When it comes to the Su-27, flying this kind of fighter is probably what all Red Air Force pilots are very eager for.

To understand this fervor, it is probably necessary to start with the history of the development of the Su-27.

Recalling that period of history in the real world, many people believe that the Soviet Union's Su-27 development program began with the heavy threat of the F-15, a third-generation American air superiority fighter.

After enduring for a long time in the shadow of the Americans' unprecedentedly powerful F-14, 15, and 16 musketeers, and when the defenders of the Red Empire waited for more than ten years and finally saw the Su-27 come out, the once powerful Soviet Union was already in turmoil, and then collapsed in the long river of history in 1991.

Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Su-27, which was originally an important equipment model and is likely to be like its predecessors Su-11 and Su-15, has never been approved for export and crossed the border, not only derived a wide variety of foreign trade models, but also spread in large numbers around the world. When people finally got close to this pinnacle of the Soviet military aviation field, they found that this huge and refined fighter plane was quite similar to the American F-15 in terms of size and firepower, and the comprehensive combat capabilities of the two could be said to be comparable; Even in some performance, the latecomer Su-27 has a slight advantage over the first-to-finalize F-15 (after all, the two have been on the market for more than a decade).

This similarity seems to further support the statement that "the Su-27 was born to fight the F-15". But......

This statement is only half true.

Flipping through the aviation equipment development plan drawn up by the Soviet Union in the seventies, we can find a list of fighter development projects in charge of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, and on the model description of the Su-27 prototype with the code name T-10, that is, the Su-27 prototype, it is most likely marked that "this is a heavy long-range interceptor."

Unlike many people who have the impression of following the United States, the military researchers of the Red Empire were not a group of short-sighted, dull and inefficient bureaucrats. In the face of the objective reality that the Soviet Union's comprehensive national strength and scientific and technological level lagged behind the developed countries of the West, aviation researchers and high-level military and political figures have been thinking about a problem, that is, how to comprehensively consider the current level of research and development, manufacturing, and equipment of the Soviet Union, and use the idea of system confrontation to learn from each other's strengths and make up for weaknesses to counter the threat of the West.

Under the guidance of this line of thinking, in the 70-year history of the Soviet Union, there have been countless warplanes with appropriate trade-offs and not leading technology, but they are really powerful: from the early KV series heavy tanks to the later Katyusha rocket launchers; From the stainless steel three-speed sonic interceptor, to the Tbilisi-class heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser equipped with both missiles and fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft; In this way, these strong, strong, rough and linear, weapons have never ceased to be questioned and disdainful by the West, proving their value on the battlefield and in front of the Iron Curtain, and the terrifying power of the Soviet Union's huge military confrontation system.

Let's take the perspective back to the Air Force, to the years before and after the birth of the Su-27.

Looking back at the research and development plan for a new generation of fighters that the Soviet Union began to implement in the late 60s and early 70s of the 20 th century, it is true that it has the intention of confronting the advanced fighters of the West and ensuring that the main battle equipment does not deteriorate from the modern era, but it itself is a general program for the development of air force equipment that was independently considered and formulated in accordance with the actual situation of the Soviet Union and from the level of strategic and tactical needs and the combat mode of the armed forces.

In this large and detailed roadmap, the two most familiar and important models are probably the MiG-29 and Su-27.

In fact, just as the MiG-29 was in the Soviet Union's weapons program, in no way the same as the F-16's position in the U.S. Air Force, the Su-27 fighter was not originally developed as a large air superiority fighter like the F-15, but as a long-range interceptor with excellent flight performance, long range and complex electronics, like the Sukhoi Design Bureau's first two generations of products, the Su-11 and Su-15.

Of course, this mode of operation of large long-range interceptors is not to fight with Western air superiority fighters to compete for air supremacy over the theater (in fact, this is exactly the task that the MiG-29 needs to accomplish), but to defend against the long national border of the Soviet Union, and use its own flight performance and supporting weapon systems to quickly and effectively strike at any invading air targets.

Guided by this development program, the T-10 program progressed fairly smoothly, and the first prototype was built in 1976.

If this established line continues, the evolution of the T-10 into the Su-27 may be very fast, and the equipment time will be advanced to 1980 or even earlier; But when Soviet spies managed to obtain some information on the F-15 and provide it to the Sukhoi Bureau for comparative analysis, the situation changed dramatically.

