In the 1980s, the Soviet Air Force had received the Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” as one of its most modern fighters. After much troubleshooting with a myriad of development issues, the Su-27 ended up being one of the very best fighter planes in the world. Nevertheless, the Soviets had recognized that the improved McDonnell-Douglas(now Boeing)F-15C Eagle had arrived on the scene featuring even better radar than the previous F-15A, in which the Soviets responded to with the Su-27. This, coupled with the fact that despite the Su-27’s excellent performance(not the least which is agility), there was always room for improvement. And so the Sukhoi OKB had begun work on developing what would later be known as the Su-27M(“Modifikatsiya” or “Modification”), also known as the Su-35(not to be confused with the far different Su-35S). The first prototype(Bort 701)of the Su-27M was actually a converted Su-27S that featured canard fore planes, as were prototypes 702, 704, 705, and 707. These prototypes could be best distinguished by the angled tips of the tail fins.
First Su-27M prototype Bort 701 with angular tail fins.
The other Su-27M prototypes, however, were built from scratch as genuine Su-35s; these were prototypes 703, 708, 709, 710, and 712, and have square-topped fins.
Third prototype Bort 703 with square-topped fins.
The Su-27M featured canard fore planes, increased internal fuel(though due to the heavier weight vs the original Su-27, range was somewhat inferior), a retractable aerial refueling probe(after the idea of utilizing drop tanks was abandoned), a new and improved radar in the form of the N011, an N012 rearward radar in its tail “stinger”(which showed the possibility of installing and firing rear-ward missiles, but that has never materialized.), twelve hard points, and true multi role capability. Development was going as planned until the collapse of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. As a result, the Russian economy was devastated, and development of the Su-27M significantly slowed down to the point that development was STILL underway as late as the early to mid 2000s. This, coupled with the fact that the Russian Air Force could not afford to procure the Su-27M, along with customer preferences to two-seat fighters(as a result of learning from Gulf War experience, whereby two-seat fighters proved to be much less of a workload than single-seat fighters), the Su-27M was later cancelled, and this never entered service. The fate of the Su-27M prototypes varied; some went on to fly as a part of the Russian Knights aerobatic display team, Bort 710 went on to test the new AL-41F1(aka Product 117S) engines for the completely different Su-35S, while the very first prototype ended up at the Monino Air Museum outside of Moscow, where it was later repainted due to continual exposure to the weather.
Books: The Sukhoi Su-27: 1977 To The Present: By Andy Groning
The Encyclopedia of Modern Aircraft: From Civilian Airliners to Military Superfighters: General Editor Jim Winchester
Performance Statistics:
Radars: N011 front radar, N012 rearward facing radar
Top Speed: Mach 2.35(1,553 miles per hour); at sea level 870 mph.
Maximum Climb Rate: 47,244 ft. per minute
Powerplant: Two NPO Saturn AL-31FM afterburning turbofan engines 28,218 lbs. full afterburner per engine
Service Ceiling: 56,430 ft.
Range: 2,113 miles, Ferry Range 2,610 miles, Range With One Inflight Refueling 3,915 miles.
Armament: One starboard GSH-30-1 30mm single-barreled cannon, R-60 short range air-air missiles, R-77 air-air missiles, R-27TE and R-27ER air-air missiles, R-73 short-range air-air missiles, free fall and cluster bombs, rockets, KAB-500 and Kab-1500 TV and laser-guided bombs, Kh-59M tv guided air-surface missile, Kh-29T/L and Kh-31A/P air-surface missiles.
Weight: Empty 40,564 lbs.; Normal Max Take-off 74,955 lbs.; Max 85,538 lbs.
Dimensions: Fuselage length 72 ft 9 in., wing span 48 ft 2 1/2 in., Wing Aspect Ratio 7.76, Tailplane Span 32 ft 5 in., Wing Area 667.8 sq ft, Horizontal Tail Area 131.75 sq ft., Height 20 ft 9 1/2 in., Wheel Track 14 ft 3 in., Wheelbase 19 ft 4 in., Maximum Wing Loading 93.4 lb/sq ft with afterburning
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