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'Father of Su-27' Simonov: F-15 hater Mikhail Petrovich Simonov, designer of the iconic Su-27 Flanker, realized after the 1977 first flight that the T-10 prototype was a dog, a fact he explained to the aviation minister in Moscow. "'It's a good thing, Petrovich, that today is not 1937," the minister replied. That is one of the incredible anecdotes sprinkled throughout a Simonov feature published today in the London Telegraph. The article is a must read for anyone even slightly curious about aviation history. For example, we learn the lead designer's delightfully Russian reaction to Simonov's proposed solution to the T-10's...

An American company is offering two Su-27 fighters, for the bargain price of $5 million each. The aircraft are demilitarized, but recently refurbished. Since the refurbishment, the aircraft have been in the air only 16 hours, and the engines only have 19 hours of use. The aircraft were purchased, from Ukraine, last year by an American firm (Tac Air), to assist the U.S. Air Force is determining how the Su-27 performs. This work is apparently done, and now the Su-27s are no longer needed. The electronics are up to date, and qualified maintenance services are available, in Nevada (where Tac...

Chinese Carrier Strike Posted by Douglas Barrie at 10/12/2009 7:48 AM CDT Chinese ambitions may be to give its carrier air wing an air-to-surface role from the outset, at least if what appears to be a mock-up of a naval Flanker is to be taken at face value. Numerous images of an intriguing facility claimed to be at the Wuhan ship design institute have appeared on the internet in the past few days. The images show a building on which an aircraft carrier’s main superstructure is being fabricated, along with a large roof area that could be used to practise...

Two Belarussian pilots killed at Polish air show Sun Aug 30, 2009 8:30pm IST RADOM, Poland (Reuters) - Two Belarussian Air Force pilots were killed on Sunday when their SU-27 fighter plane crashed during an aerial acrobatics display at an air show in central Poland, police said. "The two pilots did not manage to catapult to safety and were killed in the crash but there were no other casualties," police spokeswoman Agnieszka Humelusz in Radom, a city about 100 km (62 miles) south of Warsaw, told Reuters. Witness Leszek Kopec told Reuters by telephone: "The SU-27 crashed far beyond the...

Two Russian military jets collide Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets have collided during rehearsals for a flying display at a big air show near Moscow. "The jets collided about 5km (3 miles) from Zhukovsky airfield," RIA news agency quoted a witness as saying. Two pilots from the elite Russian Knights aerobatic team parachuted to safety, Russian media said. But the fate of a third pilot is unclear, with unconfirmed reports that he died in the accident, RIA-Novosti and Interfax news agencies said.

The Pentagon purchased two Russian-made Su-27 fighter jets from Ukraine. The United States will reportedly use the Russian jets to train effective counter-operation efforts. The Russian jets are a serious competition for the US F-15 fighters. The jets of Russia’s renowned Sukhoi design bureau proved to be more successful than their US competitors during a number of tests. The Pentagon has been trying to obtain the Russian warplanes, and Ukraine helped the nation do it legally. The news about the deal between the USA and the Air Force of Ukraine appeared on the US-based website Strategypage.com. The website said that...

May 11, 2009: The U.S. has purchased two Su-27 fighters from Ukraine. They were delivered in a Ukrainian An-24 transport. The Su-27s will be used to help train American pilots to cope with the growing number of Su-27 and Su-30 fighters being sold to air forces the world over. The two Su-27s will also be used to test the effectiveness of new U.S. radars and electronic warfare equipment. Russia's Sukhoi aircraft company has sold over a billion dollars worth of these aircraft (plus components and technical services for them) a year for the last few years. Sukhoi mainly supplies Su-27/30...

Sukhois In The US (Officially) Posted by Bill Sweetman at 5/7/2009 8:31 AM CDT Two Sukhoi Su-27UB trainers have just turned up in the US. They're probably not the first aircraft of the type to be acquired by US operators - but are probably the first that anyone will talk about, since there have been multiple Su-27 sightings in the neighborhood of Air Force Flight Test Center Detachment 3, popularly known as Area 51. One of the two Su-27s before delivery (Tac Air) The two new arrivals have been acquired from the Ukraine by Reno-based Tac Air, which provides training...

Su-35, a younger son of Su-27 18:21 | 09/ 07/ 2008 MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) -The first demonstration fight of the Su-35 on July 7, 2008 attracted much attention to this aircraft, which has been undergoing tests since February. The latest addition to the large T-10 (Su-27) family is to become the interim fighter for the Russian Air Force before fifth-generation aircraft are launched into mass production. The Su-35, more precisely the Su-35BM, is the second model of the T-10 family to carry that designation. The first Su-35 was manufactured 20 years ago, taking to the skies...

