Su-27 Flanker
The SUKHOI Su-27 'Flanker' is multi-role fighter, comparable with the F-15 Eagle and possesses similar configuration to the smaller and lighter MiG-29 Fulcrum. This plane is primarily an all-weather counterair fighter with secondary attack capability, but some later versions also have ground attack capabilities, such as Su-34 (also Su-27IB or Su-27FN) defined as fighter-bomber and Su-35 (also Su-27M) which possesses genuine dual-role capabilities. The Su-27 was conceived in 1969 as a replacement for Soviet Air Defense dinosaurs such as the Tu-128 and Su-15. It was to be a long-range single-seat counter air fighter with the true lookdown-shootdown capabilities, which could carry long range stand off weapons, and with the ability to tangle with top-of-the-line US fighters like the F-15. Computer studies of the first prototypes, flying on 20 May 1977, revealed that the new fighter was inferior to the F-15, which resulted in thorough redesign of the fighter, retaining some of the original design and general configuration. The final prototype, first flown on 20 April 1981. It was placed in production at Komsomolsk as the Su-27 in 1983. The biggest and the most powerful Soviet (and later Russian) fighter, apart from the MiG-25/31 (who both have considerably inferior maneuvering capabilities), is based on the same aerodynamics as the MiG-29. Compared with the MiG-29, the Su-27 is almost twice as big (in area terms, i.e. a 1.4 linear scale), twice as heavy, and twice as powerful. Despite it's size accepted in order to achieve long mission radius with many weapons, giving great persistance in air combat, the Su-27 is able to outfly the MiG-29, which itself was specifically designed to beat the F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-18 in close combat (and is generally accepted as being capable of doing so). The Su-27 features powerful engines and advanced lightweight alloy construction, which resulted in unrivaled thrust to weight ratio. It's equiped with fly-by-wire controls which assist the pilot in controling a fundamentally unstable aircraft. It possesses a laser designator and rangefinder for use in air-to-air combat and a pulse-doppler multimode radar. The Su-27 immediately set out to break a number of flight records at air shows around the world.
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