Zombie Sukhoi! Ukrainian Engineers Restored A 40-Year-Old Su-27 That Hadn't Flown in 26 Years.
Every restored Su-27 delays the type's extinction in Ukraine.
The appearance of a very old Ukrainian air force Sukhoi Su-27 in the air somewhere over Ukraine is a symbol of hope for the air force’s two Su-27 brigades.
A recent photo depicts an airborne Su-27 with the nose number, or “bort,” 14—and also sporting the latest camouflage scheme the Ukrainians apply to their twin-engine, supersonic Su-27s.
Manufactured in 1986, Bort 14 is one of the oldest of the 74 Su-27s Ukraine inherited when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Depleted by crashes and wear and tear, the Ukrainian Su-27 fleet—divided between the 39th and 831st Tactical Aviation Brigades—was down to no more than 24 jets when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.
That’s when the Ukrainian air force began restoring grounded Su-27s. There were, at the time, as many as 33 unflyable Su-27s sitting around various air bases and repair plants. As none of Ukraine’s allies operate Su-27s they could donate to the war effort, those grounded Su-27s were, and still are, the only source of “new” and replacement airframes as the war widened.
In 12 years of escalating fighting, the Ukrainians have lost no fewer than 19 Su-27s. How many of the jets may be left depends on how many derelict airframes engineers could refurbish and restore to flightworthiness.
Bort 14 was last seen in the air around 2000, meaning she was likely among the first Su-27s to leave active service as the cash-strapped Ukrainian air force contracted through the early 2000s. There was every reason to believe Bort 14 would never fly again.
But there she is in that recent photo, back in action after a quarter century sitting idle and accumulating rust. That the Ukrainians could restore Bort 14 after so long speaks to their ingenuity … and desperation.
