Fighter Identified by Russian Media as a Su-57 Crashes Near Moscow During Training Flight

A Russian Su-57 Felon fifth-generation stealth fighter crashed on July 23 in the Odintsovo district of Moscow Oblast, coming down near the town of Zvenigorod shortly after taking off from Kubinka Air Base. The pilot ejected and survived, and no casualties were reported on the ground.

The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the accident in a brief statement, saying a “training and combat aircraft” crashed during takeoff on a routine training flight and that the pilot's life was not in danger. The ministry did not name the aircraft type. Business daily Kommersant and several other Russian outlets identified the jet as a Su-57, reporting that it was not carrying weapons at the time. Images circulating on Telegram and X showed flames and thick smoke rising from the crash site, though no debris identifiable in published photos allowed independent confirmation of the type. The cause of the crash has not been disclosed.

The loss is a significant one for what remains a very small operational fleet. According to GlobalMilitary.net data, the Russian Air Force fields around 29 Su-57s, with a further 78 on order as production slowly ramps up at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur plant. Russia, ranked third in the global military power ranking, has planned a fleet of 76 aircraft by 2028, a target that has repeatedly slipped since the type's first flight in 2010 and its formal entry into service in 2020.

The type's attrition record now includes several airframes. A first production aircraft crashed in Khabarovsk Krai in December 2019, before delivery. In June 2024, a Ukrainian drone attack on Akhtubinsk air base destroyed a Su-57 on the ground, and in April 2026 two more were damaged in another Ukrainian long-range drone strike. The Kubinka crash appears to be the first loss of an operational Su-57 in flight.

Kubinka Air Base, some 60 kilometers west of Moscow, is home to the Russian Aerospace Forces' display units and hosts aircraft supporting the annual Army forum at nearby Patriot Park. Russian authorities are expected to open a standard accident investigation, and no findings have yet been released.