Sukhoi Su-27 variant
Sukhoi Su-27 T-10
Initial prototype configuration, first flown on 20 May 1977 and given the NATO reporting name Flanker-A.
- May 20, 1977
- First flight
History
The first Flanker
The T-10 was Sukhoi's tenth design and the first flying hardware of the Soviet heavy-fighter programme conceived as an answer to the American F-15. The first batch of flying prototypes comprised the T-10-1 and T-10-2, powered by Lyulka AL-21 turbojets and fitted with ogival wings quite unlike those of the eventual production aircraft.
A wing that did not work
The maiden flight of the T-10-1 on 20 May 1977 confirmed what construction had already suggested: the aerodynamic layout was unsatisfactory. The aircraft completed its trials in November 1983 and was later donated to the Soviet Air Force Museum. What was learned from this first airframe forced a complete redesign that produced the T-10S and, through it, the production machine.