The Sukhoi Su-33 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-D) is an all-weather carrier-based twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, derived from the Su-27 and initially known as the Su-27K. Compared with the Su-27, the Su-33 has a strengthened undercarriage and structure, folding wings and stabilators, all for carrier operations. The Su-33 has canards and its wings are larger than the Su-27 for increased lift. The Su-33 has upgraded engines and a twin nose wheel, and is air refuelable.

First used in operations in 1995 aboard the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the fighter officially entered service in August 1998, by which time the designation "Su-33" was used. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union and the subsequent downsizing of the Russian Navy, only 24 aircraft were produced. Attempted sales to China and India fell through. With plans to retire the Su-33 once they reach the end of their service life, the Russian Navy ordered the MiG-29K as a replacement in 2009.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a Russian Navy Sukhoi Su-33 "Flanker-D" air superiority fighter that was attached to the 1st Aviation Squadron, 279th shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment based at Severomorsk-3, Murmansk Oblast, during February 2014. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-inches
Length: 12-3/4-inches

Release Date: August 2019

Historical Account: "Off the Kuznetsov" - Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov ("Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov") is an aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser, or TAVKR, in Russian classification) serving as the flagship of the Russian Navy. She was built by the Black Sea Shipyard, the sole manufacturer of Soviet aircraft carriers, in Nikolayev within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). The initial name of the ship was Riga; she was launched as Leonid Brezhnev, embarked on sea trials as Tbilisi, and finally named Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov after Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov.

She was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy, and was intended to be the lead ship of the two-ship Kuznetsov class. However, her sister ship Varyag was still incomplete when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The second hull was eventually sold by Ukraine to the People's Republic of China, completed in Dalian and commissioned as Liaoning

On November 15th, 2016, Sukhoi Su-33 fighter jets began conducting combat flights over Syria from Admiral Kuznetsov's flight deck in the ongoing Syrian civil war. On December 5th, 2016, it was reported that a Su-33 had crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after it failed to land on the carrier for a second time due to an arrestor cable problem.