Hobby Master 1/72 HA6404 Su-33 Flanker D Bort 88 Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov near Syrian coast 2016

In 1985 the approval was given for a naval variant of the Su-27 that would provide air superiority for its aircraft carriers. The new aircraft was designated Su-27 (K = Korabelny, Ship Borne) with a factory designation of T-10K which would later become Su-33, NATO Flanker D. Canards were added, strengthened frame and landing gear with a two-wheel nose gear. The drag chute was removed, a retractable tail hook added and wings, horizontal stabilizers and nose cone were made to fold. A retractable in-flight refueling probe was included on the port side.

Mid October 2016 the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and seven other Russian vessels left for the Syrian coast. On November 15 2016 the carrier and its ten Su-33 and four MiG-29KR/KUBR aircraft took part in a large operation against ISIS in the Homs area using 500 pound bombs. Admiral Kuznetsov returned to its home port of Severomorsk in February 2017. During the deployment Su-33 67 Red was lost due to arrestor cable failure. One of the other nine Su-33s was 88 Red.