The Pugachev’s Cobra, made famous by the Soviets

Cobra maneuver, performed by Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker

The Cobra Manouvre, also known as Pugachev’s Cobra or Pugachev Cobra, is a spectacular, dramatic, and demanding aerobatics maneuver in which an aircraft flown at a moderate speed suddenly raises its nose to the vertical position—and beyond—before dropping the nose back to horizontal flight. The aircraft reaches a 90–120° angle of attack during the Cobra. The Cobra manoeuvre is named after the Soviet test pilot Viktor Pugachyov, who first performed the Cobra maneuver publicly in 1989 at the Paris Le Bourget air show, and shocked the Western spectators who couldn’t believe it. The Soviet Union still existed at this time. However, the Cobra was first executed by Sukhoi test-pilot Igor Volk in a test flight (in the Soviet Union). The classic Cobra was done using only standard aerodynamic controls. Today, it is easier to do with Vector Thrust.

But who invented the Cobra maneuver?

There were and are Western fighter jets such as the Saab J35 Draken who could also do Cobras (it was called Kort Parad). In the early 1960s, Swedish pilots flying the Saab 35 developed the cobra maneuver during training to recover from super stalls—a dangerous and uncontrollable stall common to the aircraft’s double delta tailless design. The maneuver, named “kort parad” (short parry) after a fencing move, allowed pilots to recover by pulling negative alpha and was later used to reduce speed intentionally. Test pilots Bengt Olow and Ceylon Utterborn pioneered the technique between 1961 and 1963 after super stalls caused several accidents early in Saab 35 service. Sweden’s proximity to the Soviet Union across the Baltic Sea led to frequent interceptions of Soviet planes by Saab 35s, sometimes resulting in non-combat dogfights. The cobra maneuver, used by Saab 35 pilots, surprised Soviet planes and was later employed as a “secret weapon” in mock dogfights against the Saab 37. However, the Saab 37 couldn’t perform the maneuver safely above 350 km/h (220 mph), limiting its effectiveness. When the Saab 35 was retired, the maneuver disappeared as subsequent models couldn’t execute it. Secrecy during the Cold War kept the tactic largely unknown until Saab pilots revealed it years later, long after Soviets had claimed credit for its discovery.

Pugachev’s Cobra at Dogfight and Airshow

The Cobra requires very potent engines to maintain approximately a constant altitude throughout the Cobra. It has some use in close range aerial combat or dogfight – so the hunted can become a hunter by getting behind the enemy aircraft. The Cobra can be useful when a fighter jet is being pursued closely by an opponent fighter jet. By executing the Cobra maneuver, a pursued fighter jet may suddenly slow down to the point where the enemy aircraft may overshoot it. The aircraft is now behind and pursuing and can theoretically fire its weapons. The disadvantage is that the aircraft doing the Cobra loses a lot of speed, which makes it vulnerable.

It is a very impressive single demonstration flight aerobatics maneuver that shows the pilot’s skills and the aircraft’s maneuverability at airshows. If you have ever seen it, for example, at the MAKS airshow in Zhukovsky near Moscow, and the reaction of the spectators, you know how popular it is. It is the perfect maneuver to show the pilot’s skills and demonstrate an aircraft’s high angle of attack (AOA) stability, pitch control authority, and engine-versus-inlet compatibility.

The Cobra can be achieved more easily with the so-called “supermaneuverability” thanks to thrust vectoring in 4.5th —and 5th-generation fighter jets.