Ukrainian hackers forced Russian air defense forces to shoot down a Su-57 near Moscow

The international intelligence community InformNapalm has partially disclosed details of the operation that resulted in the destruction of a Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet in the Moscow region. 

According to OSINT researchers, the aircraft was shot down by Russia’s own “BARS Moscow” air defense system, the operation of which was disrupted through cyber interference and cognitive influence.

The operation was preceded by an analysis of intercepted materials, including video streams from the “BARS Moscow” crew training range. InformNapalm experts prepared an analytical report on the system’s operational algorithms, hardware and software architecture, and vulnerabilities, which they then shared with the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The data obtained made it possible to intercept control parameters and force the Russian air defense crew—which had been deployed to protect Moscow from Ukrainian drones—to shoot down its own fighter jet.

The Russian Ministry of Defense cited a “technical malfunction,” but within Russian Z-media circles and among propagandists, there is active discussion of theories involving sabotage and “friendly fire.”

Source: InformNapalm.

On Thursday, July 23, the Russian military’s newest fighter jet, the Su-57, crashed in the Moscow region. The cost of such an aircraft is estimated at at least $100 million.

Russian military losses in the war against Ukraine have exceeded 2 million people, according to the NYT.