Su-27 Zhuravlik

History

From the beginning of the war with the BETA, @The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had been reliant on refurbished American TSFs to combat the enemy advance; notable examples include the F-4R, and the usage of the F-5 Freedom Fighter as the basis for the MiG-23 Cheburashka.

During selection of a next-generation unit, it was decided to develop a unique TSF to account for the massive difference in tactics between the United States and USSR. Beginning from the Su-11, the Soviets had used lightweight frame and high-maneuverability data in the development of their TSFs; after nearly two decades of failures and constant refinement of the concepts that would embody the ideal Soviet TSFs, the @Su-27 Zhuravlik would be created. Northrock had secretly provided technical assistance to the development of the Su-27, resulting in many similarities to the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, and F-18 Hornet, such as a two-seater type. As a result, the Su-27 is closely related to many 2nd generation US TSFs, and the clandestine partnership resulted in good relations between Northrock Grunnan and Sufoni.

The Su-27's primary features are mobility and close-quarters fighting ability, being made to combat the BETA with the end-goal of retaking the Russian homeland. Super Cabon blade vanes on its shoulder blocks are the first of its contact weapons, with the armor on its lower legs and knee sections given a sharpened frontal edge for greater cutting power during kicks, and blade sheaths on its forearms to round out its close-quarters equipment. Its leg and shoulder designs would become the standard for later Soviet TSFs. However, due to high power requirements, most of the equipment was problematic in initial deployments of the Su-27, leading to a degree of unpopularity with pilots.

Despite its unique head design compared to the MiG-series (giving it the appearance of two distinct eyes), a design cue seldom used by other TSFs, it still uses a visor-styled head sensor suite; the wire cutter that was popularized in all MiG-series TSFs has been integrated into the head itself, resulting in a smooth frontal head design.

Deployment

Unit deployment began in 1992. The design of the Su-27 quickly evolved to address the problems in the initial unit with several variants produced, eventually being succeeded by the improved Su-37 Terminator.

Variants

Su-27SM

The most recent refurbishment of the Su-27 is the Su-27SM, which is compared favorably to the F-15 Eagle in all aspects of combat performance. Born from a demand by Soviet command for TSFs capable of matching 2.5th generation American TSFs, this refined variant of the Su-27 was produced. While outwardly identical to the Su-27, it has blade motors mounted on its forearms, replacing the standard combat knives and setting the standard melee loadout for future Sufoni TSFs, but does not have the frontal waist thrusters seen in the Su-27M2.

The Su-27SM is mostly operated by former users of the baseline Su-27, one of them being the Soviet Army's 211 Batal'on Zhar.

Su-27M2

A technical demonstration machine, the Su-27M2 is a 2.5th generation TSF developed with technology from the Grunnan X-29, incorporating new developments such as waist-mounted thruster nozzles and aerodynamic improvements to its frame. As a stepping-stone to the development of the Su-37 Terminator, the Su-27 suffered a reduced production rate as a result, marking it as a TSF of misfortune. The high performance of the Su-27M2 is reflected in the Su-27M2 variant.

Su-27SK

The export variant of the Su-27. Initial problems encountered with early-production Su-27s were quickly tackled by Sufoni.

Su-32 Utkonos

Built as a partner/successor machine to the MiG-25/31, the Su-32 features the same mount capability for a long-range missle system as the MiG-25/31. Nicknamed the Утконос (Platypus).

Su-33

Naval variant of the Su-27, with modifications for carrier-takeoff/landing.

J-11

The @Unified Front of China-licensed production model of the Su-27SK, the J-11's heavier weight and longer range, together with the lightweight J-10, form the UFC's High-Low Mix.

The J-11's conceptualization first began in the 1990, when the People's Republic of China had just completed their alliance with the Taiwan. With rumors of the United States having completed their first operational G-Bomb, the PRC immediately began a technology exchange with Taiwan, and also started a development program to obtain a new TSF.

The first steps taken were to obtain a production license for the Su-27SK, as well as to develop their own avionics from those used in the J-10/Lave development project. The poor performance of the Su-27's prototype, however, caused the PRC to have doubts about its performance, and the Su-27SK being a downgraded export model was also a point of contention for them.

The PRC, using their own capabilities and the technology exchange with Taiwan, began development of the J-11. The most major of changes to the J-11 was to replace the Soviet-style head unit with a round-monitor head module. This change was made based on the fact that as the UFC would be involved in heavier and more crowded close-quarter battle conditions when fighting BETA (as compared to the Soviets), the design used reduced the risk of damage to the sensors. The head module could also accept the fitting and usage of low-tech communication antennas to counter the disruptive effects of having to fight in the cover of heavy metal clouds.