Suchoj Su-27 Dil 1

At the time of its creation, the Su-27 fighter plane was synonymous with the technological rise of the USSR's military aviation industry. Fundamental progress in knowledge of aerodynamics, a new generation of avionics and sensors, and an increase in performance given by a new generation of engines made it possible to build an aircraft that significantly expanded the flight envelope of the fighter type and significantly surpassed its Western rivals. Few jet aircraft can boast of having aerobatic maneuvers named after them or their pilots. But this happened with the Su-27, because maneuvers such as the so-called Pugachev's cobra were so new and far from the flight envelope of competing types that they earned this honor. The capabilities of the aircraft, for which special on-board systems and controlled weapons were developed, surpassed the early versions of practically all Western types. But despite its progress, the Su-27 also had some negatives, including an exponentially increasing unit price compared to the previous generation. Therefore, the Su-27 was included in the service of the Soviet Air Force in a numerically limited quantity incomparable with the previous generation, and due to its technological timelessness and high price, it did not have time to be exported until the collapse of the USSR. But he had an even richer career after the collapse of the USSR, when he became the subject of interest in several dozen countries, and there was even an agreement on his licensed production in China. The Asian power eventually decided to use the successful concept and, without Russian authorization, to further develop and improve it, making the J-16 family of clones a type capable of fulfilling an extremely wide range of roles. Other aircraft then entered service either from new production or as sales from post-Soviet countries. Ever since its introduction into service in the Soviet Air Force, the Su-27 and its successors have been the dominant type, which after four decades has only been replaced by aircraft of a younger generation. Despite their quality, the Su-27 is only widely used in the post-Soviet space and in China, because compared to the MiG 29, which is much less demanding in terms of acquisition and operation, their operation is significantly more complicated and more expensive. Practical knowledge from the latest combat actions only confirms that if the opponent is not a state with fifth-generation technology, the Su-27/30/35 are still fully sufficient to fulfill the tasks assigned to them. This edition is devoted to the creation and service of the initial versions of the Su-27, and later derivatives will also be described in subsequent editions.