Russia Installs Soviet "junk" On Its Fighter Jets

• 27.01.2026, 12:07

Ukrainian military pointed out the problems of enemy aircraft.

The Russians have armed the new Su-35S fighter jet with a very old Soviet R-27 missile to perform missions near the front. The relevant footage released by Russian propaganda was pointed out by "Militar".

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Su-35S fighter armed with the R-27 was providing cover for army aviation helicopters that were carrying out strike missions directly on the front lines.

This may indicate that Russian forces are forced to use outdated Soviet missiles, particularly during operations where the threat of a clash with Ukrainian aircraft remains.

This practice probably indicates a noticeable shortage of the more modern R-77-1, K-77M and R-37M missiles, which may be the result of their intensive use against the background of insufficient production rates.

According to Ukrainian pilots, almost every combat sortie in the direction of the contact line is accompanied by enemy missile launches at Ukrainian aircraft. The overwhelming majority of such attacks are air-to-air missiles.