Supermaneuverability

Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can involve controlled side-slipping or angles of attack beyond maximum lift.^[1]

This capability was researched beginning in 1975 at the Langley Research Center in the United States, and eventually resulted in the development of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD as a proof of concept aircraft. The Saab 35 Draken was another early aircraft with limited supermaneuverable capabilities.

In 1983, the MiG-29 and in 1986, the Sukhoi Su-27 were deployed with this capability, which has since become standard in all of Russia's fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft. There has been some speculation, but the mechanism behind the supermaneuverability of the Russian-built aircraft has not been publicly disclosed. However, post-stall analyses have been increasingly used in recent years to advance maneuverability via the use of thrust vectoring engine nozzles.^[2]

Russian emphasis on close-range slow-speed supermaneuverability runs counter to Western energy–maneuverability theory, which favors retaining kinetic energy to gain an increasingly better array of maneuvering options the longer an engagement endures.^[3] The USAF abandoned the concept as counter-productive to BVR engagements as the Cobra maneuver leaves the aircraft in a state of near-zero energy, having bled off most of its speed without gaining any compensating altitude in the process. Except in one-on-one engagements, this leaves the aircraft very vulnerable to both missile and gun attack by a wingman or other hostile, even if the initial threat overshoots the supermaneuvered aircraft.