No IFF and datalink: Russian anti-air missiles shot down its own Su-34 and Mi-8 helicopters

A Russian fighter jet and a helicopter have been seen crashing amid reports a further two warplanes have also been downed.

Footage shows Su-34 jet and a Mi-8 chopper were seen coming down near a Russian town within two hours of each other and it’s claimed all four aircraft were brought down by friendly fire.

The town where the first two planes crashed lies in the south-eastern region of Bryansk, about 25 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Another Mi-8 helicopter along with a Su-35 single seater fighter also came down, elsewhere in the Bryansk region.

Horror footage showed one of the the Mi-8 aircraft plummeting from the skies engulfed in flames as it slammed into the ground.

Then just two hours later, footage showed the Su-34 falling from the skies and its burnt wreckage on the ground.

The pilot and navigator in the plane failed to eject and were killed. 

Russian fighter jets and helicopters lack a proper datalink and identification friend-or-foe (IFF). Russian air force still operates cold-war aircraft fitted with 1980s electronics and avionics. The Western sanctions also made it impossible for Russia to manufacture modern electronics and avionics for its aircraft and anti-air missiles. Russian-made Pantsir-S1, Buk, S-300 and S-400 batteries are not integrated in the battlefield.

Lack of coordination between ground-based anti-air assets with Russian air force’s aircraft impossible for RuAF run sorties day/night. Restricted by backward compilable technology, downing of Su-34 is another example of Russian air force struggling with old technology.

But Mash and Baza media outlets , which have with links to the authorities, said that the total number of downed aircraft was four – all returning from a combat mission.

There have been unconfirmed reports that the helicopter may have been shot down by friendly fire.

One Russian media outlet reported that all four aircraft were killed by friendly fire when target recognition systems malfunctioned.

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