Ukraine Su-27 Fleet Update

A Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker was shot down in air-to-air combat over Eastern Ukraine on March 9, 2026. The pilot, a brigade commander, was killed in action. The Ukrainian Air Force acknowledged the loss, stating the sortie took place in conditions of significant superiority of the air enemy and powerful countermeasures by enemy air defence systems. Russian sources indicated the aircraft was downed by an R-37M hypersonic beyond-visual-range missile fired from a Su-35S of the 303rd Composite Aviation Division. The pilot had flown hundreds of combat sorties since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.