Ukraine’s Top Fighters Gain First Confirmed Kill Against Russian Air Defences Using New Anti-Radiation Missiles

The Ukrainian Air Force has continued to employ its small fleet of remaining Su-27 Flanker fighters for combat operations, despite losing the majority of the aircraft during hostilities with Russian forces over the past three years. Although the Su-27 was developed to serve as the Soviet Air Force and Air Defence Forces’ primary class of air superiority fighter, and when entering service in 1984 had a distinct advantage over its foreign rivals, the aircraft became increasingly versatile after the end of the Cold War, and in Russian service gained precision strike capabilities in the 2000s when they were brought up to the Su-27SM standard. Ukrainian Su-27s have more recently been modified with support from the country’s strategic partners in the Western world to integrate a number of Western precision guided munition types, most notably the British <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/britain-france-ukraine-cruise-missile-stockpiles-russia" target="_blank">Storm Shadow cruise missile</a> which have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/london-cruise-missile-escalate-strikes" target="_blank">used to strike targets</a> deep behind Russian lines from early 2023. The fighters have also been modified to carry American AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, which represent the Western world’s primary class of air-launched weapon developed for suppression of enemy air defences.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/07/article_6844436b234b75_51643327.jpg" title="Ukrainian Su-27s (back) and F-16D">Multiple Ukrainian sources have reported that on June 2&nbsp; a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 operating under the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade destroyed a Russian surface-to-air missile system using an AGM-88, which was the first time the missile class was confirmed by film to have neutralised a Russian air defence asset. The missile class functions by homing in on the radio frequency emissions from ground-based radars, with each having a 150 kilometre range, a speed of over Mach 2, and an explosive payload weighing 66 kilograms. The kind of air defence system targeted remains unknown, although shorter ranged lower value systems such as the Pantsir-S, BuK-M2 and Tor-M2 have often been left vulnerable when deploying to protect frontline positions. The <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-92n6-radar-s400-belgorod-frontlines" target="_blank">successful targeting </a>of longer ranged higher value systems such as the S-400 has been considerably <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/atacms-strike-s400-launchers-kursk" target="_blank">more challenging</a> due to their multiple layers of protection and their deployment further behind the frontlines.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/07/article_684443a3a0f5d9_78737959.jpg" title="Surface-to-Air Missile Launcher From Russian BuK-M2 Mobile Air Defence System">The Su-27’s much longer range, which is close to double those of the F-16, Mirage 2000 and MiG-29 that the Ukrainian Air Force also operates, combined with its ability to carry a significantly larger missile payload, makes it a significantly more potent aircraft for strike operations. The fighter’s age and its inability to effectively engage modern Russian fighters in air-to-air combat has led it to be employed primarily to launch missile strikes from well within Ukrainian-controlled airspace, much as has been the case for the F-16 and MiG-29 fleets. Russian forces have nevertheless at times <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-s40n6-400km-shoot-down-f16" target="_blank">proven successful</a> in engaging such targets using longer ranged air-to-air missiles. Although the Su-27 is considered by far the most capable fighter class in Ukrainian service, the aircraft have suffered <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/four-su-27-flankers-shot-down-over-western-ukraine-in-march-5-battle-which-russian-asset-could-have-done-it" target="_blank">heavy losses </a>to Russian fighters, <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/bukm3-frontline-air-defence-su27-kursk" target="_blank">ground-based air defences</a>, and to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-iskander-missile-strike-destroys-rare-ukrainian-su-27-fighter-at-mirgorod-airbase" target="_blank">missile strikes on their bases</a>. With the aircraft having never been exported to the USSR’s Warsaw Pact allies during the Cold War, none are fielded by NATO member states, which has made it impossible to replenish losses suffered by the Ukrainian fleet. Although Ukraine inherited a large fleet of over 70 Su-27s after the end of the Cold War, the country’s economic decline over the subsequent three decades makes it highly unlikely that it will be able to procure a similarly long ranged heavyweight fighter in future.&nbsp;