Why isn’t Russia using its two best superjets in Ukraine?

Russia hasn’t been using its two best warplanes in the skies above Ukraine and instead has been flying its older jets according to a spokesperson from the Ukrainian Air Force. 

Colonel Yurii Ihnat said during an interview with the Ukrainian National News Agency that Russia has not once used its Su-57 and Su-75 fighter jets over Ukraine’s territory. 

“More than once, their media wrote that they had already shown something on the front, that they had thrown bombs and rockets somewhere,” Inhat said per Ukrainska Pravda. 

“The Air Force of Ukraine has not recorded the use of these aircraft in air aggression against Ukraine,” Ihnat added during his May 2nd video interview with Ukrainform.

The colonel couldn’t rule out the possibility Russia was using its two best fighter jets remotely according to Ukrainiska Pradva, presumably to bypass Ukraine’s air defenses. 

Ihnat went on to explain that the Russian Air Force liked focusing on using its older air assets, which he said were superior to Ukraine’s assets in both technology and number.

While it's difficult to know if Russia has been employing the Su-57 and Su-75 in its fight against Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense says they have flown some missions. 

Photo by Mztourist, Own Work, Wiki Commons

On January 9th, the Defense Ministry stated in its daily intelligence update that Russia had “almost certainly” conducted missions against Ukraine using the Su-57 Felon. 

“These missions have likely been limited to flying over Russian territory, launching long range air-to-surface or air-to-air missiles into Ukraine,” the Defense Ministry noted. 

British intelligence cited “commercially available imagery” of five Su-57 jets stationed at Akhtubinsk Air Base as evidence of their likely use in “operations against Ukraine.”

Photo by Twitter @DefenceHQ

The use of the aircraft to conduct long-range missions was an interesting addition to the Defense Ministry’s analysis and likely meant Russia didn’t want to risk the jet’s future. 

“Russia is highly likely prioritizing avoiding the reputational damage, reduced export prospects, and the compromise of sensitive technology which would come from any loss of Felon over Ukraine,” the Defense Ministry’s analysis of the situation noted. 

“This is symptomatic of Russia’s continued risk-averse approach to employing its air force in the war,” the intelligence update added, showing clear insight into the air war. 

Justin Bronk is a Senior Research Fellow for Airpower at London’s Royal United Service Institute and he spoke with Insider days after the Defense Ministry gave their air update. 

According to Bronk, Russia wasn’t choosing to fly their best jets over Ukraine because of the info the country’s enemies could get from the wreckage of a downed aircraft. 

Bronk told Insider that the downing of Russia’s best warplanes would be "extremely embarrassing" and reveal the jet's stealth system as “not being particularly effective."

The Sukhoi 57 Felon is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter that incorporates several novel design elements to reduce its cost and weight according to Popular Mechanics. 

The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate is Russia’s newest single-engine stealth combat fighter; a mockup was unveiled at the 2021 MAKS Air Show and a Reuters report from the time noted that the new aircraft was being touted as Russia’s answer to the U.S. F-35. 

Photo by Kremlin.ru, Wiki Commons

To date, there is no verifiable independent data on whether or not Russia’s Su-75 has been used to fly combat missions in Ukraine, though we do know the first test flights of the new jets were set for early 2024 according to The Russian News Network (TASS). 

Photo by Mztourist, Own Work, Wiki Commons