The Russian side released footage that emphatically brings back to the forefront one of the less publicized, yet crucial aspects of the air war in Ukraine: the systematic effort to locate and destroy Western long-range air defense systems.
The specific video shows an air superiority fighter, the Su-35 of the Russian Aerospace Forces, launching a Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile.
According to Russian reports, the target was components of a Ukrainian MIM-104 Patriot air defense system, while the range indicator displayed in the footage places the launch at approximately 125 kilometers.
The very fact that Russia demonstrates the operational use of the Kh-31PM against air defense targets holds particular significance.
It demonstrates that, despite the extensive use of Iskander-M ballistic missiles to strike batteries and radars, the Russian side continues to maintain airborne suppression of enemy air defense options as well.
A missile designed for radar hunting
The Kh-31PM represents one of the most advanced Russian variants of anti-radiation missiles and an evolutionary descendant of the Soviet Kh-31P.
The original version of the Kh-31P had a major operational disadvantage: it could be equipped with different seeker heads, each optimized for specific frequency bands.
This meant that prior to the mission, there had to be relatively precise knowledge of the type of enemy radar to be engaged.
The Kh-31PM attempts to overcome this limitation with the L-130 broadband passive seeker.
The logic is simple yet vital: instead of the missile being restricted to a narrow spectrum of emissions, it can search for a much wider variety of electromagnetic signals.
On a modern battlefield, where different radars are activated for short periods, relocate, and attempt to evade detection, this capability holds particular value.
The Kh-31PM does not need to «illuminate» the target itself with active radar.
Instead, it operates passively, detecting the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the opposing system.
This passive guidance constitutes the core advantage of weapons in this category.
An aircraft using its own radar to search for or lock onto a target may simultaneously reveal its position and intentions.
In the case of an anti-radiation missile, the enemy radar itself effectively turns into a «beacon» for the incoming weapon.
Speed that dramatically cuts reaction time
One of the most unusual technical characteristics of the Kh-31 family is its propulsion system.
Following launch, a solid-fuel rocket motor is initially used, rapidly accelerating the missile.
Subsequently, a ramjet engine takes over, maintaining extremely high speed during the flight toward the target.
Russian data for older versions of the Kh-31P indicated speeds of approximately 1,000 meters per second, while open-source estimates for later variants place the maximum speed close to or even above Mach 4.
The significance of this performance is operational rather than merely impressive.
The faster an anti-radiation missile is, the smaller the time window during which the crew of an air defense system can perceive the threat, cease emissions, disconnect critical subsystems, and, in the best-case scenario, relocate from their position.
For mobile air defense batteries, seconds and minutes can make the difference between survival and destruction.
Su-35 and Kh-31PM: A long-range combination
Russian Su-35 aircraft have been observed carrying the Kh-31PM since the early stages of the war in 2022.
According to accounts from Russian pilots published in the past, the passive seeker of the missile can be activated before the aircraft enters the most hazardous area.
Upon identifying a suitable radar emission, the weapon can subsequently be employed against the source of the signal.
In the case of the recent video, the reported launch distance of 125 kilometers is significant, because it theoretically enables the Su-35 to operate without needing to get excessively close to an active Patriot battery.
Estimates regarding the range of the Kh-31PM vary depending on the flight profile and launch conditions, but open sources have reported maximum ranges approaching 300 kilometers.
This does not imply that every target can be engaged from such a distance.
It indicates, however, that the weapon provides its launch platform with greater flexibility and the ability to fire from a substantial standoff safety distance.
A heavier warhead than many comparable weapons
The original Kh-31P had a weight of approximately 586 to 600 kilograms and carried a high-explosive fragmentation warhead of around 87 to 89 kilograms.
By the standards of anti-radiation missiles, this is a significant destructive payload.
This is particularly important when the target is not merely an antenna, but a complex anti-aircraft complex with radars, command posts, generators, support vehicles, and launchers situated across the same broader area.
A more powerful warhead increases the likelihood of inflicting severe damage not only at the precise point of impact, but also on neighboring equipment.
The weight of the weapon is naturally a burden for any fighter aircraft.
The Su-35, however, is a large and heavy twin-engine aircraft, designed to carry a substantial combat payload over long distances.
For this reason, missiles belonging to the Kh-31 class integrate quite naturally into its operational profile.
Why the Patriot is such a critical target
The war in Ukraine highlighted ground-based air defense systems as one of the decisive factors of the conflict.
Ukraine relies heavily on systems such as Patriot, NASAMS, IRIS-T, as well as Soviet-origin S-300 and Buk, in order to limit the operational freedom of the Russian air force.
For Russia, therefore, every successful destruction or temporary neutralization of such a battery can produce effects far exceeding the value of a single vehicle.
The suppression of air defenses can create temporary «windows» through which aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, or ballistic weapons gain higher penetration probabilities.
At the same time, Moscow is attempting to restore a domain in which Soviet armed forces once possessed highly specialized capabilities.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dedicated defense-suppression aircraft like the MiG-25BM were retired without a direct successor of equivalent specialization.
Today’s Russian approach is different: it combines multirole fighters, anti-radiation missiles, reconnaissance and strike drones, Iskander-M missiles, and other high-precision assets.
Su-35S firing Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile at the Patriot SAM. According to the target range cue, the missile was fired from ~125 km. Due to the dynamic launch zone, minimum launch range is ~55 km. There is no mark showing maximum launch range, so it can be 200 km or above. pic.twitter.com/q6DZ6r4alr
— Flanker (@Su_35S_Flanker) August 21, 2026
The battle between mobility and speed
The greatest challenge in destroying modern air defense systems is that the adversary knows they are a target.
Crews can shut down their radars, change positions, and deploy decoys.
For the attacker, this creates a continuous race between detection, data transmission, launch, and weapon arrival.
This is precisely where the speed of the Kh-31PM proves particularly valuable.
The shorter the time elapsed from detecting the emission to the arrival of the missile, the harder it becomes for the air defense system to «break» the engagement chain.
The Patriot is a mobile system, but its deployment and relocation represent a more complex procedure than that of certain lighter air defense systems.
This makes early warning and strict radar discipline critical factors for survival.
This is why the appearance of the Kh-31PM in this specific engagement holds greater significance than an isolated launch.
It underscores that the air defense war in Ukraine is developing into an enduring technological duel: radars against passive sensors, mobility against speed, concealment against persistent surveillance.
And for Russia, the capability to threaten high-value systems like the Patriot from long standoff ranges provides a crucial tool.
Not because any single weapon can independently neutralize an entire air defense network, but because it forces the opponent to operate its most expensive and critical radars under the permanent threat that every emission might expose their position.
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