Ukrainian jets push boundaries in Kursk despite limited fleet
Ukrainians have occupied a large area of the Kursk region in Russia, and aside from ground forces, Ukrainian aviation is actively operating there despite minimal capabilities. For example, a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft patrols, likely hunting for drones or helicopters. Here is what this machine can do.
Ukrainians are performing well on the ground in the Kursk region, but the air situation is different, where the Russians have an advantage. One might say that only the high activity of Ukrainian air defence keeps the Russians at bay.
However, air defence has trouble dealing with low-flying targets such as helicopters or drones, for which their own aircraft are the best "hunters." The footage below shows a Ukrainian Su-27 from the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade searching for targets. Alternatively, the Su-27 may also serve as a decoy for Russian planes to lure them into a trap set by anti-aircraft systems.
Su-27 - a nightmare for NATO pilots from the Cold War times
The Su-27, developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, first took to the skies in May 1977. It was the Soviet Union's response to the American F-15 fighter jets. As a result, a heavy twin-engine machine with an empty weight of about 16 tonnes and a maximum weight of about 30 tonnes was created.
The fuel reserve in the internal tanks accounts for most of the weight, approximately 9,400 kilograms, while the weapon payload that can be distributed on 10 pylons is about 4,400 kilograms. This translates to a much greater operational range than the MiGs, approximately 3,500 kilometres and an altitude of up to 19,000 meters.
This, combined with excellent aerodynamics and a maximum speed of Mach 2.35, made it the most dangerous aircraft NATO pilots could encounter during the Cold War. After the fall of the USSR, the planes were acquired by various countries, including China, where they were copied and introduced into service as the J-11. The Russians further developed the design of the Su-27 into the Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35, which found several buyers among countries not inclined to purchase aircraft from the USA (mainly Africa and some Asian countries).
The armament of the Su-27 included mainly short-range R-73 air-to-air missiles or older medium-range R-27 missiles and aerial bombs weighing up to about 500 kilograms or rocket launchers for unguided missiles. An exception was the mid-range missile Vympel R-77, developed only at the end of the USSR, with a range of up to about 80 kilometers, conceptually similar to the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, from which it got its nickname Amraamski.
It was the first Soviet/Russian air-to-air missile with an active radar homing head type "fire-and-forget." Thanks to the onboard radar, it could track the target from about 20 kilometres. Ukraine possessed an unknown number of these missiles.
The few Ukrainian Su-27s were integrated with Western weapons
Furthermore, Ukrainians improvised to integrate the Su-27 with Western weapons, as recordings of the use of, among others, AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles or JDAM-ER guided bombs have surfaced. It is worth noting that Ukraine probably already has a minimal number of Su-27 aircraft capable of flying.
Before the war, Ukraine had just over 30 units, and at least 16 were destroyed, with a significant portion of the remaining units likely taken out of service due to wear and tear and issues with spare parts. Unlike MiGs, Ukraine did not receive new Su-27 aircraft.
