Sukhoi performed the first two flights of a modified Su-27 single-seat fighter on 27 December from its KnAAPO factory at Komsomolsk-na-Amur.
The modified Su-27 was flown by Sukhoi test pilot Eugeny Frolov. A second aircraft is to fly this month and KnAPPO expects to hand over up to four aircraft this year.
KnAAPO upgraded the Russian air force aircraft with a glass cockpit similar to the front cockpit of China's Su-30MKK multirole fighter and an upgraded weapons control system enabling use of precision guided munitions (PGMs).
The Russian air force chose the Su-30MKK as the basis for the Su-27 upgrade in September 2002, overturning a previous selection of Russian Avionics' Su-30KN package as the basis for single- and twin-seat Su-27/30 upgrades.
However, Russian Avionics parent NPO Irkut continues to work on its contract to upgrade 30 Su-27UBand Su-30 twin-seaters into Su-27UBM/Su-30KNs.
Uncertainty remains over the Su-30KN Stage II/III efforts that call for replacing the N-001 radar's mechanically scanned antenna with the NIIP-developed Pero electronically-scanned passive phased array antenna, a glass cockpit and PGM capability. The first phase of Su-30KN Stage II demonstrator testing is complete.
A final decision on Su-27 fleet upgrade plans is due later this year. Russian air force commander GenVladimir Mikhailov says the target price is $1.2 million per airframe and that the money can be raised by selling the service's surplus aircraft overseas. The air force is understood to have rejected, on cost grounds, an offer to replace the existing Su-27 radars and those on the RSKMiG-29 with the multimode Phazotron-NIIR Zhuk-MS/M.
Source: Flight International