China copies Su-27 fighter, may compete with Russia - paper 21/02/2008 12:35 MOSCOW, February 21 (RIA Novosti) - China has built a domestic copy of the famed Su-27 Flanker fighter and may compete with Russia on third-party markets if it sets up the full-scale production of the plane, a Russian daily said on Thursday. China has acquired 76 Su-27SK fighters from Russia since 1992, and bought a license for production of another 200 planes in 1995, in a deal worth $2.5 billion. "Since 1996, the domestic version of the Su-27 aircraft, dubbed J-11, has been produced at the Shenyang Aircraft...

/begin my translation Chinese Fighter with Stealth Feature Developed Body of Russian Sukhoi-27 used, indigenously development which took 10 years Lee Myung-jin posted: 2007.09.13 23:52 China developed Jian-10B, a first indigenously developed fighter employing stealth technology(see photo below,) and plans to unveil it in public. According to Chinese media on Sept. 13, it took 10 years to develop Jian-11B, based on Russia-made 'Sukhoi-27' fighter, which China assembles in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, since 1996. Especially, while 15 square meters of Sukhoi-27' surface can be detected by radars, only 3 square meters of Jian-11B are. Jian-11B's radar can track 20 targets...

Chinese J-11B Presages Quiet Military Revolution By Douglas Barrie 11/05/2006 09:17:03 PM POWER PLAY China is in the midst of a critical period of testing an "indigenous" version of the Russian Su-27 Flanker, known as the J-11B, with propulsion, radar and weapons system integration underway. The effort is emblematic of Beijing's efforts to recast its capabilities for the 21st century as its military and associated defense-aerospace sector undergoes its own revolution in military affairs. The development of the J-11B, if successful, will mark a notable change in capability--not only for key elements of the country's defense industrial base, but also...

Russian state bank Vneshtorgbank (VTB) has bought around 5 percent in European aerospace and defense giant EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), an EADS spokesman said on Sunday. "VTB has informed us that it has bought a stake of 5.02 percent in EADS," said the spokesman.

The Mexican navy has selected Sukhoi’s Su-27 over the Saab/BAE Systems Gripen to equip its first air defence unit. Head of the service Adm Armando Sánchez Moreno says the new fleet of 10 fighters will enable the navy to carry out “strategic surveillance� over key areas of Mexico’s coastline. Preliminary selection work was initiated in early 2005, and the navy is now entering into contract negotiations with Russia’s Rosboronexport agency for the purchase of eight single-seat Su-27s and two Su-27UB two-seat trainers. Local sources indicate that the entire package – which also includes spare parts, tools and personnel training...

Venezuela has become an important customer of Russian weapons, a senior government official said when announcing a record sale of armament in 2005, AP reported. Mikhail Dmitriyev, the head of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, advised that Russia could sell MiG strike aircraft to Venezuela. Queried about Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez' remarks on the possibility of buying MiG's, Dmitriyev answered that no concrete deal has been made. However, "if Venezuela desires to procure MiG's, we are ready to cooperate," he noted. According to the official, Russia is also determined to open a maintenance site for any weapons...

This month, Russia lost two jet fighters during military exercises that simulated a major war with NATO. A naval task force was deployed in the North Atlantic on a mission to intercept and destroy U.S. reinforcements heading to the European theater of war. During exercises on Sept. 5, a Su-33 jet fighter fell off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov during landing and sank. The pilot ejected and was rescued. Then on Thursday, seven Air Force jet fighters were sent from the St. Petersburg area to fly over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea to Kaliningrad....

Russia Loses a Jet to NATO // Su-27 crashes in Lithuania Encroachment A scandal broke out yesterday when a Russian Su-27 fighter jet crashed in Lithuania on its way from Leningrad Region to Kaliningrad Region. The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has presented Russian diplomats a note of protest about the violation of Lithuanian airspace. The fighter pilot, who bailed out of the plane, has been taken into custody and is the object of investigation. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the pilot crossed the border because of a malfunction in his navigation equipment, which was also the cause of the crash....

Report: Russian Fighter Down in Lithuania Thu Sep 15, 9:57 AM ET MOSCOW - A Russian Su-27 fighter bomber crashed Thursday in Lithuania during a flight across the former Soviet republic to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, and the pilot ejected safely, the Defense Ministry said. The plane crashed 34 miles north of the southern Lithuanian city of Kaunas after experiencing navigation problems, and the pilot parachuted from the plane after it ran out of fuel, the ministry said. The pilot is being interviewed by local police, the Interfax news agency quoted an official from the Lithuanian Defense Ministry...

Future Fighter Aircraft Requirements in Emerging Economies Date Published: 29 Mar 2005 By Marko Lukovic In the next ten years there will be a continued growth in purchases of new fighter aircraft. Outside North America and Western Europe (Eurofighter and/or JSF buyers), this will especially be the case in Asia where up to US$ 7 billion may be spent on new fighter programs. In Eastern Europe and Latin America several countries will be making important strategic decisions about the future of their air defence capability in the near future and this could lead to contracts potentially worth hundreds of millions...

