Sukhoi Su-27SM / SM3
The mid-life upgrade that gave Russia's early Flankers glass cockpits, R-77s and guided ground-attack weapons · First flight 2002 · In service 2004
By the early 2000s the Russian Su-27 fleet still carried its original analogue cockpit and could not use the active-radar R-77 missile. KnAAPO at Komsomolsk-on-Amur converted an aircraft borrowed from the regiment at Dzemgi into the first Su-27SM, which flew on 27 December 2002. The upgrade added multi-function displays, an upgraded mission computer and fire-control system with a slightly better radar, the R-77, and guided air-to-ground weapons such as the Kh-29, Kh-31 and laser-guided bombs; the Pastel warning receiver and Khibiny jamming pods replaced the older systems.
The first five upgraded aircraft went to the Lipetsk combat training centre for trials in December 2003, and the 23rd Fighter Regiment at Dzemgi received its first batch in December 2004. Roughly 55 Su-27s were brought to SM standard between 2003 and 2009.
The further Su-27SM3 added R-77-1 compatibility, a maximum take-off weight raised by 3 tonnes and AL-31F-M1 engines; KnAAPO completed delivery of 12 in 2011. A planned deeper Su-27SM2 upgrade was not adopted, and the line of development continued instead in the Su-35S.
