u/Looselipssinkships93

the Su-27PU was essentially a mini awacs, it was capable of guiding four Su-27P interceptors simultaneously and could also cooperate defensively the MiG-31 Foxhound

between 1994 and 1996 5 PUs were delivered to the PVO serving with the 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Savasleyka Air Base, in 2002 the regiment is disbanded and the 5 were transferred to the 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel based at Lipetsk Air Base, 4 were used by the Russian Falcons, they were gradually retired from the years 2006, 2011 and with the final one flying until 2015, the 5th which had been in non-flying condition since 1998 was used for spare parts, a year after being retired a decision was made to repair all 5, from late 2016 to late 2017 they were removed from storage and sent to the 275th Aircraft Repair Plant in Krasnodar, 68 red was the first to finish overhaul in 2019 with the rest following after, they are still in use with the 4th Centre for training.

the 6 active are:

1. 51 Blue - non-flying condition since 1998, used for spare parts
2. 66 Red (ex 53 blue) - Russian Falcons, retired in 2011
3. 67 Red (ex 52 blue) - Russian Falcons, retired in 2006
4. 68 Red (ex 50 blue) - Russian Falcons, retired in 2006
5. 69 Red (ex 54 blue) - Russian Falcons, retired in 2015
6. 597 White, used at the Gromov Flight Research Institute

1 experimental, 2 prototypes, 2 pre-series and 7 serial productions were built

all the PUs except for the experimental one were renamed Su-30, only 5 were completed for the military (OG numbers 50-54, transfer renumbers 66-69), 1st with the post-soviet PVO and later the VVS when they were merged together in 1998 and some were used for tests for the K/KN, MK, MKI programs and L flying laboratories

experimental PU was originally the 2nd prototype Su-27UB trainer built in 1985, converted into a experimental plane with air refueling probe and arrested hook, used in the naval T10K program and later the PU program

6th serial production PU (56 Red) was modernized to the 1st prototype Su-30M in 1993, later converted into the 1st prototype Su-30MKI (01 blue) in 1996 and destroyed at the 1999 Paris Air Show

2nd prototype (06 blue) converted into 2nd prototype MKI in 1997, became the main test aircraft after the 1st was destroyed, originally the 6th prototype Su-27UB built in 1989, currently stored at the Zhukovsky Airfield backlot

1st pre-series production (596 white) used by Gromov for tests and displays, in 1993 is converted into the 1st prototype Su-30MK, repainted in a desert splinter camo scheme and renumbered 603, later in 2001 it's again repainted and renumbered to 07 and used for the cancelled KN program (later known as the M2) as the 1st pre-production, currently on display at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant Museum

the 2nd pre-series (597) was used as testbed in programs for satellite navigation systems, new radars for upgraded Su-27UB and Su-30 and new control systems, in 2001 was converted into the 2nd prototype KN, briefly renumbered 02 blue before going back to original number

1 serial PU was built in 1999 but completed for Sukhoi as the 1st prototype Su-30KN (302 white), currently stored at Irkutsk

502 was a demonstrator for what will become China's MKK, in 2003 it was rebuilt into the prototype MK2 but kept the original markings

only 15 were built with even a smaller number still active, the small numbers was considered insufficient for carrier training and a number of UB combat trainers were converted with a tail hook, these still retained their attack capabilities but are not used for the role

Jordan ordered the 2 MFs in 2005 and were delivered in 2011 and operated until 2019 when they were retired due to a program for reduced military spending and sold to Egypt the same year

the fuselage was extended by 22 ft which increased the cargo volume from 320 cubic meters to 400 and raised the cargo capacity from 48 tons to 52, with testing up to 60 tons, the enlarged fuselage also enabled new passenger layouts, ranging from 217 troops in a single deck to 305 in a two-deck configuration, or 186 paratroopers for airborne insertion, the improvements required reinforced wings and landing gear to handle a higher maximum take-off weight of 210 tons, compared to 190 tons for the Il-76MD, the wings and landing gear were from the Il-78 tanker and most important was the installation of new PS-90A-76 engines, delivering 16,140kgf of thrust against the 12,500kgf of the D-30KP-2 on the Il-76MD. The new powerplants provided 30% more thrust and 15% lower fuel consumption, extending range by up to 20%: 9,800km ferry and 4,200km with a 60-ton payload.

