[Photo] Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker heavily armed for Combat Air Patrol

Mar 03 2014 - 43 Comments
By David Cenciotti

First image of Su-27 Flanker fighter jet “armed to the teeth” to perform Combat Air Patrol following the Russian invasion of Crimea.

An interesting image, showing a fully armed Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 has been published on Russianplanes.net.

Taken, on Mar. 1 by Andrey Rakul, at an undisclosed location (possibly, Mirgorod Air Base, the airbase hosting the only Ukrainian Air Force Flanker Squadron), it shows Su-27 “45 Blue” armed with 6 Vympel R-27 missiles (NATO reporting name AA-10 Alamo-C) semi-active-radar homing extended-range air-to-air missiles and 4 Vympel R-73 (AA-11 Archer), a configuration adopted for Combat Air Patrols (CAPs) established by Kiev after the Russian invasion of Crimea.

Image credit: Andrey Rakul

 

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  • deadsix

    Does Ukraine lack the R77 (AA-12 Adder)?

    • Ole Kristian Kaarstad

      Only the Su-27SM variant is equipped to fire R-77’s I think. I do not know what variant Ukraine has.

  • Daniel Kunkle

    But who is flying it? Someone loyal to Russia or Ukraine?

    • Flyn_Bryan

      The most important question right here.

    • Invader26

      All the more reason for Ukraine to join EU and NATO!

  • Patrick

    If Mirgorod is their only Su-27 base then hopefully they are dispersing their jets throughout the country.

  • Boris

    ‘The Russian Invasion…’ an amusing headline!

    • phuzz

      It’s not the headline?

    • phuzz

      It’s not the headline?

    • phuzz

      It’s not the headline?

    • R.Lopaka

      So it’s the Russian “peace keeping” INVASION?……Like these…….

      1.1 During the period of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact

      1.1.1 Poland (1939–1956)

      1.1.2 Baltic states (1940–1991)

      1.1.3 Finnish territories (1940)

      1.1.4 Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (1940)

      1.2 After the USSR entered the war on the Allied side

      1.2.1 Northern Iran 1941–1946

      1.2.2 Hungary (1944)

      1.2.3 Romania (1944)

      1.2.4 Bulgaria (1944)

      1.2.5 Czechoslovakia (1944)

      1.2.6 Northern Norway 1944–1946 / Bornholm 1945–1946

      1.2.7 Germany (1945)

      1.2.8 Austria 1945–1955

      1.2.9 Manchuria 1945–1946

      1.2.10 Korea 1945–1948

      1.2.11 Kuril Islands 1945

      2 Cold War

      2.1 Czechoslovakia (1968–1991)

      2.2 Afghanistan 1979–1989

      ……DOH!!

      • AlexisWolf

        You do realise that this list will be dwarfed by US atrocities, sorry ‘humanitarian interventions’, around the globe and that the Russian ‘invasion’ has yet to see a single casualty.
        An entire Ukraine Air Force division has pledged allegiance to the Crimean people.800 personnel and almost 50 war planes are now under the command of local authorities.That brings the total number of troops who have reportedly switched sides in the peninsular to almost six thousand in just two days.

        • Mr. Denali

          Ahh, you mean these guys: https://theaviationist.com/2014/03/04/video-russian-troops-fire-shots-over-the-heads-of-ukrainian-air-force-personnel/?
          Could the KremlinBots please leave us alone and spend their time with Putler and his cronies? Please!

        • R.Lopaka

          Lethal Politics: Soviet
          Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1917″
          “Probably 61,911,000 people, 54,769,000 of them citizens, have been murdered by the Communist Party–the government–of the Soviet Union. This is about 178 people for each letter, comma, period, digit, and other characters in this book.

          Old and young, healthy and sick, men and women, and even infants and infirm, were killed in cold-blood. They were not combatants in civil war or rebellions, they were not criminals. Indeed, nearly all were guilty of … nothing.

          Lethal Politics: Soviet
          Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1917”

          By R.J. Rummel

          New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1990

          Truth is tough
          —- O.W. Homes. The Professor at the Breakfast-Table http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/USSR.CHAP.1.HTM

  • Gyoz
  • Gyoz

    MIRGOROD AIR BASE in july 2011 hosted a joint exercise and training with Polish, Alabama National Guard and Ukraine squadrons in which pilots had also the opportunity to fly on the different planes. This looked like a pre-wedding date to join Nato:

