MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. The crews of Su-35S multi-purpose fighters of the Leningrad Air Force and Air Defense Army kicked off drills in the Republic of Karelia in Russia’s northwest that will envisage launching air-to-air missiles, the press office of the Western Military District reported on Wednesday.

"During the first stage of the drills, the crews that went on alert dodged a precision weapon strike, searched for and eliminated a notional enemy’s air attack weapons and air defense capabilities. Further on, the pilots will launch air-to-air missiles at the Ladoga training range against air targets that are simulating aircraft and missiles," the press office said in a statement.

The pilots will also practice paired flights and formation flying in the daytime and at night at minimum and maximum altitudes, the statement says.

The drills also involve the combat teams of S-400 ‘Triumf’ anti-aircraft missile systems that are simulating the hypothetical enemy. The anti-aircraft gunners will intercept the targets and make electronic missile launches.

Over 500 servicemen of the combat planes’ crews, the teams of anti-aircraft missile systems, radio-technical and ground personnel are taking part in the drills.

The Su-35S is a heavily upgraded generation 4++ supermaneuverable multipurpose fighter jet developed on the basis of fifth-generation technologies. The Su-35S is distinguished by its new avionics suite based on the information control system, the new radar, plasma ignition engines of the increased capacity and thrust vectoring. These engines meet the requirements for the powerplant of fifth-generation fighters as they allow developing supersonic speed without using an afterburner.

The Su-35S supersonic fighter jet performed its debut flight on February 19, 2008. The fighter jet is a derivative of the Su-27 plane. The Su-35S weighs 19 tonnes, has a service ceiling of 20,000 meters, can develop a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h and has a crew of one pilot. The fighter jet’s armament includes a 30mm aircraft gun, up to 8 tonnes of the weapon payload (missiles and bombs of various types) on 12 underwing hardpoints. The Su-35S has been in service with the Russian Army since 2015.