Sukhoi Su-15

The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace the Sukhoi Su-11 and Sukhoi Su-9, which were becoming obsolete as NATO introduced newer and more capable strategic bombers. The supersonic Su-15 had the performance needed to chase down high-subsonic aircraft like the B-52 and Vulcan, and the range to do so while those aircraft were still far from their targets.

The Su-15 formed the backbone of the Soviet interceptor forces from the 1960s into the 1980s, with a production run of 1,290 examples that ran from 1965 until 1979. Its introduction, around the same time as the widespread deployment of the SA-2 missile, forced the USAF and Royal Air Force to adopt low-level penetration tactics as flying at higher altitude was now near suicidal. The Su-15 lacked a radar that could see objects flying at low altitude, and this led to its eventual replacement with new versions of the MiG-23 as they became available. The MiG never wholly replaced the Su-15 before it was itself replaced by newer designs.