Battle for Sky Domination: The First Time Flanker Fought the Eagle
F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter designed by McDonnell-Douglas (now part of Boeing) in the 1970s. It is among the most successful modern fighters, with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force. In response to the presence of Eagle, the Soviets designed and built the infamous Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name: “Flanker”). With 3,530-kilometre (1,910 nmi) range, heavy aircraft ordnance, sophisticated avionics, and high maneuverability, Flanker is the real competitor for Eagle.
Both aircraft were considered top secret during the height of the Cold War. Although both aircraft had already met each other in the sky, the encounter between the two aircraft was only limited to air interception where one of the types would escort the other out of their airspace. So, there was no way to compare both aircraft other than on the paper. However, all that changed when the dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred in 1991.
In the early 90s, the chance to perform demo aerial combat between Flanker and Eagle become real. In Summer 1992, pilots of the Lipetsk Air Force Base (91st Training and Research Regiment) made a friendly visit to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, home to 94th Fighter Squadron, in Virginia. The Russians brought three aircraft, a Su-27S “Flanker-B” and two combat-trainer Su-27UB “Flanker-C”.
One of the Russian pilot who got the chance was Major General Alexander Kharcevsky, the Commander of the Lipetsk Aviation Center. He once recalled:
“The first air combat, we met and had a briefing with US Air Force pilots to decide who should fly to the tail first. It was agreed that they (US pilots) are ahead of us and we (Russian pilots) are behind. In flight, they try to maneuver but nothing came out of it. Then we changed the rules. I fly forward and the American pilot, the squadron leader, is behind me. Front this position, i have to fly away from him and go for his aircraft tail, then it was considered a victory. He is deliberately in a wonderful position which all he had to do is maintain his position behind me. I dragged him higher up, making an accelerated combat turn while climbing. He was following me, losing speed with limits in less than 650 km/h. And then, the Su-27 aircraft has a total advantage. After one and a half turn, I fly to his tail, and there is nothing he can do.”
Another pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Kohanovsky, also recalled:
“We later talk with the Americans. Their general flew the Su-27UB with our general (Kharchevsky) in the back seat. When he got into the aircraft, he was delighted. When we came out to him, he straight forwardly admitted with his thumbs up, it was better than their (US) F-15".
