The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO reporting name "Fagot") was the first mass-produced Soviet swept-wing jet fighter, and with it the Soviet Union drew level with Western combat aviation almost overnight. The I-310 "S-01" prototype — a…
The Tupolev Tu-95 — "Bear" in NATO parlance — is a Soviet four-turboprop heavy strategic bomber, conceived to reach targets in the United States without refuelling and capable of carrying nuclear weapons. It first flew on 12 November 1952,…
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 — NATO reporting name «Fishbed» — is the delta-winged supersonic fighter-interceptor with which the Soviet Union equipped its own fighter arm, and that of much of the world, from 1959 onwards. Aircrews named it…
The Tupolev Tu-104 is a Soviet medium-range, narrow-body airliner powered by two turbojets. Its historical significance is twofold: it was the second jetliner to enter regular service, after the British de Havilland Comet, and from 1956 to…
The Ilyushin Il-18 (NATO reporting name «Coot») is a four-engined low-wing turboprop airliner developed by the Soviet Ilyushin design bureau in the mid-1950s to meet an Aeroflot requirement for a medium-range aircraft seating between 75…
The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya is a large Soviet turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau. In its day it was the largest and fastest passenger aircraft in the world, and also the longest-legged, at 10,900 km.…
The Ilyushin Il-62 (NATO reporting name «Classic») was the first long-range passenger jet built in the Soviet Union. Conceived in 1960 as a successor to the turboprop Il-18, it is a narrow-body quadjet with its engines paired on either…
The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined Soviet narrow-body jet airliner with rear-mounted engines and a T-tail, built for short and medium-haul routes between 1966 and 1989. The original version was distinguished by the glazed nose inherited…
The Yakovlev Yak-40 (Як-40; NATO reporting name "Codling") was the world's first jet airliner designed specifically for local air routes: a straight-winged trijet with a T-tail and retractable tricycle gear, able to work from grass or…
The Yakovlev Yak-42 is a narrow-body trijet for mid-range routes and the first Soviet airliner powered by modern high-bypass turbofans. It first flew on 7 March 1975 and began scheduled service on 22 December 1980.
The Ilyushin Il-86 (NATO reporting name «Camber») was the first wide-body airliner built in the Soviet Union. Designed by the Ilyushin bureau during the 1970s in response to the «aerobus» requirement issued by the Ministry of Civil…
The Sukhoi Su-27, given the NATO reporting name "Flanker", is the twin-engine heavy fighter with which the Soviet Union set out to answer, aircraft for aircraft, the American generation led by the F-15 Eagle and the F-14 Tomcat. Conceived…
The MiG-29 is the light air-superiority fighter with which the Soviet Union answered America's fourth generation. Christened "Fulcrum" by NATO, its low-speed agility and famous cobra manoeuvre made it the airshow star of the late Cold…
The Ilyushin Il-96 is a four-engined long-haul wide-body airliner designed by Ilyushin in the Soviet Union and built by the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association. It is a shortened, longer-ranged and technologically advanced development…
The Sukhoi Su-57 «Felon» is a twin-engine fifth-generation multirole fighter and the first aircraft designed with stealth technology to enter service with the Russian armed forces. It grew out of the PAK FA programme — the Russian acronym…