Source: unverified Usenet military aviation discussion forum

Besides taking out four Eritrean MiG-29s (plus one written off due to damage recieved from a AAM) Ethiopian Su-27s also carried out many strike missions against the Eritrean ground forces. While MiG-23s carried most of the bombing missions i think the Su-27 was used in a more penetrative role using Air-to-ground missiles etc.

Interesting to note that all MiG-29s were shot down in close-quarters turning dogfights. All kills were by means of the R-73. R-27s fired by both MiGs and Su-s on various occassions failed to find their mark.

One uneventful incident occured when two Su-27s were intercepted over Eritrean airspace by four MiGs. The lead Su-27 was targeted by the MiGs which fired three R-27s head-on. The Lead evaded the missiles and then proceeded to engage all four MiGs by firing four R-27s in quick succession. The missiles missed and the MiGs left in a hurry.

Ethiopia purchased 5 second-hand Su-27 Flanker-As from Russian. One was lost in a demonstration in Ethiopia. Eritrea purchased about 8 second hand MiG-29 Fulcrum-As from the Ukraine. AS it is five MiG were lost due to Su-27s.

Single MiG-29s were shot down on separate days in late February. Then two were shot down in one engagement with Su-27s in March. One MiG-29 was also supposedly written-off on landing after being damaged by a Su-27.

As far as ive been told ALL kills were made with R-73 Archers. Some head-to-head R-27 shootouts did occur but with no visible results (the written-off MiG couldve been damaged in one of these).

Claims and denials from the powers-that-be make the task of finding the truth... complicated.

As far as I know there are no significant differences between early and new or domestic and export R-27 variants. (Excluding the active radar homing R-27AE which was cancelled in favour of R-77, and the R-27EM which is only used with the Su-33, AFAIK.)

As for why the R-27s might have missed, it's not terribly suprising IMHO. The Sparrow has had a success rate of only 30% or so against MiG-21/23s flown by poorly trained pilots who usually did't even know they're being fired upon...

"Graphic evidence of what it means to control the airspace over a battlefield was visible on the road approaching Barentu.

On an open plain, an air-to-ground missile had found a truck carrying Eritrean soldiers toward the mountain pass that Ethiopian troops were trying to take.

The missile - probably fired from one of Ethiopia's small fleet of Russian-made helicopter gunships - left the flatbed truck a hulk of blackened iron."

"An Eritrean army truck, almost completely burned out, is identifiable only by the emblem on its door. The rotting remains of about 40 bodies are partly buried in mud nearby"

- Washington Post/Reuters, May 21, 2000