Summary: The Su-27 Flanker, a hallmark of Russian air superiority and a product of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, stands as a formidable challenge to the U.S. Air Force's F-15 Eagle. With its inception rooted in the competitive aerospace dynamics of the Cold War, the Su-27 has proven its mettle through high maneuverability, impressive speed reaching Mach 2.35, and an extensive operational range of 2,193 miles. Equipped with a 30mm GSh-301 gun, versatile hardpoints for a wide array of ordnance, and advanced defensive countermeasures, the Su-27 enhances both its own survivability and that of accompanying aircraft.

The Su-27 Flanker: A Russian Rival to America's F-15 Eagle

Don’t ever say the Russians can’t get airpower right. Inheriting the remnants of the once mighty Soviet aerospace infrastructure and industry (an industry that the West effectively remade into an efficient capitalist enterprise in the 1990s), the Russian air force’s defense industrial base has gotten some things right—and built off their successes. 

While not everything the Russians deploy today is either fancy or effective, the Russians have long lived by a “good enough” perspective to warfare. As in, their equipment and operators must be good enough to match or, better yet, overcome their rivals. The Su-27 “Flanker” (that’s it’s NATO designation) is an excellent example of this theory put into practice. 

An air-superiority fighter that is highly maneuverable, it is a product of the successful Russian defense contracting firm, Sukhoi Design Bureau. This plane is not only Russia’s main air superiority fighter but it has also been one of the most successfully exported warplanes that Russia produces. It is a twin jet engine-powered warbird, too. The Su-27 can reach a top cruising speed of Mach 2.35 and has a range of 2,193 miles. 

The Su-27’s Capabilities

The Su-27 is equipped with a 30mm GSh-301 gun and 150 rounds of ammunition to feed to the gun. It has ten hardpoints that a variety of missiles, rockets, and bombs can be mounted to. The Su-27 can carry air-to-air missiles, such as the R-27R1, close-combat air-to-air missiles, the warbird can carry air-to-ground bombs of an assortment of weights, cluster bombs, incendiary devices, and unguided missiles. 

All these weapons have been demonstrated with devastating effect throughout the various recent military campaigns that the Russians have waged, notably in Syria and today in Ukraine.

But the Russians put way more than lethal ordnance into these war machines. The warplanes have installed on them a coterie of defensive countermeasures that ensure the Su-27 can remain in any fight longer than their rivals. What’s more, Su-27s have capabilities that allow for group protection when they are flying with other Russian warplanes. 

So, these planes can augment the survivability of other important combat systems they are paired with for any given mission. Systems like pilot illumination radar warning receivers, chaff countermeasures to distract incoming missiles, multi-mode jamming technology all support the survivability of this bird in combat.

The Su-27 has broken multiple flying records since it was first put into the unfriendly skies when it was officially introduced in 1985. 

Su-27 vs. F-15: A Fight No American Should Desire

All these facts have led to an intense debate in military aviation circles as to whether the Su-27 or the United States Air Force’s F-15 Eagle is the superior warplane. And because so much of the Su-27, according to the EurAsian Times, was “based on the American technology that led to the development of the USAF’s F-15 fighter jet,” many of those records that the Su-27 broke resulted from the technology theft that the Russians perpetrated against the United States.

Nevertheless, the debate is real. Given the way things are going in Russo-American relations, this once interesting academic debate is now becoming part of the frightening aspects of the Ukraine War. 

After all, American-built F-15s may one day be squaring off against the Su-27 over the killing fields of Ukraine. Many people understandably now want to know which warplane is better.

The Su-27 has a slightly more powerful thrust-to-weight ratio compared to the F-15. Back in 1986, an early version of the Su-27 broke all the F-15 time-to-climb records. All this means that, if the Su-27 ever faced off against the F-15—the Air Force’s primary air superiority fighter currently—the Su-27 just might be able to best the American warplane, which will have real consequences for an overall fight between NATO and Russian forces. 

About the Author 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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