debut in the Abkhaz-Georgian war of
1992-93, when Russia uno cially fought
with Abkhaz troops. Of note is the fact
that on March 19, 1993, Georgian air
defense forces shot down a Russian Su-27
near Sukhumi — the pilot was killed.
Su-27 designers made two important
choices when it came to the aircraft’s
shape. The rst was the blended-body
aerodynamic con guration, which
a ords more internal space for fuel. The
other was the longitudinal static
instability — an unstable design
provides increased agility. One of the
most innovative features of the Su-27
came in the re control system via the
integration of three sensors — the N001
radar, the OLS-27 infra-red search and
track (IRST) system and the Shchel-3U
helmet-mounted cueing system. The
‘Flankers’ excels in close-in combat when
the helmet is coupled with the
R-73 missile.Su-27SM
CAPABILITIES
The most important new feature
was the addition of an air-to-ground
mode in the new N001V radar that
enables the use of Kh-31A anti-
ship missiles. Another computing
channel allowed Kh-29L/T/TD laser-/
TV-guided missiles and KAB-500Kr
or KAB-1500Kr TV-guided bombs to
be used. The L-150-27.2 Pastel radar
warning system was tted instead
of the old Beryoza system, enabling
target indication for Kh-31P anti-
radar missiles. The ghters based at
Tsentralnaya Uglovaya were given
more powerful AL-31F series 42
(izdeliye 99M1) engines, each rated
at 132.4kN (29,762lb st) with full
afterburning, 9.8kN (2,205lb st) more
than the standard AL-31F.Above: This
Su-27UB is
equipped with
a full load of live
air-to-air missiles
— four R-73s, plus
two R-27Ts and
four R-27Rs.
Dmitriy Pichugin
Below: RF-90746
is an unmodifi ed
Su-27 attached to
the 38th Fighter
Aviation Regiment
at Belbek.
Dmitriy Pichuginhttp://www.combataircraft.net // April 2018 87
86-88 Russian Fighter pt2 Su-27 C.indd 87 15/02/2018 12:49