To the development of a promising new generation fighter in the P. O. Sukhoi began in the fall of 1969. It was necessary to take into account that the purpose of the aircraft being created was the struggle for air superiority and that tactics included close maneuverable combat, which by that time was again recognized as the main element of the combat use of a fighter. The projected aircraft was intended to give a worthy response to the F-15 Eagle, which has been rapidly developed by McDonnell Douglas since 1969. In addition to the OKB P. O. Sukhoi, other design teams also carried out initiative development of 4th generation aircraft. In 1971, the Air Force announced a project competition for a promising front-line fighter (PFI), in which, in addition to the "Su" company, the A. I. Mikoyan and A. S. Yakovleva. In 1972, a decision was made to give preference to the T-10 project of the P. O. Sukhoi. By 1974, with the participation of TsAGI specialists, the aerodynamic and design-power schemes of the aircraft were finally formed, and in 1975 the production of working drawings began.
F-15 Eagle fighter by McDonnell Douglas
The great merit of the then heads of aerodynamic design at the OKB - Deputy Chief Designer I. Baslavsky, Head of Department M. Khesin, Head of the Brigade L. Chernov, was the intention to in-depth study of the phenomena of flow around the selected wing of the Gothic shape, according to which there was no systematic information at that time. If in the United States already designed (YE-16, YE-117) and flew (F-5E) aircraft with wing root influxes, then in our country we had to deal with this issue from scratch. The fact is that the Gothic wing with a curvilinear leading edge adopted for the T-10, suitable for cruising flight on transonic and supersonic, contains root nodules integrated with the fuselage.
Two engines in separate nacelles were supposed to be "suspended" from the lower surface of the wing, keeping a certain distance between the leading edge and the entrance to the air intake. It was decided to use rear alignment, assuming longitudinal static instability of the aircraft, and EDSU. For the first time, it was decided to equip a serial Russian aircraft with an automated EDSU. It was also equipped with a large supply of fuel, tanks for which were located in the center section and wings, and highly efficient engines, which greatly increased the range of a non-stop flight.
Prototype T-10-1
After P. O. Sukhoi, the theme of the new fighter since 1976 is headed by M. P. Simonov. By this time, it becomes clear that the original layout has significant drawbacks. However, the aircraft with the original layout was nevertheless built and on May 20, 1977, the chief pilot of the OKB P. O. Sukhoi, Honored Test Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union V. S. Ilyushin flew an experimental T-10-1 aircraft (NATO code designation - Flanker-A). The aircraft had a developed influx and an oval wing in plan, which made it difficult to apply the mechanization of the leading edge. The trailing edge was occupied by standard mechanization - aileron and flap, and anti-flutter weights were placed on the wingtips. Similar weights are installed on horizontal and vertical empennage. The keels are placed on the upper surfaces of the engine nacelles. The radio-transparent radar fairing on the T-10-1 is somewhat shorter than on production vehicles, and the equipment is serviced through hatches on the side surface of the LF. The cockpit canopy slides back along the rails. Since the AL-31F engines, for the installation of which the aircraft was designed, were not yet available, this machine was equipped with an AL-21F-3AI turbojet engine with a lower gearbox (used on other aircraft of the company: Su-17, Su-24).
By January 1978, a program (38 flights) was completed on the T-10-1 to obtain key flight characteristics and information about the stability and controllability of the prototype. In 1985, this aircraft was transferred to the Air Force Museum of Aviation Technology at the Air Force Academy. Gagarin in the city of Monino. In 1978, the second prototype was assembled - T-10-2. But his fate was not long. On July 7, 1978, during the second flight, the plane, piloted by test pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union Yevgeny Solovyov, fell into the unexplored area of resonance modes. The pilot died trying to save the car.
T-10-3 prototype
During 1978, the serial production of the aircraft was being established at the Aviation Plant named after V. I. Yu. A. Gagarin in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. At the same time, two more prototypes are being assembled at the experimental design bureau in Moscow. On August 23, 1979, the T-10-3 (V. S. Ilyushin) rises into the air, on October 31, 1979, the T-10-4. Both cars receive new turbojet engines AL-31F (with a lower gearbox), and some aerodynamic improvements. The T-10-3 was later transferred to NITKA for testing under the Su-27K program, and weapons systems were tested on the T-10-4.
