MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The Kozhedub Air Force Aircraft Demonstration Center headquartered in Kubinka near Moscow will receive new SU-35 Flanker (a.k.a Super Flanker) planes in the near future, Lieutenant General Alexandr Zelin, deputy commander of the Russian Air Force, told Interfax-Military News Agency Thursday.
The introduction of aircraft like SU-35 into the inventory is in the framework of the outlook for the development of the Air Force, for its high combat performances place it between the fourth and fifth generations of combat aircraft; however, so far this type of military hardware has been a rare thing in service because of underfunding, he said.
According to the general, SU-35s allow less resource to be tailored for the same air defense missions; they also have better potential in hitting surface targets, which will help friendly forces in gaining air superiority.
"Dogfighting is the main mission of current and future fighters," the general said.
Experience of local war shows that whatever the aerial warfare, it always ends up in high-maneuver dogfighting, which is going to be the dominant trend in the future. In such warfare, the supermaneuvrability of these aircraft, for example, while making Pugachev's Cobra, enables the pilot to better use onboard weapons, disrupt enemy attack, and escape enemy weapons, he also said.
The SU-35 fighter is the next step in the SU-27 Flanker family. It features better aerodynamics, a new control system, a better onboard radar, and air-to-surface capability. With its new phased-array onboard radar, the SU-35 can detect and track up to 20 targets, and fire upon eight of them.
In the 1990s, at least 10 SU-35s were built.