The Su-39 attack aircraft (Su-25TM, factory index T-8TM) is a deep modernization of its well-proven predecessor, the Su-25. Work on the new aircraft began in January 1986. Then, by decision of the military-industrial complex under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, work began on the creation of a modification of the Su-25T (anti-tank version armed with Vikhr missiles) capable of operating at any time of the day. It was planned to install a new avionics on the new aircraft and use an expanded range of weapons. The new attack aircraft was required to effectively use weapons in the target zone and reliably overcome the air defense of a potential enemy, as well as the ability to fly at low altitudes with rounding the terrain.
The pre-production T8TM-3 attack aircraft performed its first flight on August 15, 1995. From the same year, the car began to be officially referred to as the Su-39. Currently, 4 aircraft of this modification have been built, while the Su-39 continues to undergo a series of state tests. According to analysts, in the near future, the main task of the defending side's aviation will be to defeat the strike armored formations of the aggressor country, or at least delay the pace of their advance deep into the national territory, in order to enable the ground forces to regroup and organize active retaliatory actions. The modern Russian Su-39 attack aircraft can solve such a problem within a radius of 900 km.
The design of the Su-39 attack aircraft, in general, was identical to the design of the Su-25UB combat trainer. Only on the Su-39, the co-pilot's seat was taken by an additional soft fuel tank, as well as a compartment located above it to accommodate additional avionics. The double-barreled gun mount was displaced from the plane's axis of symmetry to the right by 273 mm. and moved under the fuel tank, the space vacated under the cockpit was taken up by an additional avionics. The front landing gear of the aircraft was also displaced - to the left of the axis of symmetry by 222 mm. Another additional soft fuel tank was placed in the aft fuselage of the attack aircraft.
Since the Su-39 is a further development of the "anti-tank" version of the Su-25T, the task of fighting armored vehicles is important for it, but not dominant. It is assumed that the new vehicle will be able to effectively engage ships in coastal zones, enemy frontline and transport aircraft, air defense assets and enemy infrastructure. At the same time, the avionics and armament complex of the attack aircraft have undergone significant processing.
The upgraded aircraft received a new radar station "Spear-25" in a special suspended container, which significantly expanded the capabilities of the aircraft. So the Su-39 attack aircraft can conduct a full-fledged air battle with enemy aircraft, for this it has in its arsenal the R-73, R-27 and R-77 air-to-air missiles, which have launch ranges of 20/40, 50/90 and 80/110 km respectively. To combat enemy ship groupings, the Kh-31A anti-ship missiles are used, with a launch range of up to 110 km. To combat enemy radars, the Kh-31P and Kh-25MPU anti-radar missiles are used. The arsenal of means of destruction of ground targets was supplemented with a high-precision missile "Whirlwind".
The Su-39 attack aircraft can independently identify targets, select a priority and use the desired type of weapon. He has plenty to choose from, on 11 suspension nodes (5 on each of the wings and 1 under the fuselage), you can place up to 16 ATGM "Whirlwind", up to 4 anti-radar or anti-ship missiles of the "air-to-surface" class, as well as a wide air-to-air SD spectrum. In addition, you can use up to 8 launch blocks with 160 unguided missiles, as well as various types of bombs and incendiary tanks, up to 4 cannon suspended containers. Also in the fuselage of the attack aircraft is a double-barreled automatic 30-mm cannon GSH-30.
The use of modern flight and navigation equipment made the Su-39 attack aircraft round-the-clock and all-weather, and also makes it possible to fly in a fully automatic mode. The new attack aircraft is designed to solve 3 main tasks:
-the destruction of tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled guns of the enemy on the battlefield, on the march and places of their accumulation before being put into battle day and night in adverse weather conditions;
- destruction of sea targets of various classes: landing barges, high-speed boats, frigates and destroyers;
- the destruction of ground forces aviation, heavy and attack military transport aircraft in the air and on the ground.
One of the most important tools of the new attack aircraft is the Shkval round-the-clock automatic sighting system developed by the Krasnogorsk plant named after Zverev, as well as up to 16 ATGM "Whirlwind". The Su-39 attack aircraft is distinguished by very good flight stability, which makes it possible in conjunction with the "Shkval" at a distance of 10 km. to ensure the accuracy of hitting the target of 60 cm. Given the high probability of hitting the target by 1 Whirlwind missile, one Su-39 ammunition is sufficient to defeat 14 armored enemy targets. For comparison, a typical Su-25 carries up to 160 S-8 unguided missiles, which can only hit one tank.
The main purpose of the Whirlwind ATGM is to destroy modern MBTs with an armor thickness of up to 1 meter with a direct hit. The probability of destroying a German Leopard-2 tank moving on the ground with one Whirlwind missile fired by a Su-39 attack aircraft on target designation received from the Shkval optical-electronic sighting system is 0.8-0.85. At the same time, the attack aircraft's arsenal also contains much heavier missile launchers, such as the Kh-29T, Kh-29L and Kh-25ML.
