Sukhoi Su-27

what is it?

The Sukhoi Su-27 (Russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, with 3,530-kilometre (1,910 nmi) range, heavy aircraft ordnance, sophisticated avionics and high maneuverability. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 14.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 2,500 km/htop speed
• range 3,530 kmwithout refuelling
• size 33 tmax take-off weight
• built 809made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 49 years ago, in 1977.
• 🏎️Top speed is 19.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 2.0 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 14.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 3,530 km: 20× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 2.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1977-05-20

introduced

1985

status

still flying

number built

809

role

multirole fighter, air superiority fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Russia

makers

Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Sukhoi

engines

2× Saturn AL-31F / Saturn AL-31

crew

1

length

21.9 m

wingspan

14.7 m

height

5.9 m

max take-off weight

33 t

top speed

2,500 km/h

range

3,530 km

ceiling

18,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family