Ukrainian Su-27 Strikes Russian Air Defense System with HARM Missile [Video]

A Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet struck a Russian anti-aircraft system with an AGM-88 HARM missile while covering a strike group operation, according to footage published by the Sonyashnyk Telegram channel.

The pilot of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade used an AGM-88 HARM missile on a Russian air defense installation, causing its ammunition to detonate.

“A Cossack on a Su-27, carrying out a cover mission for the strike group. He did the job well — first confirmed target for the baby,” a Ukrainian Air Force-affiliated blog post stated.

Footage recorded by a reconnaissance drone shows a secondary explosion of the solid-fuel engine of the anti-aircraft missile and its spontaneous ejection from the launcher.

The video quality does not allow for precise identification of the system, but the successful use of a HARM missile indicates the target’s radar was active at the time of impact.

The system is likely to have been a Buk or Tor, based on the missile’s behavior after launch.

Since mid-2022, Ukrainian tactical aviation has employed U.S.-made AGM-88 HARM missiles to suppress Russian air defenses and support its own strike operations or disrupt enemy activity along the front line.

This tactic focuses more on suppressing enemy systems than on their complete destruction. Due to the limitations of integrating HARM missiles with Soviet-designed aircraft, the missiles are typically fired into the general target area and guided independently toward sources of radio frequency emission.

As a result, confirmed footage of successful strikes with these missiles is rare. The released video is likely the first publicly available clip showing a confirmed impact.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the Ukrainian Air Force had received upgraded AGM-88E missiles equipped with a multi-sensor guidance system.

In addition to passive homing capability, which tracks radar emissions, the AGM-88E features an active radar seeker (ARH), allowing it to engage air defense systems even if the radar is switched off. The missile is also equipped with GPS and an inertial navigation system, enabling it to strike targets by coordinates.

Thanks to these upgrades, the missile, while primarily designed to neutralize air defense systems, can also be used against other non-armored targets if necessary.