After a comparison between the T-10 and the F-15, according to the summary of the chief designer of the Sukhoi Bureau, Simonov, the existing T-10 design is not enough to compete with the F-15 - so he decided to overturn the T-1 program and start over, so the improved T-10S, that is, the prototype of the Su-27 made its first flight in 1980, and finally the Su-27 began to enter mass production in 1985, and was equipped with the Soviet Air Force and the Territorial Defense Force, becoming the strongest weapon of the Soviet Air Force against Western third-generation fighters -

Yes, the true history of this series is what Long Yun saw and heard; It was not designed because of the F-15, but was stimulated by the performance of the F-15 and overturned, the birth process of the Su-27 is indeed inseparable from the F-15, but at this time he had something else in mind.

Opinions on the Su-27, Long Yun are mixed.

This large fighter led by Simonov, the chief designer of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, and redesigned on the basis of the T-10, has a significant improvement in performance compared with the T-10; It is precisely because of this performance improvement that it can compete with the F-15, and now it occupies the most important position in the Soviet Air Force and the Territorial Defense Force, and is even more loved by all pilots.

But...... Is this kind of reversal and grinding a sword for ten years really necessary?

Originally in the name of the T-10, the Su-27 will grow into a new generation of heavy interceptors, has experienced such a nirvana rebirth and appeared in the equipment sequence of the Soviet Air Force and the Territorial Defense Force as a heavy fighter.

Thinking of the Su-27 in the real world, in 1985 it was only a test flight aviation regiment equipped with Moscow in small batches; Thinking that in this parallel world, there were not many traces of such powerful fighters in the fierce European skies, Long Yun's heart didn't know what it was like.

As far as the actual scientific and technological level and manufacturing capacity of the Soviet Union are concerned, is it really suitable to serve as the main combat force of the Soviet Red Air Force in such a major war?

Today, the 237th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which is understaffed with fighters, faces the reality that the huge and sophisticated Su-27 production crowds out the production capacity of the Soviet military aviation industry; Knowing that many front-line aviation regiments not only could not get the Su-27, but also because the MiG-29, which was squeezed out of production capacity by the Su-27 and the production was insufficient, it could not be refitted, and could only use the second-generation fighter with worrying performance to face the enemy's dilemma, Long Yun couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

This kind of thinking made Long Yun a little distressed for a while, and he was a little confused.

Thinking about weapons, Long Yun agrees with such a sentence: The weapon that suits you is the best.

Is the powerful but complex Su-27 really a worthy sword for the Soviet Union, which has come to its peak and is struggling to rebuild......

But——!

In such distress and confusion, it was as if a lightning bolt pierced the sky, and his thoughts changed instantly.

In any case, since he is already here, for himself, at least for him Long Yun alone, the powerful Su-27 heavy fighter can be said to be a tailor-made weapon to kill the enemy.

No, not only that; It can be said that in the past two days, Long Yun clearly felt that every pilot of the aviation regiment was probably making such a silent cry in his heart. Harness the most powerful air combat weapon of the Red Empire, and in the face of the ferocious attack of the West with fangs on its face, as an elite member of the Red Air Force, how to use and how to control it; How to deny oneself, how to kill the enemy?

Those who are born as soldiers, looking forward and looking backwards, are bound to lose!

- Now that you are here, you can only draw your sword and move forward!

Truly in the empty hangar, facing the huge body ready to attack in front of him, Long Yun Long Yun seemed to be able to suddenly understand what kind of mood Simonov, as the chief designer, would be in the face of the grim reality that the T-10 was inferior to the F-15.

Probably, the person who led the design bureau to cooperate and create this kind of war weapon also has this belief, right?

But I don't know if in this world, he is still fighting at the forefront of the work of the design bureau.

Closing the manual and sitting on the concrete floor at the foot of the fighter plane, looking up at the streamlined and mechanically beautiful body of the Red XVII, Long Yun couldn't help but wonder what everyone in the Sukhoi Design Bureau team was thinking about when the T-10 was redesigned. Is it the enterprising spirit of the enemy who is not to be left behind? Is it the persistent belief in the pursuit of perfect design? Is it a lifelong dream to build the strongest fighter and defend the skies of the motherland? Or the deepest love for this country and nation that bursts from the depths of my heart.

The guardian of the red sky in front of her, will she give Long Yun the most sincere answer.

———— Dividing Line————

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