Planes and Flight

The Su-27 Flanker was a Soviet-built fighter designed to compete with the new generation of American fighter planes (F-14, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18). The Flanker has very long range, heavy armament, and is very maneuverable. Even though the Su-27 was designed to be a long range air superiority fighter and interceptor, It can perform almost any type of combat mission. Despite the capabilities of the Flanker, it has barely seen any combat, the exception being the Eritrean-Ethiopian war, where Ethiopian Su-27s shot down four Eritrean MiG-29s.

General characteristics

* Crew: One
* Length: 21.9 m (72 ft)
* Wingspan: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
* Leading edge sweep: 42°)
* Height: 5.93 m (19 ft 6 in)
* Wing area: 62 m² (667 ft²)
* Empty weight: 16,380 kg (36,100 lb)
* Loaded weight: 23,000 kg (50,690 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 33,000 kg (62,400 lb)
* Powerplant: 2× Lyulka AL-31F turbofans, 122.8 kN
(27,600 lbf) each

Performance

* Maximum speed: 2,500 km/h at altitude (1,550 mph Mach 2.35)
* Range: 1,340km combat mission at sea level 3,530 km
combat mission at high altitude (800 mi at sea level / 2070
mi at high altitude)
* Service ceiling: 18,500 m (60,700 ft)
* Rate of climb: 325 m/s (64,000 ft/min)
* Wing loading: 371 kg/m² (76 lb/ft&sup2')
* Thrust/weight: 1.085

Armament

* 1x 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon with 150 rounds
* 8,000 kg (17,600 lb) on 10 external pylons
o Up to 6 medium-range AA missiles R-27, 4 short-range
heat-seeking AA missiles R-73
o Su-27IB can be used to launch X-31 anti-radiation
missiles, air-to-ground missiles X-29L/T (laser/TV
guidance, which may be projected to helmet), KAB-150
and UAB-500 bombs with laser, TV, or IR guidance