Sukhoi Su-33 (Flanker-D)

History

The Sukhoi Su-33 (NATO: "Flanker-D") stands for the naval version of the land-based, Russian-produced Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" family of air superiority aircraft, developed and produced by the Soviet Union itself during the Cold War Compete with the new American McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle air superiority mount. The Su-33 originally existed as the Su-27K (from the T-10K prototype) before receiving its official designation and first flight record on August 17, 1987. Although the aircraft did not officially enter service with the Russian Naval Air Force until August 31, 1998, it achieved operational-level service in 1995.

The Su-33 was assigned to the deck of Admiral Kuznetsov - the only aircraft carrier in service with the Russian Navy (2012). Only 24 Su-33 systems have been produced to date (2012), which shows that modern Russia The power of the navy is limited compared to its land and air power.

The navalized Mikoyan MiG-29K is scheduled to replace the carrier-based Su-33 fleet by 2015.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Navy fell far behind the West in sea-based air firepower. Since the Yakovlev Yak-38 (NATO: "Forger") VTOL was the only mount available, a more flexible solution was considered to modernize the attack wing.

In conjunction with this new requirement, a new carrier design was also developed to expand the tactical capabilities of the Soviet Navy. In the late 1970s, the excellent air superiority aircraft Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" and Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" were introduced, which became the basis for several subsequent naval versions such as "MiG-29K" and "Su-27K" ") The MiG-29K and Su-27K were modified accordingly due to the fact that Soviet aircraft carriers were generally smaller than the larger US Navy carriers, a ski ramp was added to the launch end of the flight deck.[/p ]

The Su-33 is powered by 2 NPO Saturn AL-31 afterburner turbofan engines, each producing 16,750 pounds of dry thrust. During afterburner (pumping raw fuel into the engine to generate a brief burst of power and thus acceleration), the engine provides up to 28,200 pounds of thrust, bringing the airframe to Mach 2, with a service ceiling of 55,800 feet and a speed of climbs per minute 48,500 feet.

There are two main production variants of the Su-33. The first is the Su-33 single-seat air defense model. The second is a two-seat Su-33KUB advanced carrier training rack with combat capability as a secondary unit. In the latter variant, the forward fuselage was appropriately redesigned to accommodate a second cockpit (side-by-side seating), while interior volume was limited.

The first flight of the Su-33KUB was recorded in April 1999, based on the 10KUB prototype that entered the market in the mid-1990s. According to Sukhoi, the Su-33KUB is still in testing, and has further developed the AL-31FP series of thrust vectoring engine exhaust nozzles and turbofan engines. A modernized Su-33 - Su-33K is planned by integrating the more advanced technology of the Su-35 "Super Flanker" (NATO: "Flanker-E") program into the existing Su-33 aircraft.

However, the plan does not appear to be successful.

The Su-33 has never been purchased by a foreign operator, so it is only used by the Russian Naval Aviation. Sukhoi tried to sell its Su-27 naval derivative to China and India, but these efforts failed - China opted to copy the Su-33 as the Shenyang J-11B, while India opted for the more advanced MiG-29K.

In combat service in the Russian Navy, the Su-33's days were numbered.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Dimensions

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes