Profile
- Type
- Twin-engine air-superiority fighter
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Cold War design still in combat service during the Russia-Ukraine War
Aircraft & UAVs
Su-27
The Su-27, NATO reporting name Flanker, is a Soviet-designed twin-engine air-superiority fighter built around long range, high speed, and heavy air-to-air armament. Ukraine inherited the type after the Soviet collapse and has kept upgraded aircraft in combat during the Russia-Ukraine War, where Su-27s have been documented flying strike missions and carrying Western-supplied AGM-88 HARM missiles despite their Soviet avionics baseline.
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Built by
- Sukhoi
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
Service History
- In service
- Entered Soviet service in the mid-1980s; retained by Ukrainian forces after 1991
- Used by
- Ukrainian Air Force
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Sukhoi Design Bureau
- Designed
- 1970s
- Built by
- Sukhoi
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
- Variants
- Su-27S, Su-27P, Su-27UB, Su-27P1M, Su-27UB1M
Specifications
- Crew
- 1 in Su-27 single-seat fighters; 2 in Su-27UB trainers
- Speed
- Mach 2.0 class
- Range
- About 1,620 miles
- Engines
- Two Lyulka/NPO Saturn AL-31F afterburning turbofans
- Armament
- 30 mm GSh-301 cannon, R-27 and R-73 air-to-air missiles, plus unguided bombs and rockets on combat-capable variants
- Role
- Long-range air defense, combat air patrol, escort, and adapted air-to-surface strike missions
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Ukraine
Operated by the Ukrainian Air Force as a Soviet-era air-superiority fighter adapted for wartime strike and suppression missions, including documented low-level strikes on Russian-held Snake Island and later carriage of AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles.
Su-27 Images
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Sukhoi SU-27UB "FLANKER-C" TrainerPublisher: National Museum of the United States Air Force | Note: Supports general Su-27 background, service context, performance, engines, and armament specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Su-27 (Flanker) Russian Multirole Fighter AircraftPublisher: U.S. Army ODIN Worldwide Equipment Guide | Note: Supports Sukhoi design/manufacturer background and general aircraft classification. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukraine Strikes Back: Su-27s Bomb Occupied Snake Island In Daring RaidPublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports direct Russia-Ukraine War use of Ukrainian Su-27s in a low-level strike on Russian-occupied Snake Island. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukraine's Su-27s Appear To Be Wielding Anti-Radiation Missiles Now TooPublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports direct Russia-Ukraine War context for Ukrainian Su-27s carrying AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Volodymyr Zelenskyy Congratulated Air Force Warriors and Presented State AwardsPublisher: Official Website of the President of Ukraine | Note: Supports direct Russia-Ukraine War use of Ukrainian Air Force Su-27s, including air strikes near Zmiinyi Island and a Su-27 loss to enemy air defense in June 2022. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian Su-27 during exhibition 3.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 photograph published under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian Su-27 during exhibition 1.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for a second Ukrainian Su-27 photograph published under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. | Accessed: 2026-06-20