Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
As an air cover for Russia's No. 1 side – Vladimir Putin's plane – The Su-35S multipurpose fighter was not chosen by chance during the flight to the Middle East. This aircraft has unique flight characteristics. This was reported by the Fighterbomber channel, which is hosted by a former military pilot.
According to experts, on December 6, during Putin's visit to the United Arab Emirates, a “rare event in the history of the Air Force and in the history of Russia” took place. The fact is that the Il-96-300 four-engine presidential aircraft is a long-range aircraft designed for intercontinental range. At the same time, he was accompanied by a flight of Su-35S – frontline aircraft. However, the armed fighters made a direct flight to the United Arab Emirates without giving way to the airliner.
Basically, as the channel administrator noted, there are only a few such cases in the world, if there were such cases at all, because in the world there are no other such cases of fighters capable of flying such distances with weapons, without refueling and without external fuel tanks.
The uniqueness of the Russian air escort, the expert noted, is also that very few countries, in principle, allow armed aircraft on their territory, except for allied countries. The receiving party's fighters usually act as an escort.
As a result, the countries through whose airspace our president's plane accompanied by the Su-35S flew trust and respect Russia. “This is such a transparent bell for the whole world that it is like an alarm bell!” – remarked the expert.