A Russian Air Force Su-30 fighter aircraft crashed in the Tver region during a routine training flight on September 22, the Russian armed forces confirmed.
The press service added that the pilots managed to eject and that the aircraft landed in a wooded area, with no damages to objects on the ground.
Shortly after the confirmation of the accident, a Russian military information channel on the encrypted network Telegram said the Su-30 had actually been shot down by a Su-35 aircraft during a “dog fight” maneuver. The channel explained that the Su-35 had its missiles removed ahead of the exercise, but the aircraft’s cannons had accidentally remained loaded.
The военный осведомитель channel is saying that the Su-30SM that crashed today was actually shot down by a Su-35S fighter that accidentally shot the fighter with its cannon. 2/https://t.co/vdOGx59FPC pic.twitter.com/IiUSI5BIQT
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) September 22, 2020
The Su-30 is a two-seat fighter developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and the most numerous aircraft in the Russian armed forces. The Su-35 air-superiority fighter is a derivative of the Su-27 air-defense aircraft. It is also operated by Egypt and China.
