Yahoo News Japan talks about the Su-15 fighter, which was the main force defending the Soviet skies in the 1980s. But he gained fame after a plane crash that occurred in 1983 and became one of the largest in the world.
What is the magnificent Su-15 (Flagon) fighter, which was treated as a second-class aircraft?
Such Russian design bureaus as MiG and Sukhoi are well known as fighter manufacturers. In 2020, Sukhoi has an overwhelming advantage, but during the Cold War, MiG was the most prominent representative of Soviet fighters. After the resounding success of the first jet fighter with swept wings, the MiG-15, Mikoyan Design Bureau aircraft were always referred to with the prefix "first".
Meanwhile, as for Sukhoi, before the appearance of the Su-27 (Flanker) fighter after the end of the Cold War, which brought the company to a leading position, its aircraft were in the shadow of MiG and were considered second-class products.
Despite this attitude, the Sukhoi planes were actually not much inferior. Moreover, in the 1960s, the company surpassed MiG and succeeded in developing a fighter that can be called, without exaggeration, the most high-tech and important Soviet fighter.
This aircraft is called the Su-15. Compared to the MiG fighters that were tested in real battles, the Su-15 had virtually no such experience. Besides, the only people who know about this plane are people who love old fighter jets. Nevertheless, I am sure that many people remember the Su-15 in connection with one event: on September 1, 1983, a Su-15TM fighter of the Soviet air defense forces shot down a South Korean passenger Boeing 747 with an R-98 air-to-air missile equipped with these aircraft.
High maneuverability + advanced electronic equipment = Su-15
Until the 1960s, Soviet fighters could be roughly divided into two types. Firstly, these were small light fighters that had outstanding characteristics: speed, climb and acceleration. The Soviet army adopted most of these aircraft for combat with the enemy on the front line.
The second type is relatively large aircraft, which because of this did not have high flight characteristics. Nevertheless, they were equipped with advanced radars and other electronic equipment, and also had a long flight range. Such aircraft were in service with the Soviet Air defense Forces, an independent unit of the air force.
In addition, the air defense forces also had light fighters, which differed rather not in flight characteristics, but in installed electronic equipment. Why did I call the Su-15 the most high-tech and important fighter? The fact is that it had more advanced flight characteristics than light fighters, and at the same time was equipped with more sophisticated electronic equipment than large aircraft.
The Su-15 was developed as an improved version of the Su-9 fighter. The Su-9 is a single-engine fighter aircraft, which can be classified as the first type with high flight characteristics and which was very similar to the MiG-21, released at the same time. During the development of the Su-15, the design of the Su-9 was left virtually unchanged, only a twin engine was installed and the fuselage was expanded for this purpose. It was a pretty bold redesign. The Su-15 inherited the characteristics of the Su-9, but thanks to the installation of air intakes not in the nose, but on the sides of the fuselage, the front of the aircraft was equipped with a large radar. As a result, the fighter received high flight characteristics and high-tech electronic equipment.
The "non-mobile" Su-15 entered service with the air defense forces, which guarded the Soviet sky.
In total, about 1,300 Su-15 fighters were produced. Compared to the MiG-21, of which more than ten thousand were produced, this is quite a few, however, unlike the MiG-21, which were distributed all over the world, all Su-15s were operated only by the Soviet air defense forces. This aircraft became the successor of both types: those with high flight characteristics and equipped with good electronic equipment.
In the 1980s, from 800 to 900 Su-15 fighters were transferred to 29 combat regiments of the Soviet air defense forces. As a result, one-third of the air defense fleet began to consist of these aircraft. If we count together with the Su-9 progenitor, then their share will reach half of the total.
The incident with the South Korean Boeing 747 occurred during the heyday of the Su-15. On April 20, 1978, a South Korean Boeing 707 made an emergency landing also due to the fact that it was the Su-15 that attacked it with an air-to-air missile.
The Su-15 became "off-limits" due to its impressive characteristics, for example, the presence of a data transmission system called "Air", which allowed it to be guided to a target in fully automatic mode from its interception by ground-based tracking systems.
