Posted on 07/31/2007 7:43:06 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Russia’s Air Forces to Have Su-34 Fighter-Bomber Tue
The Air Forces of Russia will get first Su-34 fighter-bomber on Tuesday, RIA Novosti reported with reference to Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, aide to the Air Forces commander-in-chief.
The solemn ceremony for accepting the first Su-34 will be held in the Lipetsk Center of Combat Use and Flight Crew Transition on July 31, Drobyshevsky specified.
The start of Su-34 development dates back to the mid.-1980s. The distinctive features of this plane that was designed based on Su-27 fighter are the two-seat cockpit, armoring, long range of action, up-to-date computers, color LCDs, satellite navigation receiver and new digital devices for communication.
The aircraft is armed by the 30mm air gun with 150 shells, guided air-to-air missiles of four types, guided air-to-surface missiles, air bombs, including the adjusted one-time bomb cells and unguided shells. Su-32 is the export variant of the plane.
will this platypus also make the frogfoots obsolete ?
What’s that extra tailpipe do? It looks crudely stuck on!
Don’t know,These are 2 different categories of aircraft.There really isn’t an ideal replacement for the Frogfoot,which can go on beyond 2010,though.The SU-34s are to replace the SU-24.
Looks like a duck...
Sensors, probably missle defense sensors. Possile a small rear-ward looking radar.
Now if they only had money for fuel they could actually start flying them.
“The aircraft is armed by the 30mm air gun with 150 shells”
Are the Russians now copying our Daisy air rifles? If so, that’s one heck of a BB gun.
Amazing...
It's the Frogfoot's replacement.
Aft-looking radar for self-defense.
Based on the impressive Su-27 fighter, the Su-34 is a new tactical low-level bomber designed to replace the Su-24. The first Su-34 prototype was a modified Su-30 tandem two-seat trainer, itself a variant of the Su-27, reconfigured with two side-by-side seats in a widened fuselage. The widened nose also contains a terrain-following radar and terrain-avoidance system needed for low-level flight. Furthermore, the revised nose shape is a flat, sharp, chined configuration similar to that on the SR-71 Blackbird to reduce the aircraft’s radar cross-section. Like the Su-27, the Su-34 also features a rearward facing radar between the engines to track and fire upon targets behind the aircraft. Improvements over the Su-27 include more sophisticated avionics, addition of canards like those of the Su-33, better maneuverability, greater range, and improved low-level flight performance. The Su-34, originally known as the Su-27IB, is expected to replace the Su-24 bomber by about 2010. A further variant of the Su-34 is the Su-32FN optimized for maritime attack and reconnaissance duties. Some reports also suggest a navalized version of the Su-34 (possibly confused with the Su-33UB) equipped with more powerful engines and thrust vectoring to reduce the takeoff distance, but this variant is doubtful now that the Russian Navy no longer operates any vessels capable of carrying such an aircraft.
SU-34 Cockpit
Wow, talk about a long time to bring to production.
It probally took them longer to steal info..
That’s one BIG fighter jet.
Our procurement times are stretched out as long. This is not a bad warplane, it can compete with F18’s or F15’s but would not menace a F22.
This aircraft has an interesting stealthy shape, but I doubt that it is all-aspect stealth. Those engine intakes are pretty square-ish and they look like they have internal airdams to control the airflow over the compressor. Many US combat aircraft are sacrificing this performance feature for S-shaped intakes that hide the compressor face from radar waves.
...now that I look at it some more, I don’t think the Su34 is very stealthy at all. Those big, twin vertical stabilizers and the sharp edges on the rear defensive pod would show up like a beacon on a radar screen from the side.
Still a pretty good-looking aircraft though.
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