Interesting thought. Is there any indication that this or the other Su-35 shot down by friendly fire were potential defectors? The Russian army has displayed such astounding incompetence at different times throughout the war, my immediate assumption was that these were just two more, but the idea of defection seems not unlikely for much the same reason...

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Possible, but how would the air defence know? I mean, know to a degree of confidence that they'd risk shooting down one of the most valuable assets? It's not like Su-35s grow on trees.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

they would know because there is very tight security against exactly that.. because defection of pilots is always a particularly outsized risk for them.. they are probably better prepared to shoot down their own aircraft than the opposition.. same with their front line troops..

it's just life there.. the generals sell off ammo and fuel to pay for yachts and gambling debts.. their hotshot pilots all want a fat paycheck for their jet, and to go live in Serbia..

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I figure they may be able to compare flight plans with actual course and tell when a pilot is diverging from the planned route. Based on how they are diverging, it may suggest that they are trying to book it to Ukraine? Not sure if this is actually possible, but it's the best way I can imagine them being able to tell, other than the pilot just disobeying immediate orders and heading for the border, which would be pretty obvious.