The Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker is a Soviet-designed highly maneuverable, twinjet all-weather fighter-interceptor, primarily developed to be able to counter U.S. fighter innovations of the time, particularly the then-new McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. In its variants stands out a two-seat trainer version, Su-27UB Flanker-C, boasting an exciting history across continents and conflicts.
Su-27UB first entered service in 1986 within the USSR mainly for advanced pilot training. However, it still maintained all combat capabilities of its single-seat variants. The aircraft is fitted with dual controls, and an instructor can sit in the aft cockpit, but a single pilot can fly the plane from the front seat. Over the years, Su-27s have done sterling work as testbeds, leading to a whole range of improved combat aircraft; included among them are the Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S, both of which have seen action in the Russia-Ukraine war.
One Su-27UB, from 1989, had an interesting history. It served first with the Soviet Navy but was handed over to Ukraine after the Soviet Union dissolved. In 2008, Ukraine sold the demilitarized jet to a U.S. company. By 2011, the U.S. Air Force had acquired the aircraft. Now on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, this aircraft arrived at the museum in 2023.
Technical specifications of the Su-27UB are impressive: Mach 2.0 and 1,620 miles. Its armament includes R-73 and R-27 missiles, unguided bombs and rockets, and a 30mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh 301 cannon. The jet is powered by two Lyulka, now NPO Saturn, AL-31F Series 2 after burning turbofans of 27,640 lbs of thrust each.
The story of this particular Su-27UB, “61 Blue” and later “32 Blue,” is something of a mystery. It was sold to the U.S. Government and flew with Tactical Air Support for adversary air services, still in its Ukrainian splinter camouflage. The airworthiness certificates of the aircraft had expired back in 2013, and the aircraft was removed from the U.S. register in 2018. What exactly it did in the period between 2011 and 2023 is still classified, with some conjecture that it was part of a foreign material exploitation program.
Over the years, the U.S. Air Force has maintained and flown a fleet of foreign aircraft for evaluation and adversary training. During the Cold War, the Red Hats belonged to the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and flew Soviet aircraft like MiG-17s, MiG-21s, and MiG-23s. It was a force of pilots and engineers whose mission was to expose the flight characteristics of enemy fighters to US tactical air forces. Presently, the Red Hats are operated from Groom Lake in such aircraft types as MiG-29s and Su-27Ps.
Now on display in the Cold War Gallery of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the Su-27UB Flanker-C truly assumes an imposing stance—nearly 72 feet in length, almost 21 feet in height, with a wingspan of 48 feet that dwarfs nearly all other aircraft on display around it, including the MiG-29A, RF-4 Phantom II, MiG-23 Flogger, F-111 Aardvark, and even the RAF Tornado.
The Su-27UB definitely drew interest from the aviation community when the museum acquired it. Its unique camouflage scheme and Soviet-style ‘bort’ number was traced to its previous FAA registration as N132SU. Whether making demonstration flights, testing experimental technology, or performing any one of a host of other classified duties, the Su-27UB now represents the labyrinthine, often clandestine history of military aircraft.
For those who want to have a closer view of this spectacular aircraft, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force provides an opportunity to explore one of the most mysterious fighters developed during the Cold War years.