China Plans Sophisticated Line of Military Exports Aviation Week & Space Technology 11/08/2004, David A. Fulghum Washington China plans a more sophisticated line of military exports as it continues to buy Russian technology Trading Up U.S. officials are closely studying what was displayed at the Zhuhai air show. They're looking for clues about what China is selling and buying, and how those transactions may change the makeup and tactics of its military forces. At the top of the items of interest that have already caught the U.S. Defense Dept.'s collective attention is a 7% increase in value in arms agreements...

India is concerned about reports of a renewed Pakistani effort to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, saying the advanced aircraft could spark an arms race in South Asia even though Washington maintains that no such sales are being contemplated. "We are against introducing such advanced weaponry into South Asia," an Indian government official said Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. "They are not useful in the war on terror, and experience has shown that they could be used against India. ... They could spark a buildup or a weapons race in the region." In September, the Pakistani...

SUKHOI´S “FLANKER” IS SELLING WELL By Piotr Butowski/KS Mikhail Pogosyan, General Director of Sukhoi Holding, is optimistic about the prospects of further sales before the end of the decade of the Su-27 family, by far the best combat aircraft produced in Russia. Originally launched as a long-range fighter with outstanding agility, since then, like its western counterpart, the F-15 Eagle, the Flanker has blossomed into an extra-class multi-role fighter aircraft. F-15C pilots of the US Air Force's 19th Fighter Squadron, stationed in Elmendorf, had the opportunity to take a closer look at the capabilities of the Su-30K during a visit...

Ivan Sekretarev / AP An air force aerobatic squadron flying during the Zhukovsky air show last August. Despite a series of accidents that culminated in the first crash of a Tu-160 strategic bomber, the air force had a good 2003, and after a long break received a batch of modernized jets, its commander said Wednesday. At the end of the year, the air force received five upgraded Su-27SM Flanker fighters fitted with new avionics as part of an ongoing modernization plan and will have 20 more Su-27 jets upgraded to that standard in 2004, air force commander Vladimir Mikhailov told...

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Air force commanders failed to give adequate instruction to the pilots of a Ukrainian fighter jet that crashed during an air show in June, killing 85 spectators, the head of the investigation into the crash said Tuesday. Chief investigator Yevhen Marchuk last week blamed the pilots for the June 27 crash, saying they broke from their flight plan and tried a risky new maneuver. But Marchuk since has elaborated and said others share the blame for the world's worst air show disaster. On Tuesday, he pointed to the pilots' flight commanders and the air show's organizers,...

The crash of a fighter jet at a Ukrainian air show which killed 85 people was caused by pilot error, an official report into the incident has concluded. The head of the commission set up to investigate the crash said the pilots had failed to follow the flight plan and performed difficult manoeuvres which they had not done before. Yevhen Marchuk added that operational issues, organisational problems and a lack of safety measures had contributed to make it the world's worst air show disaster. The Su-27 jet ploughed into spectators after touching the ground when flying too low during the...

KIEV: A previously unidentified flying object may have caused the deadly crash of a Ukrainian fighter into an air show crowd a week ago, the Russian NTV television company reported. Slow-motion videotape of the July 27 accident show a dark object rising in an arc from a wood near the Lviv airfield close the flight path of the Su-27, which went on to crash into the crowd. It was not clear what exactly the object was, or whether it struck the aircraft. The crash killed 84 and left 199 hospitalised. Evhen Marchuk of the Ukrainian National Security Council said initial...

A TV frame shows spectators looking on as a SU-27 fighter plane crashes while performing maneuvers at an airshow near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, July 27, 2002. The Ukrainian fighter jet hurtled to the ground and cartwheeled into a ball of flame during an airshow at Lviv on Saturday, killing around 40 and injuring dozens of spectators, officials said. REUTERS TELEVISION

Chinese fighter jets dropping like fliesBy Brian HsuSTAFF REPORTER Four Su-27 fighter planes of the Chinese air force have crashed or have been severely damaged during flight training over the past six months, Taiwanese defense sources said yesterday, attributing the poor performance to human error. Two of the four planes were damaged while their pilots were trying to land, the sources said. The other two also crashed as a result of human error, they said, without giving further details. It is not known whether any of the pilots were killed. The accidents bring to 15 the number of Chinese air...

Russian fighters for the USAF/USN? The ultimate irony … by Robert W. Kress with Rear Adm. Paul Gillcrist, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Editors’ note: In this wonderful piece of aeronautical and political irony, it seems that our newfound but uneasy friends, the Russians, may be our best source of new fighter aircraft. Bob Kress, ex-Grumman VP of advanced programs and chief engineer on the F-14, and Adm. Paul Gillcrist, retired USN fighter pilot, make a convincing argument that rather than spend ridiculous sums for new fighters that will probably show up too late to do us any good, we should buy...