Russian Air Defense Forced to Engage Its Own Su-57

The BARS Moscow air defense unit mistakenly shot down a Russian Su-57 fighter.

InformNapalm intelligence community conducted an investigation of the incident.

According to the investigation, as a result of cyber interference and influence operations targeting the air defense unit, Ukrainian special services managed to intercept the enemy’s combat algorithms and direct fire at its own aircraft in the Moscow region.

Previously, on July 17, the community reported processing data intercepted from Russian forces, including broadcasts from a training ground where air defense crews were preparing to counter Ukrainian UAVs.

On July 23, a Russian fighter jet crashed in the Moscow region.

Based on the analysis, InformNapalm prepared an analytical report on the training of personnel, software and hardware, algorithms and vulnerabilities of the BARS Moscow air defense.

Russian propaganda media explained the loss as a “technical malfunction,” while the first reports in the Russian prowar propaganda about sabotage in the operation of air defense were published by the Telegram channel “Romanov Light.”

In 2025, as part of the joint CYBINT operation OKBMLeaks, InformNapalm published classified documents from the Russian manufacturer of components for Su-57 systems. The material was translated and distributed in 13 languages by foreign media outlets.

BARS Moscow

According to part of the analytical report distributed by InformNapalm, the volunteer air defense unit BARS Moscow trains crews to intercept Ukrainian fixed-wing strike UAVs.

The formation’s area of responsibility covers Moscow, as well as the Moscow, Kaluga, Ryazan and Tula regions.

The main interception asset is the small Lys-2 UAV, equipped with machine vision and automatic target acquisition, launched from a reusable catapult.

It carries a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing about 0.8 kg and can hit targets by ramming or detonating near them. Its speed is up to approximately 206 km/h (124–176 km/h was recorded in the video).

The report also mentions the Alabino training ground, located in the Naro-Fominsk district of the Moscow region.