Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachev (Russian: Ви́ктор Гео́ргиевич Пугачёв) (born 8 August 1948 in Taganrog, RSFSR) is[1] a retired Russian Air Force officer and a former Soviet test pilot who was the first to demonstrate the so-called Pugachev's Cobra manoeuvre to the general public in 1989, flying an Su-27.

The Gold medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to him in the late 1980s.

After two years with Gromov Flight Research Institute he joined OKB Sukhoi where he tested the Su-9, Su-15, Su-24, Su-25 and the Su-27.

On 1 November 1989 he landed a Su-27K on an aircraft carrier for the first time in Soviet history.

Pugachev is credited with first ever non-vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.