Of particular note is the fact that with the help of the "Whirlwind" ATGM, the Su-39 attack aircraft can destroy enemy armored vehicles, being out of the range of its anti-aircraft weapons. At the same time, the relatively small values of the allowed launch height of the rocket and the minimum distance to the target make it possible to use the "Vortex" in conditions of limited visibility. For example, with a meteorological minimum of 2 km. at 200 m. In the conditions of modern Europe, when clouds often have a lower edge at 200 m, only the Su-39 attack aircraft can successfully hit the enemy's mobile armored targets.
The Su-39 attack aircraft is capable of taking off and landing with a combat load on limitedly prepared unpaved runways, including those located in mountainous terrain at an altitude of 3,000 m above sea level with a runway length of 1,200 m. The power plant of the attack aircraft includes in itself 2 turbojet engines Р-195 with a thrust of 4,500 kgf each. Separately, it should be noted their reduced infrared visibility. At the same time, the aircraft is able to take on board a combat load of up to 4,000 kg.
According to such a criterion as cost / efficiency, the Su-39 surpasses the French Mirage-2000-5, the American F-16C, the Swedish LJAS-39 by about 1, 4-2, 2 times. The attack aircraft can be used on diesel fuel without limiting the engine resource and does not require highly qualified maintenance. This machine is available for military pilots of any qualification.
The survivability of the Su-39 attack aircraft has been significantly increased
Means of combat survivability of the Su-39 attack aircraft with a total weight of 1115 kg.provide the vehicle with almost 100% protection of the pilot and all vital components and assemblies from being hit by small arms and cannon weapons with a caliber of up to 30-mm, as well as return and landing at the airfield in the event of a hit by a Stinger-type MANPADS. This was achieved due to the spaced apart and protected by the fuselage of the aircraft twin-engine power plant and the ability to continue the flight on 1 working engine. At the same time, the pilot is protected by a titanium cockpit, which is able to withstand a direct hit from 30-mm shells, and also has a frontal bulletproof glass and an armored headrest.
In addition, the Irtysh countermeasures complex is responsible for the survivability of the attack aircraft, which includes: an active radio-technical jamming station “Gardenia”, a station for detecting, direction finding and identification of radars irradiating the aircraft, an active infrared jamming generator “Sukhogruz”, a system for shooting dipole reflectors and tracers … The UV-26 launcher and the IR jammer house 192 decoy targets PPR-26 (radar) or PPI-26 (thermal), which are mounted in a single block located at the base of the aircraft keel.
To reduce the visibility of the attack aircraft over the battlefield in the optical range, the Su-39 has a special color, and the radio-absorbing coating applied to the body reduces the RCS of the aircraft when irradiated by the radar. Attack aircraft protection, when the pilot is unable to detect the launch of missiles with a thermal guidance head, is carried out by the Sukhogruz optical-electronic jamming station mounted at the base of the keel. A 6 kW cesium lamp installed here generates amplitude-modulated interference to missiles, diverting them to the side. A more traditional tool has not been forgotten - programmed shooting of false heat targets PPI-26.
Reducing the visibility of the attack aircraft is facilitated by the power plant with non-afterburning turbojet engines P-195 with an unregulated nozzle and a reduced IR signature of the nozzle several times. This was achieved by profiling the flame tube and an enlarged central body, which eliminates the line of sight of the turbine blades. Also, the aircraft's visibility was reduced by reducing the temperature of the exhaust gases using the supplied atmospheric air.
An important component of increasing the combat survivability of the Su-39 attack aircraft is the use of electronic warfare systems, which increase the likelihood of overcoming an enemy air defense system. The basis of the information system of the EW "Irtysh" complex is an electronic reconnaissance station (SRTR), which is able to take bearings of all existing fire control and detection radars. When preparing for a combat mission, it is possible to program the search for radars with their priority setting. Information about the irradiation of the enemy radar attack aircraft is displayed on a special indicator in the cockpit, indicating the radiation source and its direction.
Having SRTR information, a pilot of an attack aircraft, depending on the combat situation and missions, can: strike the radar with missiles; bypass the affected area of the air defense missile system; to expose active radio-technical interference with the Gardenia station, or to carry out programmed shooting of false targets to evade missile launchers with radar homing heads. Two small containers of the Gardenia stations are mounted on the outer underwing suspension points. These stations generate distracting, flickering, noise and interference redirected to the underlying surface.
The performance characteristics of the Su-39:
Dimensions: wingspan - 14, 36 m, fighter length - 15, 06 m, height - 5, 2 m.
Wing area - 30, 1 sq. m.
Normal take-off weight of the aircraft - 16 950 kg, maximum take-off weight - 21 500 kg.
Fuel capacity - 4890 liters.
Engine type - two turbojet engines R-195 (W), unrated thrust - 2x4 500 kgf.
The maximum speed at the ground is 950 km / h.
Combat radius of action at altitude - 1050 km, near the ground - 650 km.
Ferry range - 2,500 km.
Service ceiling - 12,000 m
Crew - 1 person.
Armament: one double-barreled 30-mm cannon GSh-30
Combat load: normal 2 830 kg, maximum 4 400 kg on 11 hardpoints.
