SU-34 (SU-27IB) FLANKER FIGHTER BOMBER AIRCRAFT, RUSSIA

The Su-34 (also known as Su-27IB) fighter bomber has been developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau Joint Stock Company in Moscow and the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association at Novosibirsk in Russia. First deliveries of the fighter bomber are expected to begin in 2006 and it is planned as a replacement for Tu-23M and Su-24 aircraft. Su-34 is one of a number of Russian aircraft (Su-27, Su-30, Su-33 and Su-35) which have been given the NATO codename Flanker.

The Su-34 fighter bomber is a derivative of the Su-27 fighter aircraft. The aircraft design retains the basic layout and construction of the Su-27 airframe, with a conventional high-wing configuration and a substantial part of the onboard equipment. The Su-34 has a changed contour of the nose section to accommodate an advanced multi-mode phased array radar with terrain following and terrain avoidance modes. It has a two-seat rather than single-seat cockpit. The capacity of the internal fuel tanks has been increased with a resulting increased take-off weight. Changes have been made to the central tail boom for a rear-facing radar.

The cockpit has two K-36DM zero/zero ejection seats side by side for the pilot and copilot. The seats are supplied by Zvesda Research and Production Enterprise Joint Stock Company, Moscow. The multifunction displays in the cockpit show the flight parameters, the operational status of the aircraft units and tactical data.

The Su-34 is armed with a 30mm GSh-301 gun and 180 rounds of ammunition. The gun has a maximum rate of fire of 1,500 rounds per minute and the muzzle velocity is 860m/sec. The gun is supplied by the Instrument Design Bureau in Tula.

The aircraft has ten hardpoints for weapon payloads and is able to carry a range of missiles including air-to-air, air-to-surface, anti-ship and anti-radiation missiles, guided and unguided bombs, and rockets. The aircraft is fitted with a target designator.

The R-73 (NATO codename AA-11 Archer) short-range air-to-air missile is supplied by the Vympel State Engineering design Bureau in Moscow. The R-73 is an all-aspect missile capable of engaging targets in tail-chase or head-on mode. The missile has cooled infrared homing. The R-73 attacks the target within target designation angles of +/- 45 degrees and with angular rates up to 60 degrees per second. The missile can intercept targets at altitudes between 0.02 and 20km, target g-load to 12g, and with target speeds to 2,500kph.

The RVV-AE long-range air-to-air missile, also known as the RR-77 or by the NATO designation AA-12, is manufactured by Vympel. The missile can intercept targets at speeds up to 3,600kph and altitudes from 0.02 to 25km. The minimum range in the aft hemisphere is 300m and the maximum vertical separation between the host aircraft and the target is 10km. The RR-77 has inertial guidance with mid-course radio updates and terminal active guidance. A new, longer-range (150km) version of the R-77, with solid fuel ram-jet propulsion, is being tested by Vympel.

The Su-34 carries a range of precision guided and unguided bombs and rockets, including the KAB-500 laser-guided bomb developed by the Region State Research and Production Enterprise based in Moscow.

The Su-34 is equipped with an electro-optical fire control system supplied by the Urals Optical and Mechanical Plant (YOM3) and a Geofizika FLIR (forward-looking infrared) pod. Leninetz of St Petersburg supplies the passive phased array radar system and TsNIRTI the electronic countermeasures suite.

The aircraft is powered by two afterburning AL-31F or AL-35 turbofan engines. The engines are mounted under the wing and are equipped with all-duty fixed geometry air intakes. A rotor protection installed in the air intakes provides protection against the ingestion of foreign objects.

The aircraft can carry 12,100kg of fuel internally in two fuel tanks in the wings and four in the fuselage. Three external fuel tanks, each with a capacity of 3,000 litres, can also be fitted.

The aircraft can achieve a speed of 1,900kph (Mach 1.6) at altitude and 1,300kph (Mach 1) at sea level.

So the gun is emptied in about 7 seconds.

That's fairly typical of modern fighter cannon loadouts. F-15E, comparable to the Ground attack Su-34, has 500 rounds, but rate of fire is about 6,000 rpm, so the F-15's M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon is empty in about 5 seconds. (The 20 mm projectiles are much lighter than the 30 mm ones). The A-10s GAU-8, a 30 mm but firing longer and heavier rounds than the Russian cannon, carries 1174 rounds and fires them at around 4,000 rpm. However if do it all in one 17.6 second burst, you'll likely burn out barrels. It's supposed to fire max of 2 second burst with 1 minute between bursts. Of course the ammo drum is the size of a Volkswagon Beetle. :)

Wouldn't want to take it into an air to air engagement though.

Depends on the opponent. The latter model SU's are about as capable as the F-15, (although the F-15 hasn't got it's electronically steerable phased array radar yet (and this is not the first Russian/Soviet fighter to have one, the Mig-31, more of an interceptor really, had one was back in the 1970s and '80s.

I'm consistantly impressed by foriegn military's and design firms who make do with less. Sometimes they produce junk (North Korean Airframes), and sometimes they produce things which must be taken very seriously indeed (Russian Airframes, or Indian fighter doctrine and training).

Gradually, it seems to me we're seeing more of the second than the first. Nothing to panic about, but certainly something to factor into our worldview. Changing world out there.

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