Russian Su-27 fighter aircraft practice air fighting near Kaliningrad.

According to information published by Tass on April 14, 2022, more than 10 crews of Sukhoi Su-27 multirole fighters from an air unit of the Baltic Fleet’s air arm, which is based in the Kaliningrad Region in west Russia, have practiced air fighting during an exercise.

Follow Air Recognition on Google News at this link

Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft (Picture source: HDWP)

The pilots detected and identified the simulated enemy’s planes and then went into action, the press office added.

During the night and daylight flights, the Su-27 crews practiced preparing the fighters quickly, took off from the home airfield in pairs, and performed simulated missile launches against the aerial targets.

The Sukhoi Su-27 is a multipurpose highly-maneuverable all-weather long-range fighter developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The plane is designed to gain air supremacy.

The Su-27's basic design is aerodynamically similar to the MiG-29, but it is substantially larger. It is a very large aircraft, and to minimize its weight its structure has a high percentage of titanium (about 30%, more than any of its contemporaries). No composite materials were used.

The fighter aircraft is armed with a single 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 cannon in the starboard wingroot, and has up to 10 hardpoints for missiles and other weapons. Its standard missile armament for air-to-air combat is a mixe of Vympel R-73 (AA-11 Archer), Vympel R-27 (AA-10 'Alamo') weapons, the latter including extended range and IR guided models.