Sukhoi Su-35S Flanker-E Blue 25 – 22nd IAP, 303rd DPVO, Russian Air Force, 2012

Hobby Master 1/72 scale HA5710: Sukhoi Su-35S Flanker-E Blue 25 of 22nd IAP, 303rd DPVO, Russian Air Force, 2012. Production run of 800 models.

Length 12 inches Wingspan 8 inches

The first Russian contract for 48 Su-35S Flanker Es was signed in August 2009 with delivery by 2015. In July 2014 a contract for another 40 aircraft was signed with delivery after 2015. The first two aircraft from the first contract were delivered in 2011 followed by 8 in 2012, 12 in 2013 and the final 2 in 2016. Su-35 RF-95495 Blue 25 was one of the aircraft delivered in 2012 and assigned to the 11th Air Defense Army of the Russian Aerospace Forces Guards Mixed Aviation 303rd Division Guards Fighter Aviation 22nd Regiment.

Designed by the Soviet Union to challenge the superiority of fourth generation US fighters such as the F-15 Eagle, the Su-27 was first flown on May 20, 1977. This one seat Mach-2 fighter had the Soviet Union’s first operational fly-by-wire system. The aircraft is very large compared to the MiG-29, its closest Soviet counterpart, but it is built with a high percentage of titanium, which helps minimize its weight. It is exceptionally agile and is perhaps most famous for its “Cobra” maneuver, which is a short, sustained level flight at a 120 degree angle of attack, often performed at air shows.