Last Updated on 11 seconds ago by TodayWhy Editorial
Russia’s most advanced fighter jet just crashed outside its own capital — and Russia’s own military bloggers are the ones suggesting Russia shot it down. Here’s what actually happened to the Su-57 on July 23, 2026, and why the explanation matters so much.
What Happened to Russia’s Su-57 on July 23?
Around 1:50 p.m. local time, an aircraft went down in the Odintsovo district near Zvenigorod, a town roughly 65 kilometers west of Moscow, close to the Kubinka military airfield. Telegram footage showed flames and thick smoke rising from an open field. The pilot ejected and survived; Russia’s Ministry of Defense said there were no casualties on the ground and no damage to nearby structures.
The Ministry’s own statement never named the aircraft type, calling it only a “training and combat aircraft” that crashed during takeoff. It was Russian media outlets and military bloggers, not officials, who identified the jet as Russia’s only operational fifth-generation stealth fighter.
Why Do Some Say Air Defense Shot Down the Su-57?
Russia’s official explanation points to an unspecified “technical malfunction.” But several Russian military bloggers floated a very different theory: that the Su-57 was brought down by Russia’s own air defense systems, responding to Ukrainian drone activity that was underway elsewhere in the region at the same time.
The theory isn’t far-fetched given Moscow’s current defenses. In recent months, satellite imagery has shown concentric rings of S-300, S-400 and Pantsir air defense systems ringing the capital, some mounted on rooftops via helicopter, specifically to intercept long-range Ukrainian drones. With that many interceptors active around Moscow on any given day, a stealth fighter flying through contested airspace during a drone alert is exactly the kind of scenario where friendly fire becomes plausible. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a separate criminal case over possible violations of flight procedure, which will run alongside the standard military and civil aviation crash probe.
Why Hasn’t Russia Confirmed It Was a Su-57?
Officially withholding the aircraft type is a familiar pattern for Moscow whenever a high-value asset is lost, since it limits how much analysts elsewhere can extract from the loss. According to reporting from The Aviationist, Russian business outlet Kommersant was first to name the jet, citing an unnamed source, and pro-Russian military channels like Fighter-Bomber later echoed the identification without an official government confirmation.
If the identification holds up, this would only be the second publicly reported Su-57 crash in the type’s history — the first came during a 2019 test flight, years before serial production ramped up.
How Many Su-57s Has Russia Actually Lost?
Russia entered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 with only about four Su-57s in service. That number has since grown to an estimated 40 to 50 aircraft, though independent trackers struggle to confirm exact figures given how selectively Russia deploys and publicizes the type.
The open-source tracking project Oryx has so far visually confirmed just one loss of the type with photographic evidence: a jet damaged by a Ukrainian drone strike at an airbase in 2024. Ukraine has claimed additional hits over the years, including a strike on one parked far behind the front lines in June 2024 and another reported drone attack in April 2026, but visual confirmation for those incidents has been harder to come by than for more commonly deployed Russian aircraft.
Why Is Losing a Su-57 Such a Big Deal for Russia?
Every Su-57 that goes down lands hard on a fleet that is still small by design. Unlike older, mass-produced Russian fighters, it comes off the production line slowly, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally promoted the aircraft as, in his words, among the best in the world. Losing one — especially to a cause other than enemy fire — undercuts that message at a moment when Moscow is actively trying to drum up export interest.
So far, only Algeria has agreed to buy it abroad, after a long stretch with no export customers at all. A crash that looks like friendly fire, rather than combat damage, is a far more awkward story for Moscow to manage than a jet lost to Ukrainian action, since it raises uncomfortable questions about the reliability of Russia’s own air defense network rather than the strength of Ukraine’s.
What Is the Su-57, and Why Does Russia Need It to Succeed?
The Su-57, NATO reporting name “Felon,” is Russia’s answer to America’s F-22 Raptor: a twin-engine, stealth-oriented multirole fighter meant to combine air superiority with strike capability against ground and naval targets. It first flew in 2010, but development delays and limited production runs meant it entered real service only years later than planned.
Rather than flying deep into contested Ukrainian airspace, Russia has used its handful of these jets cautiously, typically staying within roughly 200 kilometers of the front line and firing long-range Kh-59 and Kh-69 cruise missiles from a safer distance. That cautious deployment pattern is itself a signal of how little margin Russia has to lose any of these aircraft, whether to enemy action or to its own defenses.
How Does This Fit the Broader War in Ukraine?
The Su-57 incident lands in the middle of an unusually bad stretch for Russia’s air force. Just one day earlier, on July 22, a Ukrainian F-16 reportedly shot down a Russian fighter jet in air-to-air combat for the first time in the war. Russia has also lost aircraft to friendly fire before: a Su-35 was brought down by Russia’s own air defenses over Tokmak in 2023, and Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck Russian jets parked hundreds of kilometers from the front, at bases once considered safely out of reach.
Whether or not this particular Su-57 turns out to be a friendly-fire incident, the pattern says something bigger: Russia’s advanced combat aircraft, the ones it can least afford to lose, keep finding new and often avoidable ways to end up destroyed. It’s part of a wider run of conflicts that have made 2026 an unusually violent year globally — a trend we’ve covered in our ongoing coverage of global conflicts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Russia really lose a Su-57 on July 23, 2026?
Russian officials confirmed a “training and combat aircraft” crashed near Moscow on July 23 but did not name the aircraft type. Russian media and military bloggers identified it as a Su-57, though this has not been officially confirmed by the Kremlin or Ministry of Defense.
Was the Su-57 shot down by Russia’s own air defenses?
That’s one theory circulating among Russian military bloggers, given the dense ring of air defense systems around Moscow currently on alert for Ukrainian drones. Russia’s official explanation is an unspecified “technical malfunction,” and the matter is under a separate criminal investigation.
How many Su-57 fighter jets does Russia have?
Russia had only about four Su-57s when the full-scale invasion began in 2022. That number has grown to an estimated 40 to 50 aircraft, though independent verification is difficult given how selectively Russia discloses information about the type.
Is the Su-57 Russia’s version of the F-22?
Yes. The Su-57, NATO codename “Felon,” is a twin-engine, stealth-oriented fighter designed to be Russia’s answer to the American F-22 Raptor, combining air superiority and strike capability in one airframe.
Has anyone bought the Su-57 from Russia?
Algeria is currently the only confirmed export customer for the Su-57, after years of Russia pushing the aircraft at international air shows without securing foreign buyers.