Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Russian Flanker Fighter Reportedly Downs Another With Its Cannon By Accident
An oversight is said to have resulted in a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35S going into a mock dogfight with its cannon loaded.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...dly-downs-another-with-its-cannon-by-accident
A Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35S Flanker fighter jet reportedly gunned down a Su-30 Flanker during a recent close-air-combat training mishap. The loss of the Russian Aerospace Forces Su-30 was reported by Interfax, on September 22, 2020, the agency saying that the information had been confirmed by the Russian Armed Forces’ Western Military District.
The twin-seat Su-30 is said to have come down in a forest within northwest Russia’s Tver region. Both Su-30 crew members apparently ejected safely before being picked up by a search and rescue helicopter.
Details of an alleged ‘friendly fire’ incident then emerged, suggesting that the twin-seat Su-30 had in fact been hit by cannon fire from the single-seat Su-35S.
The Russian state-run TASS news agency said that it had been told by local emergency services that, based on initial evidence, the Su-30 had indeed been accidentally shot down. “Preliminarily, the cause of the emergency is the accidental hit of a shell on the Su-30 during the exercise,” the unnamed source told TASS. “The shot was fired by another aircraft.”
An unconfirmed account posted on a Russian military aviation forum said that the Su-35S had previously been on quick reaction alert (QRA) duty and so it had live 30mm ammunition loaded in its GSh-301 cannon. Su-35s can carry 150 rounds of ammunition for this weapon, mounted in the starboard wing root.
Due to the oversight, the Su-35S then launched for air-to-air training against the Su-30, with the gun still armed. The fighter’s air-to-air missiles had, however, been removed before the training sortie. [because they're far more obvious being externally mounted... so much for Russian aircraft crew chiefs and line expediters... - W]
According to another account on the Russian Telegram social media site, the Su-35S pilot pressed the trigger to record a simulated kill against the Su-30 — presumably using the gun camera — and, as a result, inadvertently fired a volley from the cannon.
An oversight is said to have resulted in a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35S going into a mock dogfight with its cannon loaded.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...dly-downs-another-with-its-cannon-by-accident
A Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35S Flanker fighter jet reportedly gunned down a Su-30 Flanker during a recent close-air-combat training mishap. The loss of the Russian Aerospace Forces Su-30 was reported by Interfax, on September 22, 2020, the agency saying that the information had been confirmed by the Russian Armed Forces’ Western Military District.
The twin-seat Su-30 is said to have come down in a forest within northwest Russia’s Tver region. Both Su-30 crew members apparently ejected safely before being picked up by a search and rescue helicopter.
Details of an alleged ‘friendly fire’ incident then emerged, suggesting that the twin-seat Su-30 had in fact been hit by cannon fire from the single-seat Su-35S.
The Russian state-run TASS news agency said that it had been told by local emergency services that, based on initial evidence, the Su-30 had indeed been accidentally shot down. “Preliminarily, the cause of the emergency is the accidental hit of a shell on the Su-30 during the exercise,” the unnamed source told TASS. “The shot was fired by another aircraft.”
An unconfirmed account posted on a Russian military aviation forum said that the Su-35S had previously been on quick reaction alert (QRA) duty and so it had live 30mm ammunition loaded in its GSh-301 cannon. Su-35s can carry 150 rounds of ammunition for this weapon, mounted in the starboard wing root.
Due to the oversight, the Su-35S then launched for air-to-air training against the Su-30, with the gun still armed. The fighter’s air-to-air missiles had, however, been removed before the training sortie. [because they're far more obvious being externally mounted... so much for Russian aircraft crew chiefs and line expediters... - W]
According to another account on the Russian Telegram social media site, the Su-35S pilot pressed the trigger to record a simulated kill against the Su-30 — presumably using the gun camera — and, as a result, inadvertently fired a volley from the cannon.
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