Amidst Reports of Su-34 jets Shot Down By Ukraine, Russia to Upgrade its Stealth Features

Russia will upgrade the electronic warfare (EW) system on board its Su-34 fighter bombers to improve its sealth characteristics going by experiences gained in Ukraine.

The Khibiny electronic warfare (EW) system mounted on the Su-34 frontline bomber will be upgraded taking into account the results of the bomber’s use in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, TASS said quoting a a source in defense circles on Monday.

"The Khibiny onboard electronic warfare suite will be upgraded to make its operation more automated. The pilot’s role in the upgraded version will be minimized," it said quoting the unnamed source.

Khibiny EW suite helps Su-34 evade radar

A fighter jet with the Khibiny EW suite on its board turns invisible for enemy radars. The protective radio-electronic field that it creates around the aircraft makes enemy missiles miss their target. The EW suite can help exercise control of the bomber’s weapons, generate decoy jamming and breach enemy multi-layered air defenses. Currently, the Khibiny EW suite is mounted on Su-34 frontline bombers, the TASS report added.

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier posted videos of Su-34 fighter-bombers bombing the Ukrainian army’s positions in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The bombers delivered strikes against Ukrainian long-term bunker positions, arms and ammunition depots.

Ukraine claims shooting down several Su-34 jets in separate incidents

Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesman Yurii Ihnat posted on Facebook that anti-aircraft missile units managed to destroy a hostile cruise missile in the Dnipropetrovsk and a Su-34 fighter-bomber in the Kharkiv.

Before this, Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed to have shot down Su-34 jets on April 11 and March 7. Russia has not confirmed any of these incidents.