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SU-35
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This one has been making the email rounds lately, and we thought our readers would enjoy it. Sukhoi refers to this plane as the “The SU-35 Single-Seat Multi-Role Super-Maneuverable Fighter”; it’s a major upgrade to the SU-27 Flanker that includes new radar and avionics, thrust-vectoring engines, et. al. Production has been very limited, owing to the near-halt in Russia’s major aircraft programs due to limited funds. Nevertheless, exports remain a possibility and there have been rumors that Russia is looking at a renewal of its air force beginning around 2010. There has been some doubt concerning the aircraft’s exact configuration, but the MAKS 2007 air show appears to offer a settled design – see DID’s Sidebar “Which SU-35?” for more.

The video takes you through the SU-35’s key upgrades over the earlier SU-27 and its weapon fits, then includes a number of “mission scenes” which are laughably unrealistic but still somewhat illustrative of the SU-35’s equipment and uses. The labels are all in Russian, but aviation buffs will be able to recognize most of the items in it from context and background knowledge. Hokey, yes, but lots of fun.

• SU-35 Deep Modification YouTube video.