in Black Sea is unique, expert says

“This is an extraordinary event. In any case, the downing of a Su-30SM from a man-portable air defense system is a rather complex situation. Especially when it comes to the fact that you are on a boat in the middle of the Black Sea. This is a very unusual event,” he said.

The expert recalled that there were videos by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine when scouts fired man-portable air defense systems at Russian aircraft during a similar operation involving offshore platforms. But the planes managed to reach their air base.

“So, in any case, this is a non-regular event. It is quite unique in general. And it's about the Ukrainian heroism,” Katkov added.

When asked whether there have been similar operations before, the expert replied that this is a difficult question. But there have probably already been cases of destroying Russian aircraft with man-portable air defense systems.

“Because there is a large list of losses in Russia during the beginning of the full-scale invasion when Russian aviation worked directly on the combat formations of Ukrainian defenders. There was an attempt to seize total air superiority. To be more precise, even the enemy believed that it had done so. But just in the first days of the invasion, he suffered huge losses in aviation, according to official statistics. And there were losses. One will need to analyze each episode and see whether it was shot down by MANPADS, whether Su-30SMs were shot down by MANPADS, or whether it was other aircraft,” the expert said.

He recalled the downing of a Su-34 right over Chernihiv. The plane was shot down by a man-portable air defense system. Katkov emphasized that it was a complex operation.

“So there were incidents. But again, shooting down an airplane from a man-portable air defense system looks easy only in computer games. (In reality - ed.) it's very, very difficult. Let me explain the difficulty. The fact is that to use a man-portable air defense system, i.e., once you have it in your hands, you need to activate it when the target is approaching you. And for your understanding, you have a window of opportunity, taking into account the activation of the weapon, of about 5 seconds. If you do something earlier, the aircraft leaves the zone before you can fire a shot,” the expert explained.

When using man-portable air defense systems, one also needs to wait for the missile head to cool down and wait for it to engage the target. The maximum launch range is also an important fact.

“If you launch a missile, for example, in pursuit, the aircraft may simply go beyond the range of the target. If it is launched too late, the plane is also out of range. So, it's really very simple only in computer games. In real life, the effectiveness of man-portable air defense systems is not very high. And this is not just about exceptional skill. It is, in fact, also about a little bit of military luck,” Katkov added.

Ukraine's intelligence operation

On September 11, it was reported that a Su-30SM fighter jet had disappeared from Russian radar near Sevastopol. The Russians conducted a search operation using an An-26 airplane and Mi-8 and Ka-27 helicopters. They found the wreckage of the downed Su-30SM.

Today it became known that the destruction of the aircraft was an operation of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence. The soldiers destroyed a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet with MANPADS in the Black Sea.

The cost of such an aircraft is approximately $50 million.