Editing Sukhoi Su-27 (section)

=== Navy ===
[[File:The 279th separate naval fighter regiment (Murmansk Region) (26).jpg|thumb|A [[Su-33]] on approach]]
Development of a version for the Soviet Navy designated ''Su-27K'' (from ''Korabyelny'' - "shipborne", NATO designation 'Flanker-D') commenced not long after the development of the main land-based type. Some of the T-10 demonstrators were modified to test features of navalized variants for carrier operations. These modified demonstrators led to specific prototypes for the Soviet Navy, designated "''T-10K''". The T-10Ks had [[canard (aeronautics)|canards]], an [[Tailhook|arresting hook]] and carrier landing avionics as well as a retractable inflight refueling probe. They did not have the landing gear required for carrier landings or folding wings. The first T-10K flew in August 1987 flown by the famous Soviet test pilot [[Viktor Pugachev]] (who first demonstrated the [[Cobra maneuver]] using an Su-27 in 1989), performing test takeoffs from a land-based [[Flight deck#Ski-jump ramp|ski-jump]] carrier deck on the [[Black Sea]] coast at [[Saky]] in the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]]. The aircraft was lost in an accident in 1988.

At the time the naval Flanker was being developed the Soviets were building their first generation of [[aircraft carriers]] and had no experience with [[Aircraft catapult|steam catapults]] and did not want to delay the introduction of the carriers. Thus it was decided to use a takeoff method that did not require catapults by building up full thrust against a blast deflector until the aircraft sheared restraints holding it down to the deck. The fighter would then accelerate up the deck onto a ski jump and become airborne.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goebel |first1=Greg |title=[1.0] First-Generation Su-27s - [1.5] Naval Su-27K (Su-33) |url=http://www.airvectors.net/avsu27_1.html#m5 |website=AirVectors.net |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129032144/http://www.airvectors.net/avsu27_1.html#m5 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The production ''Su-27K'' featured the required strengthened landing gear with a two-wheel nose gear assembly, folding [[stabilator]]s and wings, outer [[aileron]]s that extended further with inner double slotted [[Flap (aeronautics)|flaps]] and enlarged [[leading-edge slats]] for low-speed carrier approaches, modified [[Leading-edge extension|leading edge root extension]] (LERX) with canards, a modified ejection seat angle, upgraded fly-by-wire, upgraded hydraulics, an arresting hook and retractable inflight refuelling probe with a pair of deployable floodlights in the nose to illuminate the [[Ilyushin Il-78|tanker]] at night. The Su-27K began carrier trials in November 1989, again with Pugachev at the controls, onboard the first Soviet aircraft carrier, called ''[[Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov|Tbilisi]]'' at the time and formal carrier operations commenced in September 1991.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kopp |first1=Dr Carlo |title=Sukhoi Su-33 and Su-33UB Flanker D Shenyang J-15 Flanker D (Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0603) |url=http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Maritime-Flanker-D.html |website=Air Power Australia |date=25 June 2008 |pages=1 |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416015653/http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Maritime-Flanker-D.html |archive-date=16 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kuznetsov class heavy aviation cruiser |url=http://www.military-today.com/navy/kuznetsov_class.htm |website=Military-Today.com |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309080724/http://www.military-today.com/navy/kuznetsov_class.htm |archive-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Development of the naval trainer, called the ''Su-27KUB'' (from ''Korabyelny Uchebno-Boyevoy'' - "shipborne trainer-combat"), began in 1989. The aim was to produce an airframe with dual roles for the Navy and Air Force suitable for a range of other missions such as reconnaissance, aerial refuelling, maritime strike, and jamming. This concept then evolved into the ''Su-27IB'' ([[Sukhoi Su-34|Su-34 "Fullback"]]) for the Soviet Air Force. The naval trainer had a revised forward fuselage to accommodate a side-by-side cockpit seating arrangement with crew access via a ladder in the nose-wheel undercarriage and enlarged canards, stabilisers, fins and rudders. The wings had extra ordnance hardpoints and the fold position was also moved further outboard. The inlets were fixed and did not feature [[foreign object damage]] suppression hardware. The central fuselage was strengthened to accommodate {{convert|45|t|lb|abbr=off}} maximum gross weight and internal volume was increased by 30%. This first prototype, the T-10V-1, flew in April 1990 conducting aerial refuelling trials and simulated carrier landing approaches on the Tbilisi. The second prototype, the T-10V-2 was built in 1993 and had enlarged internal fuel tanks, enlarged spine, lengthened tail and tandem dual wheel main undercarriage.<ref name="auto"/>