The Sukoi T-10, the prototype of the Su-27 (NATO reporting name “Flanker”) makes its first flight. The Su-27 is the first of a new generation of Soviet fighters (along with the MiG-29 “˜Fulcrum’) to compete with, respectively, the US F-15 and F-16. Production numbers are in the low hundreds, and the type is flown by several other countries. Several successive aircraft, including the Su-30, -32, and -33 have been built around the basic Su-27 design.
The dramatic and sprawling two-day operation to save the crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran on April 3 involved hundreds of personnel, dozens of aircraft—and multiple close calls.