At this time, data on the American F-15 began to arrive. It suddenly turned out that in a number of parameters the car did not meet the technical specifications, and was inferior to the F-15 in many respects. For example, the developers of electronic equipment did not meet the weight and size limits assigned to them. Also, it was not possible to realize the specified fuel consumption. The developers faced a difficult dilemma - either to bring the car to mass production and hand it over to the customer in its current form, or to undertake a radical overhaul of the entire car.
Blowing model Т-10С in a wind tunnel
After M. P. Simonov to the leadership of the topic, and then the Sukhoi Design Bureau, tests were carried out for those times of completely "exotic" aircraft layout options: with negative swept wings, with PGO; the simulation of the operation of the engines has been carried out. A lot of experiments were carried out to find means of providing direct control of the lifting and lateral forces. At that time, a significant part of TsAGI's capacities was loaded with work on the Buran, so the Sukhoi Design Bureau gave work on the aerodynamics of the T-10 to SibNIA (the work was headed by Stanislavov Kashafutdinov, who later received the State Prize for her), where the pipe was idle. Supersonic blowing was carried out in the pipes of the Institute of Applied Mechanics of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences in Akademgorodok.
Meanwhile, in July 1980 at the plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the first vehicle of the pilot batch, the T-10-5, is being assembled. In the same year the aircraft T-10-6, T-10-7, T-10-8 and T-10-9 were produced, and in 1981 - T-10-10 and T-10-11. The entire series is equipped with an AL-21F turbojet engine.
To the credit of the developers of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, they decided to remain faithful to long-term traditions and did not produce a mediocre car. In 1979, a new machine was proposed, in the design of which the experience of the development of the T-10 and the experimental data obtained were taken into account. On April 10, 1981, a prototype T-10-7 (T-10S-1) aircraft, piloted by V. S. Ilyushin rose into the sky. The car has been heavily modified, almost all units were designed from scratch. A new wing was installed on it with a straight leading edge, a deflected toe, flaperons instead of flaps and ailerons, an additional weapon suspension point instead of anti-flutter weight, and aerodynamic partitions were removed. The stabilizer tips have received a new shape, anti-flutter weights have been removed from them. The vertical empennage was transferred to the tail booms. The mating radii of the wing and fuselage in front view have been increased. Increased internal fuel supply. The HCHF was changed - a "pike" appeared, in which a braking parachute was placed (it was not installed directly on the T-10-7 yet). The chassis has also been redesigned. New main bearings received an oblique pivot and side locks of the extended position. The front support began to retract forward, and not backward in flight, as was the case with the first cars. The aircraft was equipped with AL-31F engines with an upper gearbox and new air intakes with retractable protective nets. The detachable part of the cockpit canopy began to open upward - backward. There was one brake flap on the upper surface of the fuselage instead of two under the center section, which were simultaneously flaps of the wheel compartments of the main landing gear.
Since 1981, all work under the T-10S program was carried out at the Design Bureau under the direct supervision of Alexei Knyshev, who is the chief designer of the aircraft to this day.
One of the first production Su-27 fighters (T-10-17, board 17)
On the machines already produced, it was decided to test the units and systems of the new fighter, conduct static tests on the T-10-8 (T-10C-0, 1982), and aerodynamics on the T-10-7 and T-10-12 (T -10C-2). All these aircraft were assembled at the Machine-Building Plant. ON. Sukhoi. On September 3, 1981, due to a failure in the fuel system, an accident occurred with the T-10-7. The pilot of the plane V. S. Ilyushin managed to escape. On December 23, 1981, in one of the critical flights, Alexander Komarov dies due to the destruction of the T-10-12 glider. Then, it was not possible to find out the cause of the accident. Later, in 1983, a similar accident befell one of the first production fighters, the T-10-17. Only thanks to the great skill of N. F. Sadovnikov, later Hero of the Soviet Union, world record holder, the flight ended safely. Sadovnikov landed the damaged plane on the airfield - without most of the wing console, with a chopped off keel - and thereby provided invaluable material to the aircraft developers. Urgently, measures were taken to refine the aircraft: the structure of the wing and the airframe as a whole was strengthened, the slat area was reduced.
On June 2, 1982, the head serial T-10-15 (the future record P-42) took off for the first time, and the T-10-16 and the aforementioned T-10-17 were assembled in the same year. In 1983, the plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur assembles 9 more fighters - T-10-18, T-10-20, T-10-21, T-10-22, T-10-23, T-10-24, T-10-25, T-10-26 and T-10-27. Most of these aircraft took part in various kinds of acceptance tests, which were completed by the mid-80s.
