A Russian fighter jet has crash-landed on its belly without using landing gear.
The clip showed the bomber coming in to land at a military airstrip.
Everything appeared normal until it approached the runway and didn’t have its landing gear lowered.
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The pilot brought the jet level with the tarmac before touching down on its underside.
As sparks flew into the air, he deployed the parachute to slow down the damaged plane while it slid along on its belly.
The jet then stopped cleanly on the runway after an apparently impressive display of piloting skills.
The military aircraft, with a white ‘Z’ symbol on its side, landed at an undisclosed Russian Air Force base near the Ukrainian border on Saturday (22 Mar).
As well as the letters ‘O’ and ‘V’, the ‘Z’ symbol is seen painted on Russian military vehicles involved in the invasion of Ukraine.
The video went viral on X with 172,000 views and hundreds of comments, as reported by Need To Know.
One local said: “Say what you want about that, but that’s an extremely good landing. Fair play.”
Another added: “Bro played War Thunder in the past for sure.”
Julie said: “I’ve seen worse landings with wheels down. Impressive.”
Henn said: “Great pilot skills, horrible ground crew. No firefighters ready, no foam etc.”
Pawel added: “You have to give it to the pilot – a perfect landing, great skill.
“It’s good the plane is damaged, it’s a pity it’s not destroyed.”
The Russian military has yet to provide any information on the cause of the emergency landing or what the Frogfoot jet was being used for at the time.
Built-in the Soviet era, the Su-25 Frogfoot attack jet is designed to provide close air support for soldiers on the ground.
The Su-34 has a reinforced airframe to endure heavy combat.
Its underside includes titanium alloys for strength and heat resistance.
Aviation materials expert Dr Emily Carter said: “Titanium can absorb significant friction and impact without fracturing, which likely minimised damage during this slide.”
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