Word: su
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...Soviet interceptors are notorious fuel guzzlers. Even with extra drop tanks, their endurance is brief; the maximum flying time for both an Su-15 and a MiG-23 is just under an hour. As a result, the nervous pilots refer repeatedly to their remaining fuel levels throughout the 50 min. of elapsed time reflected in the transcript...
...word it probably refers to the 747, now practically at a right angle to the Su-15. Although target had a tragic meaning in the skies over Sakhalin, it is airman slang for radar blip...
Pilot 805 has set his radar to get an automatic fix on the target, bringing his missiles into alignment with the jetliner ahead. The moving half circles on his radar screen close to form a glowing full ring with an orange or a green dot in the middle. The Su-15 is now "locked on" for a straight shot at the KAL airliner...
...Su-15 pilot sends out an IFF (Identification: Friend or Foe) radio signal to Flight 007 to see if it is a friendly Soviet plane. But the Su-15's IFF frequency can be picked up only by Soviet aircraft. The jumbo hums westward into the darkness, unaware that it is being interrogated...
...while fast for a commercial airplane, is no match for the supersonic Su-15. The jumbo's typical cruising speed is 540 m.p.h.; the Soviet fighter is capable of speeds in excess of 1,400 m.p.h. Pilot 805 correctly assumes he will not need to use his afterburner (a device that sprays fuel into a jet's hot exhaust, giving it a sudden burst of speed) in order to catch up to the lumbering jetliner...