WDIF

Archive for September, 2007

“Su-27 Flanker” redirects here. For the pc game, see Su-27 Flanker (game).
Su-27

Type Multirole fighter
Manufacturer Sukhoi
Maiden flight 1977-05-20
Introduced December 1984
Primary users Russian Air Force
China, Ukraine, India
Produced Russia
Number built 680
Unit cost 35 mln USD
Variants Su-30
Su-33
Su-34
Su-35
Su-37

The Sukhoi Su-27 (Су-27 in the Cyrillic alphabet) (NATO reporting name ‘Flanker’) is originally a Soviet fighter aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau (SDB). It was intended as a direct competitor for the new generation of American fighters (which emerged as the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and F/A-18 Hornet), with exceptional range, heavy armament, and very high agility. The Su-27 most often flies air superiority missions, but is able to perform almost all combat operations. Some believe the Su-27 to have been born from a competition between Sukhoi and Mikoyan-Gurevich, given the Su-27’s and MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum’s similar shape. This is not so. The Su-27 was designed as long-range air superiority fighter and interceptor, whereas the MiG-29 was designed to fill the role of short-range tactical support fighter. Read the rest of this entry »