The Sukhoi Su-27 is a Soviet-origin 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. It was designed with the Mikoyan MiG-29 as its complement.
A leading-edge extension (LEX) is a small extension to an aircraft wing surface, forward of the leading edge. The primary reason for adding an extension is to improve the airflow at high angles of attack and low airspeeds, to improve handling and delay the stall. A dog tooth can also improve airflow and reduce drag at higher speeds.
The fourth-generation fighter is a class of jet fighters in service from around 1980 to the present, and represents design concepts of the 1970s. Fourth-generation designs are heavily influenced by lessons learned from the previous generation of combat aircraft. Third-generation fighters were often designed primarily as interceptors, being built around speed and air-to-air missiles. While exceptionally fast in a straight line, many third-generation fighters severely lacked in maneuverability, as doctrine held that traditional dogfighting would be impossible at supersonic speeds. In practice, air-to-air missiles of the time, despite being responsible for the vast majority of air-to-air victories, were relatively unreliable, and combat would quickly become subsonic and close-range. This would leave third-generation fighters vulnerable and ill-equipped, renewing an interest in manoeuvrability for the fourth generation of fighters. Meanwhile, the growing costs of military aircraft in general and the demonstrated success of aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II gave rise to the popularity of multirole combat aircraft in parallel with the advances marking the so-called fourth generation.
The Sukhoi Su-35 is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable air superiority fighters, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by Sukhoi.
The Sukhoi Su-33 is a Soviet/Russian all-weather carrier-based twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, derived from the Su-27 and initially known as the Su-27K. Compared with the Su-27, the Su-33 has a strengthened undercarriage and structure, folding wings and stabilators, all for carrier operations. The Su-33 has canards, and its wings are larger than the Su-27 for a slower stall speed. The Su-33 has upgraded engines and a twin nose wheel, and is air refuelable.
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle.
The Sukhoi Su-37 was a single-seat twin-engine aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau which served as a technology demonstrator. It met the need to enhance pilot control of the Su-27M, a further development of the Su-27. The sole example built was originally the eleventh Su-27M (T10M-11) built by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association before having thrust-vectoring nozzles installed. It also had updated flight- and weapons-control systems. The aircraft made its maiden flight in April 1996. Throughout the flight-test program, the Su-37 demonstrated its supermaneuverability at air shows, performing manoeuvres such as a 360-degree somersault. The aircraft crashed in December 2002 due to structural failure. The Su-37 did not enter production, despite a report in 1998 which claimed that Sukhoi had built a second Su-37 using the twelfth Su-27M airframe, T10M-11 remained the sole prototype. Sukhoi had instead applied the aircraft's systems to the design bureau's other fighter designs.
The Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut, also designated S-32 and S-37 during initial development, was a Russian experimental supersonic jet fighter developed by the JSC Sukhoi Company. A distinguishing feature of the aircraft was its forward-swept wing which gave the aircraft excellent agility and maneuverability. While serial production of the type never materialized and the configuration was not further pursued, the sole aircraft produced served as a technology demonstrator prototype for a number of advanced technologies later used in fourth-generation fighter Su-35 and fifth-generation fighter Su-57.
The Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42 is a multirole fighter technology demonstrator developed by the Mikoyan design bureau. It was designed for the Soviet Union's MFI project for the I-90 program, the answer to the U.S.'s Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF). The MFI was to incorporate many fifth-generation jet fighter features such as supermaneuverability, supercruise, and advanced avionics, as well as some degree of radar signature reduction.
The Vympel R-37 is a Russian hypersonic air-to-air missile with very long range. The missile and its variants also had the names K-37, izdeliye 610 and RVV-BD, and the NATO codenames "Axehead" and "Andi". It was developed from the R-33.
Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capable of performing aerobatics maneuvers of some kind, although it may not be legal or safe to do so in certain aircraft.
In aerobatics, the cobra maneuver, also called dynamic deceleration, among other names, is a dramatic and demanding maneuver in which an airplane flying at a moderate speed abruptly raises its nose momentarily to a vertical and slightly past vertical attitude, causing an extremely high angle of attack and momentarily stalling the plane, making a full-body air brake before dropping back to normal position, during which the aircraft does not change effective altitude.
A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound. Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been used for research and military purposes, but only two supersonic aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-144 and the Concorde, ever entered service for civil use as airliners. Fighter jets are the most common example of supersonic aircraft.
The Sukhoi Su-57 is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA programme, which was initiated in 1999 as a more modern and affordable alternative to the MFI. Sukhoi's internal designation for the aircraft is T-50. The Su-57 is the first aircraft in Russian military service designed with stealth technology and is intended to be the basis for a family of stealth combat aircraft.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a two-seater, twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.
A zoom climb or an unrestricted climb is a maneuver in which the rate of climb is greater than the maximum climb rate using only the thrust of the aircraft's engines. The additional climb rate is attained by reduction of horizontal speed. Before a zoom climb, the aircraft accelerates to a high air speed at an altitude at which it can operate in sustained level flight. The pilot then pulls steeply upward, trading the kinetic energy of forward motion for altitude. This is different from a steady climb, where the increase in potential energy comes from mechanical work done by the engines.
Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can involve controlled side-slipping or angles of attack beyond maximum lift.
A fifth-generation fighter is a jet fighter aircraft classification which includes major technologies developed during the first part of the 21st century. As of 2024, these are the most advanced fighters in operation. The characteristics of a fifth-generation fighter are not universally agreed upon, and not every fifth-generation type necessarily has them all; however, they typically include stealth, low-probability-of-intercept radar (LPIR), agile airframes with supercruise performance, advanced avionics features, and highly integrated computer systems capable of networking with other elements within the battlespace for situational awareness and C3 (command, control and communications) capabilities.
3D Aerobatics or 3D flying is a form of flying using flying aircraft to perform specific aerial maneuvers. They are usually performed when the aircraft had been intentionally placed in a stalled position for purposes of entertainment or display. They are also often referred to as post-stall maneuvers, as they occur after aerodynamic stall has occurred and standard control surface deflections, as used in flight, are not effective.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKA is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi made for the Algerian Air Force. A variant of the Sukhoi Su-27S, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter. The aircraft is based on the Indian Sukhoi Su-30MKI III and is the 2nd adaptation of the same, after the first one being the Malaysian Sukhoi Su-30MKM.
