Introduction T HE "COBRA" maneuver, performed by Pougachev at the 1989 Paris air show with the Soviet Su-27 "Flanker," ' and later performed also with a MiG-29 at the Canadian National Air Show in Ottawa, requires lateral high-alpha stability superior to what until then had been demonstrated by other aircraft. One conclusion that has been drawn is that somehow symmetric flow separation has to be assured through the alpha range 0 50 deg. The separation asymmetry on a slender forebody is controlled by so-called microasymmetries, as has been demonstrated by the effect of roll angle on a pointed ogive. The flow separation can be forced to be symmetric by the use of body strakes, trips, and by other means. It is noted in Ref. 3 that "the Su-27 radome does have small chines located at the apex of the nose. These chines are small but probably have a very positive effect on high AOA stability." That chines may not always be successful in eliminating or even alleviating forebody flow asymmetry at zero side slip has been demonstrated in low-speed tests with conic noses. In these tests a nose boom was found to reduce the maximum side force | CY max more than lateral strakes located near the apex. However, this favorable nose-boom effect appears not to be present at higher Reynolds numbers. H Thus, not too much of an effect should be expected from the presence of nose booms on Su-27 and MiG-29. The vortex wake from the very slender nose boom embeds the apex of the forebody, possibly having an alleviating effect similar to that of nose bluntness. Consequently, the experimental results for a blunted conecylinder geometry in rapid pitching motion (Fig. 1) should be of some relevance.