Russian Su-57 fighter jet crashes near Moscow in second loss of flagship stealth aircraft

What happened

On 23 July 2026, a Russian Su-57 fifth-generation fighter crashed during a training flight in Moscow Oblast. The aircraft went down near Odintsovo, roughly 24 km west of Moscow, between the settlements of Shikhovo and Lutsino. Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud bang and seeing a column of black smoke rising from the crash site. The jet was unarmed, and the pilot ejected successfully; a parachute was photographed near the wreckage. Russian state agency TASS, citing the Ministry of Defence, confirmed that the pilot's life was not in danger and that the aircraft fell in an uninhabited area, causing no ground casualties.

The Su-57 programme

The Su-57 is Russia's most advanced combat aircraft, a multirole stealth fighter designed to counter the American F-22 and F-35. Developed by the Sukhoi design bureau, it first flew on 29 January 2010, more than a decade after the F-22. Combat testing took place in Syria in 2018, and the jet entered limited service with the Russian Aerospace Forces at the end of 2020. Production has been slow: by 2024, only a few dozen airframes had been delivered, with analysts estimating the current fleet at 35–40 aircraft. Algeria became the first export customer last year. In May 2026, a two-seat prototype, the Su-57D, took off from Zhukovsky airfield near Moscow; it is intended for pilot training and for controlling mixed formations of manned and unmanned aircraft.

Investigation and cause

The Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal case for breach of flight safety regulations. A joint commission of military experts and the Ministry of Defence will investigate. The ministry's preliminary assessment points to a technical malfunction. However, the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ claimed the jet may have been accidentally shot down by Russian air defence. No evidence supports that version, and Russian officials have not commented on it. The crash site was documented by several Telegram channels, including Zvenigorod, 112, and Mash, which are linked to Russian security services.

Previous losses and combat use

This is the second crash of a Su-57. The first occurred on 24 December 2019, when a prototype (serial number T-50S-1) crashed in the Khabarovsk region due to a control system failure. In June 2024, Ukrainian military intelligence reported striking a Su-57 at Akhtubinsk airbase in Astrakhan region, nearly 600 km from the front line. Satellite imagery showed fire and explosion marks around the aircraft, marking the first known combat damage to the type. Russia has used the Su-57 in the war against Ukraine at least since June 2022, according to British defence intelligence, but the jets have been employed sparingly, often staying far from Ukrainian air defences.

Strategic blow

Losing a Su-57 is a significant setback for Russia's air power. With a fleet of only a few dozen aircraft, each airframe is critical for testing new weapons, developing unmanned teaming concepts, and sustaining the export narrative. The crash erodes the credibility of a programme that Moscow has promoted as a symbol of its military-technical prowess. It also follows a pattern of non-combat losses that raise questions about the aircraft's reliability.