On the experienced T-10-5 (board 51), weapon systems were tested
Work was carried out on a wide front on the T-10-5 machine. A new version of the weapons control system was tested on it: in May 1982, due to the low reliability of the on-board computer and the unsatisfactory characteristics of the Mech radar antenna, it was decided to equip the T-10S with a new computer system based on the Ts100 onboard computer developed by NIITSEVT and an antenna radar, which it was necessary to create a MiG-29 aircraft on the basis of the Rubin radar antenna. Despite another sharp turn in fate, at the end of the year the aircraft received an updated SUV-27, and at the end of 1983 it was presented for joint state tests.
Su-27 is made according to the normal balancing scheme, has an integral aerodynamic layout with smooth conjugation of the wing and fuselage, forming a single load-bearing body. All-metal construction with extensive use of titanium alloys. A semi-monocoque fuselage with a circular cross-section. The nose is tilted down. The pilot is positioned on the K-36DM ejection seat, which provides an emergency escape from the aircraft in the entire range of altitudes and flight speeds.
Aircraft can be used to intercept air targets in a wide range of altitudes and flight speeds, including against the background of the earth, and conduct maneuverable air combat in any weather conditions, day and night. For the successful fulfillment of combat missions, modern sighting and navigation equipment is installed on board. The search and tracking of the target is carried out using an RLPK with a coherent pulse-Doppler radar or an OEPS with an OLLS and a helmet-mounted target designation system. The radar has an antenna with a diameter of 1076 mm with electronic scanning in azimuth and mechanical in elevation. The radar is capable of guaranteed detection of air targets of the light fighter class at ranges of up to 80-100 km in the front hemisphere and 30-40 km in the rear, accompanying up to ten targets on the aisle and ensuring the simultaneous launch of missiles at two targets. The radar can search and track targets against the background of the earth or sea surface.
Landing of a serial fighter Su-27 (board 65) with an electronic warfare station "Sorption". TsBPiPLS Air Defense Aviation in Savasleika.
Serial production of the Su-27 since 1983 has been carried out by the Aviation Plant. Yu. A. Gagarin in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (now KnAAPO). In 1984, the first Su-27s entered the armed forces, and by the end of the next year, almost a hundred such fighters had already been produced, and the massive rearmament of the Air Force and Air Defense fighter aviation units with a new type of aircraft began. The first combat unit to receive the Su-27 was the air defense fighter regiment, based 10 km from Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The development of new types of fighters, the development of recommendations for their piloting and combat use, as well as the retraining of combat pilots on them were carried out at the Air Force Central Bureau of Problems and Plants in Lipetsk and TsBPiPLS of the Air Defense Aviation in Savasleika.
State joint tests of the Su-27 were completed in 1985. The results obtained indicated that a truly outstanding aircraft had been created, unmatched in fighter aviation in terms of maneuverability, flight range and combat effectiveness. However, some systems of onboard radio-electronic equipment, primarily the electronic equipment, required additional tests. In the process of mass production, the design of the detachable part of the lantern has changed - instead of solid glass, there are two parts, separated by a binding. Wheels and tires were changed, while the standard size remained unchanged. The thin "last" was replaced by a thick one; it was equipped with 96 rounds of the automatic jamming machine APP-50 instead of 24, which were installed at the "peak". The shape of the keel tip has changed, in connection with which anti-flutter weights were removed from the vertical tail. The armament was expanded with free-fall bombs of 100, 250 and 500 kg caliber, as well as NAR. A number of other changes have also been made. After debugging the entire avionics complex, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of August 23, 1990, the Su-27 was officially adopted by the Air Force and Air Defense Aviation of the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the USSR, which had 513 Su-27 aircraft, at the beginning of 1992, some of the fighters went to the former Soviet republics: Ukraine (67), Belarus (23), Uzbekistan. In 1996-2001. Within the framework of the compensation program (equipment in exchange for Tu-95MS strategic bombers from near Semipalatinsk and payment for the lease of landfills), Kazakhstan received 26 Su-27 fighters. Of the 315 Su-27 fighters that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation had by 1995, about 200 were in the air defense aviation.
The contract for the supply of eight Su-27 / Su-27UB to Ethiopia was signed in the fall of 1998 (the first four aircraft were delivered in December). However, in this case, it was not new, but used aircraft from the Russian Air Force that were sold. The supplier was the state-owned enterprise Promexport. Syria purchased 24 of the same aircraft. In general, since the beginning of the 90s, foreign buyers have been offered special export fighters Su-27SK and "spark" - Su-27UBK.
NATO code designation - Flanker-B (Marginal).
