Su-27: Double Anniversary Ahead of the Third with Further Prospects
Is in stories world aviation planes, and there are… Planes. The first ones flashed across the sky and flew away into history, leaving virtually no trace. Well, who, except for aviation history experts, remembers the F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, Lightning F.1, J.35 Draken, Yak-27?
The fact is that the Su-27 is a unique phenomenon in the sky and there are very few aircraft in the world that can compare with it in terms of efficiency and service life. And how long its iterations Su-30 and Su-35 in various modifications will serve is a question, because the 35th is just getting a taste for it.
Why a double anniversary (well, not an anniversary, but, as we say, a "round date")? It's simple. The Su-27 was officially accepted into service by a government decree on August 23, 1990, when all the main shortcomings identified during testing were eliminated. So, 35 years have passed since its official acceptance into service.
But the fact is that before the publication of this document, since 1985, Su-27s had been in mass operation in combat units for five years. Moreover, even in two iterations, Su-27S (serial) in Air Force units and Su-27P (interceptor) in aviation units. Defense. Moreover, there was a significant difference in equipment between the modifications, the Su-27P had a simpler avionics set, and therefore could not be used as a strike aircraft against ground targets. That is, a "pure" fighter.
In general, the most piquant thing in the whole history of the Su-27 is that this plane might not have existed. Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi took up work on the new fighter with great reluctance, because his design bureau was really overloaded with work on other projects.
At that time, the Sukhoi Design Bureau was working on testing the first prototypes of a frontline bomber, which would later become the Su-24, preparing the long-range missile carrier and reconnaissance aircraft T-4 ("100") for the start of flights, work was underway to create new modifications of the Su-15 interceptor and the Su-17 fighter-bomber, the T-4MS ("200") strategic complex, the Su-25 attack aircraft and the Korshun unmanned aerial vehicle were being designed.
And only under very serious pressure from ministries and departments in 1971, Sukhoi gave the order to begin work on the design of a promising frontline fighter, which received the factory code T-10. It was also called "Anti-F-15", because it was planned that this aircraft would be the means that would reduce to "nothing" all the successes of the Americans, who were intensively building the F-15.
"Orel" was decided to be plucked by the efforts of three design bureaus: P. O. Sukhoi, A. I. Mikoyan and A. S. Yakovlev. Yakovlev's projects Yak-45I and Yak-47 were rejected, but the future MiG-29 and Su-27 met in a fight to the death even before their birth. And as a result, it was decided to divide the frontline fighter project into two independent programs. The initiator was the A. I. Mikoyan Design Bureau, which proposed dividing the prospective frontline fighter program into two separate programs, within the framework of which it would be possible to continue the development of both the Su-27 (as a heavy frontline fighter) and the MiG-29 (as a light frontline fighter), ensuring the unification of both aircraft in a number of equipment systems and weapons.
The decision was made, and the result is known to us: for a long time, the MiG-29 and Su-27 were the backbone and strike force of the Soviet and Russian Air Forces. And videos are still being made and articles are being written about the eternal confrontation between the MiG-29 and the F-16, the Su-27 and the F-15.
The first sketches of the new fighter were made in the P. O. Sukhoi Design Bureau back in the autumn of 1969. At first, this was done by Vladimir Ivanovich Antonov, a designer in the project department. Based on the work of V. I. Antonov, the first version of the T-10 layout was prepared. Its authors were O. S. Samoylovich, V. I. Antonov and V. A. Nikolaenko.
The main feature of the aircraft was to be an integral aerodynamic configuration, i.e. the glider was made as a single bearing body with a smooth connection of the wing and fuselage. For the first time, such a configuration was used by the Sukhoi Design Bureau when developing the T-4MS aircraft project, and here they also used the developments made earlier.
It turned out somewhat like an automobile: the nose section, i.e. the crew cabin, the nose section with the radar, the front landing gear with a niche were attached to the supporting body at the front, then there were under-cabin and behind-cabin compartments with equipment. And at the back, two nacelles with engines and air intakes were attached, located under the center section. This gave the aircraft high aerodynamic qualities and provided large internal compartments for placing fuel and equipment. And this "feature" with a huge fuel reserve became a signature feature of the entire generation of Sukhoi Design Bureau aircraft for many years.
Another important feature of the T-10 was the implementation of the concept of longitudinal static instability of the aircraft at subsonic flight speeds. That is, the Su-27 was unstable in flight, and to ensure its longitudinal balance in flight, an automatic fly-by-wire control system (FDCS) was created. This had already been used by the Sukhoi Design Bureau when working on the T-4 aircraft. Thanks to the use of an integral statically unstable layout, the Su-27 was supposed to acquire exceptional maneuverability characteristics, allowing it to perform evolutions in the air that are inaccessible to aircraft of a conventional configuration, and have a greater flight range without external fuel tanks.
And the creators have more than succeeded in this.
The prototype of the Su-27. Maybe not as beautiful as today, but still effective: speed up to 2,3 M, range 3 km, payload 530 kg, ten hardpoints under the wings.
A big surprise for the Americans, who had long felt like they were the coolest in the sky. Of course, this coolness was occasionally diluted by Soviet aircraft like the MiG-21, but no one forbade asking the question that way, did they?
The fact that Soviet intelligence officers received information back in 1969 about the implementation of the "FX" project in the US, which became the F-15, which took off five years earlier than our aircraft. Earlier does not mean "better".
