Developed to replace the Su-11 'Fishpot-C' interceptor during the 1960s, the Sukhoi Su-15
first appeared as a scaled-up version of the Su-9/Su-11 family but powered by two engines
and utilizing twin side inlets. These design changes freed up space in the new solid nose
for a large radar, and powerful engines were installed to insure the Su-15 would fly
considerably faster than any known Western aircraft of the time.
The first production 'Flagon-A' models featured a mid-mounted cropped delta wing, swept tail
surfaces, and a large bubble canopy placed aft well of the conical nose. Later models
introduced a "kinked-delta" wing planform of greater span and a more aerodynamic ogival
nose. In addition, the electronics, engines, and armaments were continually upgraded so
that the Su-15 remained a formidable high-speed interceptor through the 1980s. Some
later models have been reported as the Su-21, but this designation was never
applied to any members of the Su-15 family.
The Su-15 guarded Soviet airspace throughout much of the Cold War, though it was never
exported to Soviet allies. By 1976, 29 PVO interceptor regiments were equipped with the
'Flagon', 18 Units flying the delta winged Su-15 (sans suffixe), and a further 11 units
flew the SU-15TM 'Flagon-F'. Surely the most notable, albeit infamous, event the aircraft
was involved in occurred in 1983 when an Su-15TM 'Flagon-F' shot down a Korean Air
Lines Boeing 747 mistaking it for a reconnaissance Boeing RC-135 aircraft.
About 700 Su-15s still remained in service by the mid-1980s, but these were gradually
retired and replaced by the MiG-31 'Foxhound' and Su-27 'Flanker' by about 1993.