    “During SAFE SKIES 2011, a joint US, Ukraine and Polish event where Air National Guard pilots fly engagements with Ukrainian SU-27, Mig-29s and Polish F-16s on air sovereignty operations in preparation for the 2012 Olympics and 2012 EUROCup and 2014 Winter Games in Europe. Many U.S. and Ukrainian pilots have the opportunity to fly in the other countries aircraft. This unique program allows pilots to further their integration training through hands-on experience. It also helps them understand the different techniques used during an intercept mission based on the capabilities of the aircraft.”

    http://www.eucom.mil/article/19481/safe-skies-2011-presents-rare-opportunity

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/An_Alabama_Air_National_Guard_F-16C_Fighting_Falcon_aircraft_taxis_at_Mirgorod_Air_Base,_Ukraine,_July_16,_2011,_during_Safe_Skies_2011_110716-Z-ZZ999-176.jpg/800px-An_Alabama_Air_National_Guard_F-16C_Fighting_Falcon_aircraft_taxis_at_Mirgorod_Air_Base,_Ukraine,_July_16,_2011,_during_Safe_Skies_2011_110716-Z-ZZ999-176.jpg

    • Jacek Siminski

      We’ve written about it last year.

    • Jacek Siminski

      We’ve written about it last year.

    • Jacek Siminski

      We’ve written about it last year.

    • OG_Locc

      Cool picture. Crazy how huge a Flanker is compared to an F-16.

      • invader26

        Thats because an F-16 is not in the same class. The Su27 is the same class as F-15, and even then it is lager than the F-15.

        • OG_Locc

          I’m aware of that. It’s just interesting to see the picture with both in the frame at the same time.

  • observer

    Yea armend to the teeth but dought they will do anything about it unless they want to be anhialated by Russia.Hopefully putin will have total control of the situation and no shots fired.Its sad when a couple of NAZIS (backed by the obama camp) take over and think they can play hard ball in russia’s back yard.This isnt the arab spring and ukrainians are delusional if they think they can stand up to russia.And by ukrainians i mean the western backed apes.

    • OG_Locc

      LMAO! WTF are you talking about? You seem to have your civil wars and mixed up there, Chief.

      • observer

        says you?

        • OG_Locc

          So the hundreds of thousands of pro EU Ukrainians taking to the streets last week were “western backed apes”?

          Wait, can you explain to me who the “NAZIS” are in this little insane RT fueled scenario you’ve drummed up in your head?

          • observer

            guess all the flags and nazi emblems mean nothing to you.Dude you watch too much CNN and NBC propaganda.

            • OG_Locc

              Really? Those hundreds of thousands of people in the streets were wearing Nazi emblems and carrying Nazi flags?

              It’s probably time to turn off RT. You *do* realize that RT is a state mouthpiece – and is mocked throughout the world, don’t you?

              • observer

                oh and the CNN NBC FOX is the real deal lol get a grip and open your eyes its people like you who vote fools for office

            • E1-Kabong

              You watch too much RT and read too much FSB propaganda.

    • Ebenezer

      Nazis?
      Putin is using the very same excuse that Hitler used to invade Czechoslovakia.

      • R.Lopaka

        Pot calling kettle black…or Nazi. Nothing like little Lebensraumski.

      • observer

        If you read up on russian history you will see that cremaia was russian.Most people that live there are RUSSIAN.Putin has every right to be there.If you watch the news and i mean other news not CNN or american propaganda news you will see pro-russian scuffles with neo nazi apes.

        • OG_Locc

          So I guess it was the “neo nazi apes” shooting the unarmed Ukrainians hiding behind sheet metal shields? And then shooting the medic who was tending to the wounded?

          Let me guess – 9/11 was an inside job too, right?

        • OG_Locc

          “If you read up on russian history you will see that cremaia was
          russian.Most people that live there are RUSSIAN.Putin has every right to
          be there.”

          Are you 12 years old? Russia has a right to invade Crimea, because it used to be part of Russia? No grown adult could be ignorant enough to say something that dumb, so that’s why I’m guessing 12 years old.

          Alaska used to be part of Russia too. Does that mean Putin has every right to invade Russia?

        • E1-Kabong

          If you read up on history, you’ll see Khrushchev LEGALLY signed the Crimea back to the Ukraine.

          Putin has NO right to be there.

          If you stopped guzzling the RT nonsense, you’d see the facts.

  • R.Lopaka

    I’d make a “TOP GUN” reference but some sore LOSERS might not like it!! LOL…..LOSERS!!!

  • Arvin Adilaksono

    Well this is a big concern because Russia could Easylt use the SU-35,Mig 35 and even the PAK FA to invade Ukraine

  • cencio4

    Which one? I can’t see any

  • Jerry Doyle

    Needs more cow bell.
    I don’t think that jet has enough missiles… 8-)

    • E1-Kabong

      10, actually.

      And a gun.

      Two MX’s are between the air intakes.