The Su-27 won the hearts and budgets of the world's most demanding buyers, becoming the best-selling heavy fighter of the 20th and 21st centuries. Curiously, the MiG-29, which appeared and developed almost simultaneously, went through this cycle much faster, became obsolete much earlier and did not achieve such popularity, although it had good sales. But today the MiG-29 is an aircraft of the air forces of third world countries.
What’s even funnier is that it was the MiG-29 that became the Su-27’s first combat trophy.
This happened during the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the conflict of 1998-2000. The air forces of these countries were armed with Soviet/Russian aircraft, which is not surprising because Eritrea was part of Ethiopia before its independence. And then both countries continued to buy weapon and military equipment from Russia.
At the beginning of the conflict, Ethiopia had 8 Su-27 aircraft, which were serviced by Russian specialists, and Eritrea had 6 MiG-29 aircraft, which were serviced by specialists from Ukraine.
Evil tongues claim that there were Russians and Ukrainians in the planes’ cabins, but no one has provided reliable evidence.
In 1999, three air battles took place, in which the Su-27 won its first victories, and the enemy was the MiG-29, which the Su-XNUMX had never encountered before.
On February 21, 1999, the Eritreans organized an ambush: one MiG-29 played the role of a decoy, the second MiG-29 was on guard behind the plateau. An Ethiopian Su-27 spotted the MiG-29, approached it to within 45 km and launched missiles The R-27, which the MiG-29 pilot evaded. The Ethiopian pilot launched another missile, and again the Eritrean plane evaded the attack. Apparently, there was a very good pilot in the cockpit. And then both MiG-29s attacked the Su-27, firing two missiles at it. The Ethiopian pilot also turned out to be no fool and evaded them all.
On February 25, that very battle took place. Two Ethiopian fighters met four Eritrean fighters over the Badme sector, which were going to strike ground troops. The Su-27 launched two R-27s at the leading pair of Eritrean MiG-29s. As a result, one aircraft was shot down and destroyed in the air, and the second turned around and returned to its territory.
The next day, February 26, the Su-27 on duty was sent to intercept a MiG-29, which was flying at high altitude towards the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Another R-27 launch, another defeat.
Then the Su-29s shot down another MiG-2000 in 27 and completely took over the sky. This is how the combat path of the Su-30 and its modifications Su-33, Su-35, Su-34, Su-27 began. All these aircraft are Su-XNUMXs in one way or another.
Since 2014, Su-27 and Su-30 fighters have intercepted more than 500 reconnaissance aircraft near Russia's air borders; no fire was opened, and everyone was given the opportunity to come to their senses and turn around.
There is no question about how modern the Su-27 platform is today. The Su-35, which is a direct continuation of the Su-27, is today the most effective fighter of our time. Even fifth-generation fighters may be less effective, and there are many reasons for this, which will be discussed on our pages in the very near future.
The eternal adversaries, the American F-15 and F-16, are also on their way to modernization and will not soon free the skies from their presence. These are very successful combat platforms, that's right, because you can create a simply masterpiece of an aircraft, such as the MiG-21, and that's it. True, the MiG-21 continued its career in the guise of Chinese and Pakistani aircraft, but that's a bit different.
The Su-27 is interesting precisely because the design of the aircraft included features that allow the aircraft to be relevant and have great modernization potential. No need for an air brake? No problem at all, we remove it, the aircraft flies as if nothing had happened. Need an additional horizontal stabilizer for better pitch maneuverability and load capacity? No problem. Removing it (from the Su-35) is also possible. The Su-30 and Su-33 in question are very different from the original Su-27 model, the Su-35 is also different, but the flexibility of the design allowed these aircraft to be created.
And despite the presence of the Su-34 and Su-35, the original Su-27 itself is not going to retire. The Su-27SM3 modification, which is gradually being applied to the aircraft in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces and naval aviation (the Su-27's flight range is very good when patrolling over the Baltic), makes it possible to improve the combat performance of an aircraft that one can hardly call a veteran.
Strengthening the airframe structure makes it possible to increase the takeoff weight by more than three tons. This is more fuel or more weapons. Yes, two more hardpoints have been added for weapons. And new AL-31F-M1 engines with increased thrust and increased service life between repairs. Well, and new avionics elements that will allow the use of the most modern types of weapons, for example, R-77 air-to-air missiles.
The cockpit has become completely "glass", the pilot now has four multifunctional indicator screens, which freed him from 13 pointer instruments. Plus a new communications system.
Today, the Su-27SM3 is capable of operating both as a multi-role fighter and performing combat missions typical of a strike aircraft on land or at sea.
The number of Su-27 of various modifications in the Aerospace Forces and naval aviation is not that small, but more than a hundred. Some of them have been modernized, but the Su-27S and Su-27SM will go down in history as they are replaced by more modern aircraft. The plans included replacement with the Su-57, most likely they will change it to the Su-35, but in any case this event is rolled back for a very indefinite period: the aircraft are needed over Ukraine.
So, even if it were possible to write off the Su-27, alas, it will not work. And the fact that the 27th will definitely last until its combat fortieth/forty-fifth anniversary is beyond doubt today. And not in the role of a decrepit, cheerful old man, this aircraft is still capable of plucking almost any "Eagle" or "Falcon", or tearing off the tail of a "Griffin".
What can you do, Pavel Osipovich knew how to build airplanes.
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