Mikhail Simonov | Russian jet designer, 81

MOSCOW - Aircraft designer Mikhail Simonov, 81, whose supremely maneuverable, heavily armed and far-flying Sukhoi fighter jet became an icon of the Soviet defense industry and a cash cow for postcommunist Russia, died in Moscow on Friday after a long illness.

Developed to counter the U.S. F-15 fighter, Mr. Simonov's sleek, twin-engine, twin-finned Su-27 joined the Soviet air force in the early 1980s and won respect in the West for its range of more than 2,000 miles, its impressive agility and its ability to fly at 2.35 times the speed of sound.

It was a star of international air shows, performing aerobatics that few other fighter planes could accomplish, and is matched only by the MiG jet and Kalashnikov assault rifle as a symbol of Russia's considerable prowess in weapons-making.

The Su-27's thrust-to-weight ratio and sophisticated control system allowed it to perform exceptional maneuvers at very low speeds, such as raising its nose and literally standing on its tail for a few seconds - a stunt called the cobra.

When state defense orders ground to a near halt after the 1991 Soviet collapse, Mr. Simonov played a key role in winning lucrative export deals. The cash-strapped government sold hundreds of fighters to China, India, and other foreign customers under contracts worth billions of dollars.

Mr. Simonov started working as an aviation engineer in the 1950s, and joined the Sukhoi design bureau as a deputy chief designer in 1970. During the next nine years, he led the development of the Su-24 bomber, the Su-25 ground-attack plane and the Su-27. After serving as deputy minister of aircraft industries from 1979 to 1983, he was named the top Sukhoi designer and continued work on the Su-27.

The Su-27 remained a mainstay of the Russian air force after the Soviet collapse, along with later versions such as the Su-30 and the Su-35. Magomed Tolboyev, a highly decorated former Sukhoi test pilot, praised Mr. Simonov as a "brilliant designer."

While Mr. Simonov polished the original Su-27 design, adding upgraded engines and modern avionics, the work on a prospective fifth-generation fighter to compete with the U.S. F-22 Raptor has dragged amid the post-Soviet industrial decline.

Mr. Simonov received a Lenin Prize and two state prizes along with the Order of the Red Banner during the Soviet era, and was awarded with the Hero of Russia medal in 1999.

- AP