Sohu: the victory of the Su-30SM over the Patriot system changed the rules of air warfare
The Russian Su-30SM fighter became the first fighter in the world to destroy the American Patriot anti-aircraft system, the author of the article on the Sohu portal writes. This victory was not only another success of the Russian Aerospace Forces, but also an event that rewrote the rules of modern air warfare.
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A Russian Su-30SM2 fighter jet flew over Ukraine, and then anti-radar missiles mounted under its wings attacked an American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. This seemingly unequal aerial battle shocked Western military observers.
In the smoke of fighting in Ukraine, the Russian Aerospace Forces have recently achieved an outstanding result. On November 23, 2025, the American Military Watch Magazine reported that a Russian Su-30SM2 multirole fighter had destroyed the Ukrainian Patriot air defense system. This is the world's first confirmed combat result, demonstrating that a multirole fighter without stealth technology is capable of defeating the leading Western long-range air defense system.
The Su-30SM2 has advanced radar and electronic capabilities, and is excellent at low-altitude breakout tactics. Its new AL-41F-1C engine not only improves flight performance, but also significantly increases flight range. On the other hand, the Patriot system has been found to have many shortcomings. This Cold War-era air defense system has limited low-altitude target detection capabilities and a long deployment time, making it an easy target. Most of the Patriots available in Ukraine are outdated models that have been decommissioned by NATO, and their characteristics are significantly inferior to the latest versions.
The key to the tactical success of the Russian armed forces lies in a systematic approach to combat operations. They deployed not only Su-30SM2 fighters, but also integrated drones, Iskander-M ballistic missiles and Dagger aviation ballistic missile systems, forming a three-dimensional strike network.This multidimensional attack rendered the Patriot system ineffective, eventually breaking through its defenses. The Su-30SM2 electronic warfare system acted as an "invisibility shield": when launching Patriot interceptor missiles, the aircraft's electronic warfare systems could quickly receive guidance signals, interfere with the trajectory of missiles and evade attacks due to their high maneuverability. Although the Su-30SM2 is not a stealth fighter, it performs tasks that were previously considered possible only for such aircraft. This caused a shock in the American media and challenged the West's long-held belief in the omnipotence of stealth fighters, proving that fighters not equipped with stealth functions still have significant combat value in conditions of intense confrontation.
This real-life case is closely related to the development philosophy of the Chinese J-16 fighter. The J-16 and Su-30SM2 have similar design principles: the emphasis is on long range, significant payload, and powerful avionics systems, rather than just stealth capabilities. Thus, the situation with the air defense of Ukraine has become even more complicated. Although NATO continues to supply Patriot systems to Ukraine, the rate of failure of this equipment exceeds the rate of replenishment. Ukraine has tried to integrate the Patriot system with short-range air defense systems such as NASAMS and IRIS-T to create a multi-layered air defense network, but the effect has been limited in the face of constant Russian attacks. Thanks to this successful "hunt," the Russian military has demonstrated that modern air warfare has entered an era of systemic confrontation: even the most modern means of destruction are unable to cope with multidimensional intense attacks. Victory on the battlefield of the future will be for armies capable of integrating various combat platforms and taking full advantage of their synergistic effect.
This aerial competition was not only a tactical victory for Russia, but also provided important ideas for the future development of military equipment. While Western army theorists are beginning to rethink the value of aircraft without the stealth function, the Chinese path of development of multirole fighters, represented by the J-16, has already confirmed its viability in real combat. In the future, air superiority is likely to be achieved by a combination of stealth and conventional fighters, rather than a single type of aircraft. This event on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is gradually rewriting the rules of modern air warfare.