The Su-15 specialized in Soviet air defense, namely, intercepting American nuclear bombers in the event of the outbreak of World War III. Therefore, he never passed the test in real combat.
There was also a case when a Su-15 collided with another aircraft, as a result of which both fell, but during the Cold War there was practically no information about it. It was a pattern that never became noticeable until now.
Nevertheless, the Su-15 was the main force defending the Soviet skies in the 1980s. By the way, Senior Lieutenant of the USSR Air Force Viktor Belenko, who escaped to Japan on September 6, 1976 in the latest MiG-25, landing it at Hakodate airport, used to fly Su-15.
If he had continued to fly the Su-15, then perhaps it would not have been the MiG-25 that would have become famous in Japan, but this particular fighter.
Comments from Japanese readers:
Ava
When the South Korean Boeing was shot down, information appeared that it was a MiG, but my father said it was a Sukhoi because, most likely, the air defense forces reacted. When I asked him why he was so sure, he replied that it was a secret about his work.
KIX
At that time, the range of passenger planes was not as long as it is now, so flights between the United States and Asia flew through Anchorage. Flight 007 was supposed to fly along the northern edge of this route, but it deviated greatly, violated Soviet airspace several times, and was shot down. It is difficult to imagine such a tragedy now.
Swakiti
But the more advanced MiG-25 was stationed abroad and exported. In other words, this means that the Su-9/11/15 were special types that could only be used as part of the Soviet air defense system. It's like the American F102/106. The excess Su-15s were sent to the advanced units of the Air Force, but they were not useful there, so they were immediately decommissioned. But still, it's a very beautiful plane. This is exactly what a supersonic fighter jet should look like. He made a huge impression on me when I saw him at the Central Museum of the Russian Air Force in Monino.
Ze
Belenko's MiG-25 was also a fighter designed specifically for air defense. If it had reached its maximum speed of Mach three, the fuselage would not have been able to withstand it. It doesn't even have an ejection system. Nevertheless, due to the vacuum tube, the reliability of the radar was increased, and it turned into a monster. It's a moody model, but it's in the Soviet style.
Ten
This happened a lot during the Cold War. The first samples of T-64 tanks were unsuccessful, so they were upgraded and assigned the T-72 index. This particular model was widely used, and the improved T-64 was used only by the Soviet army. In the 1980s, aviation fans showed fuzzy photos of the Su-15. His characteristics were also not known. I only remember his code name, Flagon (laughs).
The Karamunist
This is the first single-seat Soviet fighter with a normal all-weather radar. The radars of the previous models, the MiG-21 and Su-9, worked only on paper. After that, all-weather radars were installed only on the ridiculous Tu-128. If desired, they could be crammed into other planes, but it was not easy. They could not flexibly respond to all air defense tasks. A good all-weather fighter was needed, which would track targets using multiple radars, but ... in this area, the USSR lagged behind the West by 10-15 years.
Uzb
I remember the Belenko case. I was in the first grade then. A similar incident occurred in January 1942 in Jiamusi city. The head of the Soviet Air Force in the Far East had an ideological disagreement with one of his family members. He was also jealous of the high standard of living of Russians in Manchuria. That's why he fled there in a brand-new LaGG-3.
Leh
In the early 1980s, it was considered better than the Su-11 in war games, but it did not make much impression in the same way as the MiG-21. It seems to me that the MiG-23 was rated much higher.
SWAL B 737-200
At that time, there was talk that the United States had ordered the South Korean Boeing to specifically violate the airspace and collect information. It was also reported that he was mistaken for an American intelligence officer who flew right in front of him. Moreover, the tail identification beacon was turned off in power-saving mode, so the Soviet pilot did not realize that it was a civilian aircraft.
Si2
It follows from the text that the Su-15 appeared after the Su-9, but there was a Su-11 between them, although not many of them were produced (in the first photo to the right of the Su-15 it stands.
