What we know about the Su-27, the Ukrainian fighter jet that recently crashed with a US pilot aboard

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

A Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet lands during the Clear Sky 2018 multinational military drills at Starokostiantyniv

A Ukrainian Su-27UB Flanker crashed about 185 miles southwest of Kyiv on Tuesday, killing a Ukrainian pilot and American pilot.

The crash occurred during the multinational Clear Sky 2018 exercises, which involved military personnel from nine countries and were slated to wrap up this week.

The exercises focused on "air sovereignty, air interdiction, air-to-ground integration, air mobility operations, aeromedical evacuation, cyber defense, and personnel recovery," US Air Forces in Europe said in a statement.

"This is the largest exercise in the last four years," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also said last week. "It involves more than 50 aircrafts from eight NATO member-states and our planes of the Ukrainian Air Forces."

Among the participating aircraft were US F-15Cs, as well as Ukrainian Mig-29s and Su-27s.

Here's what the Su-27 can do, and what we know about the tragic crash.