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Weapons and combat

The Su-27's missiles and gun, what it carries, how to fire each weapon, how to survive missiles fired at you, and how to practise against computer pilots.

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The Su-27 is an air superiority fighter: everything it carries is for shooting down other aircraft. It has six types of air-to-air missile and a 30 mm cannon. There are no air-to-ground weapons yet.

An R-27ER radar-guided missile in FlightOut, its motor burning and a white smoke trail behind it, heading for a target over the Kashmir valley
An R-27ER on its way, motor burning.

The weapons at a glance

WeaponKindGuided byUseful rangeBest for
R-73Short-range missileHeat (IR)about 1 to 10 kmThe turning fight: very agile, locks on almost anywhere you can point
R-27RMedium-range missileYour radar (SARH)about 5 to 30 kmHead-on shots; you must keep the lock
R-27ERLong-range missileYour radar (SARH)about 10 to 45 kmThe long head-on shot; the default radar missile
R-27TMedium-range missileHeat (IR)depends on the target's heatShots from behind, or at a jet in afterburner
R-27ETLong-range missileHeat (IR)depends on the target's heatLong shots from behind, silent: no warning to the target
R-77Medium-range missileYour radar, then its own (ARH)about 7 to 40 kmFire and forget: free to turn away once it's close
GSh-30-130 mm cannon, 150 roundsGunsight200 to 800 mThe last resort, and a sure kill when it hits

Ranges depend on height, speed and which way the target flies: see Missiles.

In this section

PageWhat's in it
MissilesEach missile in detail: guidance, speed, range, seeker, warhead
Load-out and selectionThe ten stations, the presets, the ground crew, and choosing a weapon with Z
Firing missilesStep by step for each kind of missile, the launch zone, and keeping it guided
The gunThe cannon, its ballistics, the funnel and the lead computing sight
Defending against missilesWhat actually defeats each kind of missile, with no flares or chaff
Air combatBeyond and within visual range, being hit, and what counts as a kill
Training against banditsThe computer pilots you can fight offline, and how they fight

The short version

  1. Radar on (R), BVR (2). Find the enemy on the radar display and lock him (Enter).
  2. Close to inside the launch zone on the HUD's range scale until LA flashes, then press Space: an R-27ER goes.
  3. Keep the lock until it hits: the R-27R and R-27ER need it all the way.
  4. Closer in, press 3 for WVR: point at him, the radar locks by itself, the R-73's seeker growls then gives a steady tone. Press Space.
  5. Closer still, 5 for GUN: put the gunsight on him and hold Space.
  6. When your SPO-15 shows a flashing LOCK and you hear the fast pulsing tone, a missile is coming: see Defending against missiles.
MissilesThe six air-to-air missiles the Su-27 carries in FlightOut: R-73, R-27R, R-27ER, R-27T, R-27ET and R-77. How each is guided, how fast and far it flies, its seeker and its warhead.Load-out and selectionThe Su-27's ten weapon stations, what each can carry, the CAP, BVR, DGFT and CLEAN presets, changing the load with the ground crew, and selecting a weapon in flight.Firing missilesHow to fire each kind of missile in the Su-27, step by step: heat-seekers, radar missiles and the R-77. The launch zone, LA, what the missile needs after launch, and why shots miss.The gunThe Su-27's GSh-30-1 30 mm cannon: rounds, rate of fire, ballistics, the funnel and the lead computing sight, and how to get hits.Defending against missilesHow to survive a missile in FlightOut: what defeats radar missiles, the R-77 and heat-seekers, the notch, terrain, speed and afterburner, step by step.Air combatFighting in the Su-27 in FlightOut: beyond visual range and in the close fight, energy and turning, what being hit is like, and what counts as a kill offline and online.Training against banditsThe computer pilots you can fight offline in FlightOut: how to switch them on, where they are, how they search, attack and defend, and how to practise against them.

Checked against FlightOut 0.5.2.