2007 Outlook for the Russian Made Su-27 Fighter Aircraft

Many nations in the world are turning to the Russiansimple stuff really, that is where the US is at in
made Su27 in the present period as the fightertechnology? It is not like the old days out producing
aircraft of choice for their military air force. Is thethe Germans better technology with 10's of
Su-27 a superior fighter to lets say the F-15 Eagle?thousands of B-17s, B-24s, P-51s, or the Japanese
No, not even close, but realize that indeed it islight weight maneuverable Zero's made of plywood
available to all nations as Russia does not discriminateor Kate Torpedo Bombers with Hellcats, Corsairs,
to hostile or rogue nations in their arms deals; youSBDs and Avengers.
got the cash, they got the planes and they areYou need to pick a much better technology if you
building more. So, why is everyone buying thesewant to be taken seriously. Like the SU-33 that China
aircraft and what is it that makes it so greatis buying 50 of. Because even as Venezuela talks of
anyway?buying Mig 29s, that is not really a threat to the USA.
Well the story of the SU-27 is much like many of theNow remember that Russian Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov,
fighters made by Russia's top aeronautical scientiststhe commander of Russian long-range aviation
from 1968 to 1975;crossed over the North Pole undetected to prove it
There have been many modifications andhas something to sell China besides just the Russian
refinements and today it is really not a playerSu-33. A recent exercise involved 70 Tu-160, Tu-95
anymore. The new generation of aircraft are soand Tu-22M3 bombers, which test-fired 18 cruise
much better. The Su-27 was much in response tomissiles and some of these bombers crossed the
the F-15 and it was competing with the Mig 29Arctic Ocean and flew over the North Pole and also
Fulcrum in Russia at the time too. .reached Alaska, while others crossed the Aleutian
Interestingly enough in the near future the US will notIslands and Japan's western coast without entering
even have pilots in their aircraft and with morphingany country's airspace. If you want to scare people,
wings, 18 "G" UAVs and speed of light transmissions,you need to use different aircraft and more plausible
target identification and hypersonic speeds thescenarios, Still all in all, USA is a lot better than you
battles will be over before they begin. Increasedthink with micro-tethered satellites and getting into
range and Artificial Intelligence, laser firing, the gamethe kill zone of a battle group or US controlled
will be all but over for a piloted aircraft interceptor.airspace? Well you are really going to have to work
Send them up, only to be blown into a million pieces,on it or you are toast you see? Perhaps of interest
vaporized or melted into thin air.in considering the Su-27 and Russian military aircraft
That is basically the reality and really it is only physics,for sale to the highest bidder in 2007.