The Soviet-designed Su-27 all-weather fighter-interceptor was created to counter the American McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. This two-seat trainer version, designated Su-27UB, entered USSR service in 1986 and still flies with Russian forces and other nations. Its NATO name is Flanker-C.
The jet’s primary mission is advanced pilot training, but it has all the combat capability of other Su-27s. The instructor sits in the aft cockpit, and the plane has dual controls, but a single pilot can fly it from the front seat. Su-27s have been versatile testbeds leading to more advanced combat aircraft including the Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S used in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Flanker-C on display was built in 1989. It served first in the Soviet Navy and then the Ukrainian Air Force after the Soviet Union collapsed. In 2008, Ukraine sold the demilitarized jet to a US company, and in 2011 the US Air Force bought it. The Su-27UB arrived at the Museum in 2023.
TECHNICAL NOTES
Speed: Mach 2.0
Range: 1,620 miles
Armament: R-73 (AA-11 Archer) and R-27 (AA-10 Alamo) missiles,
unguided bombs and rockets, and one 30mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh 301 cannon
Engines: Two Lyulka (NPO Saturn) AL-31F Series 2 afterburning turbofans of 27,640 lbs thrust each
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