T-10-10 1983 National Joint Testing Experiment

Su-27 T-10-10, tactical number Yellow 10, serial number (36911004x02), was a T10-5 modified-batch experimental aircraft.

After the decision was made in 1978 to redesign the Su-27, the Sukhoi Design Bureau used already-produced T10-1 specification components to simplify production and built eight prototype aircraft, known as the T10-5 modified-batch aircraft. These aircraft were assigned as flying testbeds for the development and certification testing of various subsystems intended for the T10S. They inherited the 7-degree outward-canted vertical tails first introduced on the T10-2, but still used the more outdated AL-21F-3AI turbojet engines. Apart from that, they featured only minor structural modifications.

T10-10 (production batch 04-02) was one of them. It was delivered to the design bureau in September 1980 and was intended for testing the radar and fire-control system. However, due to delays in radar equipment delivery, it did not make its maiden flight until 25 November 1982, and on 6 December of the same year it was transferred to Akhtubinsk for the Phase A flight tests of the joint state acceptance trials. Because it was equipped with the N001 radar fitted with an inverted Cassegrain antenna, its radome was lengthened by 130 mm, giving it an external appearance closer to the double-tapered nose profile of the T10S.

Between April and July 1983, this aircraft, together with T-10-11, completed numerous live-fire range trials and radar tracking tests, proving that the radar/fire-control system fully met the design requirements.

Starting in September of the same year, the aircraft took part in the Phase B portion of the joint state acceptance trials, with control transferred from test pilots to Air Force pilots.

In the end, T-10-10 flew a total of 174 sorties during the full state joint acceptance test program. Using R-27ER/ET missiles, it achieved a record of 11 target kills, including MiG-17F, MiG-21M, and La-17 target aircraft.
(For reasons unknown, however, the real aircraft was painted with 12 victory stars.)

T-10-10 was withdrawn from flight service in April 1984, ending its flying career and subsequently being used as a training aid. In June of the same year, it was donated to the Lugansk Aviation Museum in Ukraine, where it has remained on display ever since. Recent photographs show that, due to long-term outdoor exposure, most of its paint has almost completely peeled away, and the museum itself has long since closed.