Moscow Times is reporting the Russian Air Force has grounded its
SU-27 fleet after a fourth generation fighter crashed Thursday in
Russia’s Far East killing one pilot and injuring the other.
Russian Air Force officials expect the investigation into the crash
to last up to 30 days. Flights have been suspended until the conclusion
of the investigation.
Russia built the SU-27 to compete with America’s F-15. About 450
SU-27 Flankers make up the Russian fleet while another 200 have been
shipped to Russian allies such as China. There have been no
reports of other countries grounding their SU-27 fleets.
Investigators have recovered the flight recorders. Officials told
Moscow Times the crash was likely caused by pilot error or technical
problems with the onboard flight system. There’s also the
possibility the crash was caused by a bird.
Considering Russia’s flagging defense budget, the military can’t
afford to lose fourth generation fighters in training runs. Despite the
lack of air-to-air combat, the world’s fighter aircraft
have experienced a string of problems. The U.S. Air Force is still
trying to figure out why the F-22 fighter jet keeps suffocating its
pilots.
Thursday’s crash coincidentally occurred near where a Tu-134
airliner crashed that killed 47 people. That investigation later found
the pilot was drunk.