Egypt uses the 2nd and 3rd built airframes, the 1st prototype which flew in 1995 is currently used by Wagner for their Africa operations, it was originally in storage for 17 years at Uzbekistan's Tashkent Plant were it was built

it's the 2nd A-50 to be modernized to the U standard, besides mushroom it's also called the "flying saucer", if the 33 was painted yellow it would have a similar paint scheme to the navy Il-38s

3 Albatros's were completed, the 1st was used for static strength tests and is currently stored at the static testing facility in Taganrog and the 2 flying examples, a 4th was being built, the A-42 SAR but in 1993 work was suspended with the aircraft being 80% complete, it's most likely still in storage or scrapped, if completed it would had the PS-90A-42 engines

the A-40 hasn't flown since 1992, the long periods in storage and being near water have taken it's toll on the airframe

the A-42 hasn't flown since 2008, the search and rescue title is in name only as it was never configured for the role, it was given the false designation at the 2006 Gidroaviasalon airshow, it's brought out for static displays during open house and airshows at the plant, it was given a fresh coat of paint in 2018 as the old one was heavily fading

the smaller Be-200 is considered it's successor

in 2004 India and Israel signed a 1.1 billion dollar deal for 3 Phalcon systems, a year prior they had signed a deal with Ilyushin for 3 Il-76TDs, in 2005 the 3 airframes were delivered from Uzbekistan's Tashkent Mechanical Plant to Beriev for conversion to the A-50 standard, after the necessary equipment and newer PS-90A-76 engines were installed they were flown to Israel in 2008 to have the radar dome and other systems installed, a year later they were flown back to India, they're all assigned to No. 50 squadron at Agra Air Force Station

they along with China's KJ-2000 are considered more advanced then Russia's A-50 and modernized A-50M/U

first flew in 2003 and formerly operated by the defunct Dalavia Airlines and Airstars Cargo Airlines, bought by Tupolev in 2014 for conversion to a flying laboratory at the Kazan plant

though the the radar provided 360-degree coverage it was limited to detecting high altitude targets and struggled to detect small, low-flying targets due to it's limited look-down capability, it was effective over water, it had poor thermal and sound insulation, the contra-rotating props compromised the performance of the radar and the vibrations caused discomfort to the crew, the radar equipment emitted a loud humming sound and sleeping in the rest compartment was impossible due to it being located behind the wing where all the noisy control valves for cabin pressurization was located, after extended missions, especially those missions that required mid-air refueling, the radar and electronics operators would leave the airplane looking almost "half dead”, poor metal plating of the aircraft's structure led to a gradual buildup of static electricity which after 3 hours of flight made some parts impossible to grasp and caused electric shocks, it lacked a APU which made life much more difficult on board, especially in the winter, due to poor shielding the radar antenna's strong radiation posed a health hazard to everyone on board, it was also planned to help guide Tu-128 interceptors to their targets but the system was not fully developed during it's service, despite it's problems it was accessed by western intelligence to have powerful jamming equipment, unlike the Tu-95 and Tu-142 it lacked any defensive armament though some aircraft were fitted with the SPS-100 Rezeda ECM system and automatic chaff ejectors in the rear, by 1984 the A-50 entered service and they were retired and placed in storage until 1990 where they were all scrapped except for the first one built which at the time was being used as a flying laboratory at taganrog, it was transferred there in 1977, it was used to test the A-50's shmel radar and later tested a mockup of the shmel-m radar for the A-50M, it was retired in 1990 and was last seen in an abandoned state at the Gromov Flight Research Institute's radio testing range at the Zhukovsky Airfield graveyard between 1992 to 1995 where it was later scrapped

it's named in honor of Colonel Vladimir Dubinsky, the first commander of the 76th Independent Anti-submarine Aviation Regiment (OSAP) of the Northern Fleet

to see a VVS plane in eggplant today would be super rare as most got repainted after coming out of overhaul, crashed or lost next door, the navy continues to use it on the Su-30SMs and MiG-29KR/KUBR

the Helio AU-24 Stallion is a STOL aircraft purchased by the USAF for the credible chase program during the vietnam war, it was fitted with a 20mm M193 rotary cannon (Cobra chin gun) mounted on the left side cargo door and 5 hardpoints under the wings and fuselage, it was intended to be used as a light gunship, COIN duties and transport, the USAF never flew them for combat operations and mostly tested them in Thailand or the US, of the 20 built, 18 were purchased by the USAF with the intention of giving them to the South Vietnamese Air Force but was found to be unsuitable for combat operations and instead sold to the Khmer Air Force in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge shot down 3 stallions, 1 crashed in the Gulf of Tonkin while trying to escape from the country as it was being taken over by communist forces and another 3 escaped to Thailand where they were later sold on the civilian market, the rest were captured and put into service with the new Kampuchea govt, poor maintenance and a chronic shortage of spare parts left the fleet down to 1 airworthy airframe, it survived the 1979 vietnamese invasion of cambodia which toppled the genocidal khmer rouge, it was taken into service with the air force of the kampuchean people's revolutionary armed forces which was later renamed the cambodian people's armed forces when the country was renamed cambodia in 1989 and finally retired in 1993, that same year the monarchy was restored and the armed forces was absorbed into the newly re-established royal cambodian armed forces