Since the Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name “Flanker”) air superiority fighter officially debuted in June 1985, it seems that the JSC Sukhoi Company has produced more upgrades and variants of the original Flanker for the Russian Air Force and Navy than you can shake a proverbial stick at. Thanks to Vladimir Putin’s ongoing “special military operation” in Ukraine, these Flanker variants are in the spotlight more than ever.

Sukhoi Su-33 launched by Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier.
National Security Journal now starts a two-part series on the latest iterations of this warbird, starting with the Su-33 “Flanker-D.”
Sukhoi Su-33 Initial History and Specifications
The Sukhoi Su-33 made its maiden flight on 17 August 1987 (when the Cold War was still raging and the Soviet Union still existed) but didn’t enter official operational service with the Russian Navy until 31 August 1998 (the comparatively happier days of post-Cold War US-Russia relations, when Boris Yeltsin preceded Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian Federation).
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent downsizing of the Russian Navy, only 24 airframes were produced.
The fighter was designed as a carrier-based version of the Su-27 and, indeed was initially dubbed the Su-27K. It differentiates itself from the land-based Flanker via reinforced undercarriage, more technical landing gear, wing canards, folding wings, a larger wing area, and slightly more powerful Saturn AL-31F3 afterburning turbofan engines.
In addition, to further boost aircraft carrier flight deck capability, the Su-33’s landing gear, folding wings, larger wing area, and engine are designed explicitly for tighter accommodations and short runways.
Additional Specifications
-Fuselage Length: 21.19 m (69 ft 6 in)
-Wingspan: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
-Width: 7.40 m (24 ft 3 in)
-Empty Weight: 18,400 kg (40,565 lb)
-Max Takeoff Weight: 33,000 kg (72,753 lb)
-Max Airspeed: Mach 2.17
Armament-wise, the Su-33 packs a 30mm Gsh-30-1 cannon and twelve external hardpoints with a capacity of up 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) of ordnance, including: R-27R1(ER1), R-27T1(ET1) and R-73E air-to-air missiles, S-8KOM, S-8OM, S-8BM S-13T, S-13OF and S-25-OFM-PU unguided missiles, Kh-25MP, Kh-31 and Kh-41 guided missiles, RBK-500 cluster bombs and electronic countermeasure pods.
Operational History of the Su-33
Alex Betley of The Fletcher School (a graduate school of global affairs) at Tufts University gives a pretty unflattering assessment of the Flanker-D’s real-world performance, as can be surmised from the title of his 7 September 2022 article, “The Junk Fighter? Russia’s Su-33 Is An Aircraft Carrier’s Worst Nightmare.”
Mr. Betley elaborates on his choice of title thusly:
“Yet it is this reality—that the Su-33 really can’t load some of the most important munitions (particularly for running air-to-ground missions)—that has made the fighter a very limited success at best and a failure at worst. Thus, despite being branded as a multirole fighter, the Flanker is in reality an air superiority fighter rather than truly multirole…Although the actual use of the Su-33 has been limited, the times it has been used have been tragic…Since the aircraft first entered service in 1999, at least three of the 35 produced have been lost in accidents, including one during a summer 2001 airshow in Russia.”
Of course, it certainly doesn’t help the SU-33’s cause and future viability that the aircraft carrier from which it was intended to launch, Admiral Kuznetsov, has been an unmitigated disaster, beset by one malady after another that has prevented the warship from sailing since 2017.
That said, for the sake of fairness and balance, it should be noted that the Kuznetsov and Flanker-D tandem did get “blooded” combat action in 2016, launching airstrikes against Islamic State/ISIL/ISIS/Da’esh and Al-Nusra Front terrorist facilities in Syria’s Idlib and Homs provinces with 500 kg (1,102 lb) precision-guided munitions (PGMs). Assuming for argument’s sake that the Russian Defence Ministry’s official claims are to be taken at face value, at least 30 terrorists, including three field commanders, were killed due to the strikes, which targeted ammunition warehouses, gathering and training centers, and weapon production plants.
However, even this relative success for the warship and warbird received a black eye. A Flanker-D crashed in a landing attempt upon the star-crossed carrier after the arrestor cable broke up during the aircraft’s second landing attempt, prompting the Russian military to move the entire fleet to land. The one silver lining behind the proverbial cloud was that the pilot safely ejected and was rescued.
Future Status of the Su-33
A U.S. Army TRADOC report casts further doubt upon the future viability of the Su-33:
“Attempted sales to China and India fell through. With plans to retire the Su-33 once they reach the end of their service life, the Russian Navy ordered the MiG-29K as a replacement in 2009.”
The MiG-29K “Fulcrum-D” (coincidentally another “-D” NATO designation) offers multiple advantages over the Su-33, including lower production and maintenance costs, a smaller size and lighter weight that make it more compatible for carrier ops, and greater capability for ground strikes and compatibility with a greater selection of standoff missiles and guided bombs.
In short, a bleak future for the Su-33.
In the concluding installment of this two-part series, we’ll discuss the Sukhoi Su-35 “Flanker-E/M.” Stay tuned.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch , The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS).
