Falcons of Russia

Falcons of Russia (Соколы России) are the Russian Aerospace Forces’ tactical aerobatic/role demonstration unit, formed in 2006 at the 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel at Lipetsk-2 Air Base. Crews are active frontline instructor and test/operational pilots who demonstrate the combat employment of modern Sukhoi fighters as much as classic airshow figures.

Displays emphasise low-altitude air-combat manoeuvres and tactical formations with very close spacing, using line jets without special colour schemes. The team has flown various types over time—including Su-27, Su-30, Su-34, Su-35S, and MiG-29—with current routines commonly featuring the Su-30SM and Su-35S.

Su-30SM. Two-seat multirole derivative of the Su-27 family fitted with canards and thrust-vectoring engines. Its integrated aero layout and TVC enable super-manoeuvres such as Pugachev’s Cobra and tailslides—useful in dissimilar air combat and even to defeat Doppler radar lock at low closing speeds.

Su-35S. Single-seat “4++ generation” evolution of the Su-27 with powerful engines and 3-D TVC, modern sensors/avionics and high agility, often paired with the Su-30SM in Falcons’ role demos.

2006. Team established at Lipetsk under the leadership of Honoured Military Pilot of Russia Anatoly N. Kharchevsky (through 2015). Early demos used Su-27 and Su-30 variants.

2007–2013. Regular appearances at the MAKS air salon with mixed Su-27/Su-30/Su-34 routines, highlighting tactical manoeuvres at crowd-line safe altitudes.

2015–2019. Public role demos at Army Forum/Aviadarts and MAKS, increasingly featuring Su-35S alongside Su-30SM.

Today. Continuing domestic appearances as an operationally-staffed role demo showcasing current VKS fighter tactics and aircraft.

• The team’s focus is role demonstration—simulated air combat and tactical profiles—rather than traditional smoke-trail aerobatics.
• They fly regular line jets with unit markings; no special paint schemes are used.
• Aircraft types used over time include Su-27, Su-30, Su-34, Su-35S and MiG-29; current routines commonly use Su-30SM/Su-35S.
• Signature manoeuvres often include Cobra, tailslide and high-alpha turns enabled by thrust-vectoring.
• The unit is based at Lipetsk-2, home of the 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining.