As you know, Americans love to make various ratings, including those related to weapons and equipment. Naturally, in these ratings, the first places are taken by samples and products of American production.
On October 24, a publication appeared on Voennoye Obozreniye: "Su-30SM and F-22: advantages and disadvantages." In which the author Dave Majumdar argues in all seriousness that the Russian Su-30SM combat aircraft, which are in many respects direct analogues of the F-15E Strike Eagle and F / A-18F Super Hornet, are doomed to defeat when faced with American fighters.
Let's leave this very controversial conclusion on the author's conscience and try to compare the American F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber with the Russian Su-34 of a similar purpose.
An analogue of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber in the Russian Air Force should be considered the attack Su-34, and not the multipurpose Su-30SM. The determining factor in this case is the presence on the Su-34 of a special sighting and navigation system adapted for the use of air-to-ground missile and bomb weapons.
The ability to carry a bomb load, as well as the presence of two pilots in the Su-30SM crew, are not the main features in the classification. After all, the Russian Su-27SM and Su-35 can also use free-fall bombs and NAR, but no one in their right mind would write these heavy fighters into bombers.
Chronology of creation and adoption
The F-15E and Su-34 aircraft are based on the F-15 and Su-27 heavy air superiority fighters. They were intended to replace attack aircraft with variable wing geometry - "air defense breakers": F-111 and Su-24.
Historically, the American F-15E Strike Eagle appeared in combat units much earlier than the Russian Su-34. The first Strike Eagles entered service with 4th Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina in December 1988. In total, by 2001, 236 aircraft of this type were built for the US Air Force. In the mid-90s, one F-15E cost the American treasury $ 43 million.
"Thirty-four" was ready to start mass production in 1994, but due to lack of funding and the collapse of industrial cooperation and economic ties between enterprises of the former USSR, the prospects of this machine for a long time remained uncertain.
The Su-34 was remembered at the beginning of the 2000s due to the need to replace the Su-24M in the front-line bomber aviation regiments. The final stage of the state joint tests of the thirty-four was completed in September 2011. Only at the beginning of 2014, the Su-34 was officially adopted by the Russian Air Force.
In connection with the urgent need for this combat aircraft, even before it was put into service in 2008, the first contract was signed for the supply of 32 Su-34s. Serial production began at NAPO im. Chkalov in Novosibirsk, where the construction of front-line bombers Su-24M was carried out until 1993. At the same time, the cost of the Su-34 in 2008 was about one billion rubles.
In 2012, according to another contract, the number of aircraft delivered until 2020 was increased by another 92 units. As the number of built Su-34s increases, their price in absolute terms should decrease.
Construction, equipment and weapons
The layout of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter bomber is based on the two-seater combat training F-15D. Compared to the F-15D, the fighter-bomber's airframe is slightly reinforced. The pilots in the F-15E two-seater cockpit sit one after the other. In accordance with the strike missions on the aircraft, its avionics and weapons were changed.
A feature of the F-15E was the use of conformal fuel tanks on this aircraft, which are special non-resettable streamlined fuel tanks hung on the side surfaces of the fuselage. The resulting gaps are filled with special elastic spacers.
Fitting Conformal Fuel Tanks to the F-15E
Conformal tanks, in comparison with suspended ones, do not increase the drag of the aircraft so much, allowing them to fly at speeds up to 1, 8 M. In this case, the reserve of aviation fuel increases by more than 2/3. Suspension assemblies on the surface of the conformal tanks allow the placement of additional weapons. The total fuel supply in internal and conformal tanks reaches 10,217 kg. Suspension of 3 PTBs with a total capacity of 5396 kg is possible.
The fuel supply in the internal tanks of the Su-34 exceeds 12,000 kg. The combat radius of action and the ferry range of the Su-34 and F-15E are practically equal, but the Russian bomber can carry a large bomb load at the same range. The combat radius of the Su-34 when flying at low altitude is slightly larger. Both aircraft are equipped with an air refueling system.
The thrust-to-weight ratio of the F-15E (the ratio of engine thrust to the weight of the aircraft) when only the air-to-air missile is suspended is 0.93, which is slightly higher than the corresponding figure for the Su-34, which has a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.71. that the Su-34 is much heavier. So the empty mass of the Su-34 is 22,500 kg, and the F-15E is 14,300 kg. But this does not mean that the Su-34 is an easier opponent in close air combat.
The American aircraft has a slightly higher top speed - up to 2.5M. However, the indicated speed indicators of the F-15E can be achieved in the absence of external suspensions; when using a PTB, the speed is limited to 1, 4M. The Russian bomber accelerates to 1.8M. The cruising speed of both vehicles when performing percussion missions is practically the same. The large mass of the Su-34 is, to some extent, a price to pay for better security and greater comfort for the crew.
The difference between the Sukhoi and the Strike Needle is a spacious two-seater cockpit in which the pilot and navigator sit in the K-36DM ejection seats "shoulder to shoulder." The cockpit of the Su-34 has a mini-kitchen with a microwave oven and a bathroom, which greatly facilitates long-distance flights of up to 10 hours. The cockpit air conditioning system allows pilots to work without oxygen masks at altitudes up to 10,000 meters.
F-15E cab
Su-34 cockpit
The Su-34 cockpit is made in the form of a durable titanium armored capsule with an armor thickness of up to 17 mm. Some of the aircraft's vital components are also covered with armor. This, to a certain extent, increases the survivability of the aircraft, and, most importantly, gives additional chances of saving the front-line bomber's crew.
The entrance to the armored cabin is through the niche of the front landing gear. For the characteristic shape of the front part of the Su-34 was named in the army - "Duck".
Russian and American combat aircraft are equipped with sighting and navigation systems for the effective use of air-to-surface aircraft weapons at any time of the day and in difficult weather conditions. And also by means of REP, built-in and suspended equipment, allowing to make high-speed low-altitude "throws" at extremely low altitude at any time of the day.
Picture in the cockpit of the F-15E, broadcast by the LANTIRN system
The avionics of the Su-34 front-line bomber include the Khibiny-10V electronic warfare L-175V complex, which has characteristics that are unique for our front-line aviation. The complex provides individual and group protection against anti-aircraft and aviation weapons.
Su-34 with containers of the REP L-175V complex on the wing consoles and with a group protection container under the fuselage
Unlike the front-line bomber of the previous generation Su-24M, the jamming equipment of which was developed to counter the guidance stations of American-made anti-aircraft missiles: Nike-Hercules, Hawk and Patriot, the Su-34 REP complex operates in a wider range … It can effectively jam any radar and air defense system, regardless of the country of manufacture.
The radars of both aircraft are capable of detecting air targets at a great distance, and their characteristics are comparable to similar stations installed on "clean" fighters.
The American AN / APG-70 radar can see air targets at a range of 180 km, it is expected that on part of the F-15E this station will be replaced by the AN / APG-82 AFAR radar.
Radars Sh-141 and AN / APG-70 can also be used in the mode of mapping the earth's surface and provide the detection of ground and surface radio-contrast targets, as well as the use of weapons. The detection range of large ground and surface targets of the Sh-141 radar is 200-250 km.
The Russian Sh-141 radar system provides detection of air targets at a distance of 100 km. It can track up to 10 aerial targets and fire at 4 targets.
In addition, at the design stage, a radar for viewing the rear hemisphere was provided on the Su-34 to warn the crew about an attack by missiles and enemy fighters. This option on the Su-34 was supposed to significantly increase the chances of survival during a combat mission. But so far the station for viewing the rear hemisphere has not been brought to a working state.
To replace the reconnaissance Su-24M, the Orenburg JSC PO Strela received an order from the Sukhoi company for the design of Sych complex reconnaissance containers (KKR) for the Su-34 front-line bomber. It is planned to produce reconnaissance containers of three variants: radio-technical, radar and optical-electronic.
The built-in 30 mm GSh-301 cannon outperforms the cannon installed on the F-15E in terms of projectile power. All types of air-to-surface weapons, which are in service with the Russian front-line aviation with a total weight of up to 8000 kg, can be placed on 12 Su-34 hardpoints.
Taking into account export orders for the Su-34, Damocles suspended containers were adapted, which ensure the use of NATO-standard BGL laser-guided aerial bombs.
Just like the F-15D, the attack F-15E is armed with a built-in 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon, but compared to "clean" fighters, the ammunition load for it has been reduced in order to free up weight and space for additional equipment.
The F-15E fighter-bomber is capable of carrying a wide range of air-to-surface and air-to-air ammunition on 9 hardpoints. The total payload mass on the external sling can reach 11,000 kg.
However, it should be understood that the large bomb load on the Strike Needle in comparison with the thirty-four is largely a fiction. Eleven tons is the total payload including PTB and conformal tanks. In the case of a full refueling of bombs and missiles, about 5000 kg remain. For this indicator, the F-15E is somewhat inferior to the Su-34.
The F-15E's armament includes guided and unguided bombs weighing up to 2270 kg, including JDAM (GPS-based kit that turns a free-fall bomb into a precision weapon), cluster munitions, AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles, heavy AGM-130 and AGM -158, anti-radar missiles HARM, anti-ship missiles Harpoon. The F-15E is the carrier of the B61 tactical nuclear bombs.
Service and combat use
As of 2014, there were 213 F-15Es in the US Air Force and National Guard. These fighter-bombers are deployed in the United States at Seymour Johnson, Eglin, Luke, Nellis, Mountain Home, Elmerdorf, and in the United Kingdom at Lakenheys Air Force Base.
Satellite image of Google earth: F-15E fighter-bombers at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina
The F-15E took part in numerous armed conflicts unleashed by the United States. Their first combat episode was in a campaign against Iraq in 1991. The Shock Eagles bombed Iraqi infrastructure and troops, and hunted Scud mobile missile launchers.
There, the Americans first met with the MiG-29, both sides used guided missiles in air combat, but to no avail. However, the Iraqi Air Force behaved passively; Iraqi air defense systems posed a much greater threat to American strike vehicles. Two F-15Es were lost from their fire in 1991, the crew of one of them was killed.
The next time the F-15E appeared over Iraq was in 1993, when they provided a no-fly zone in the north of that country. In addition to air patrols, the aircraft struck Iraqi radar stations, air defense systems and military targets.
In the same 1993, "Strike Needles" took part in an operation in the Balkans. NATO forces intervened in the internal conflict in Yugoslavia, appointing the Serbs to be guilty of all sins. First of all, the F-15E crews were involved in the destruction of air defense positions. Then they began to bomb the Serbian ground units in Bosnia and Croatia with impunity.
In March 1999, American fighter-bombers bombed Yugoslavia. Serbian radar and air defense systems again became priority targets for them. F-15Es flew combat missions from the Italian Aviano airbase and the British Leykenhees.
Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, F-15Es attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan, taking off from Kuwait's Ahmed Al Jaber airbase. At the first stage of the operation, training camps, weapons and ammunition depots, as well as the entrances to caves, in which, according to intelligence, the leaders of al-Qaeda and the Taliban could be located, were subjected to strikes with guided bombs GBU-15, GBU-24 and GBU-28. Later, after the destruction of large stationary targets, the F-15E acted at the request of the allied ground forces.
F-15E over Afghanistan during Operation Mountain Lion, 2006
During sorties in Afghanistan, American fighter-bombers usually did not descend below 2000 meters above mountain ranges in order to avoid being hit by MANPADS missiles.
In early March 2002, several F-15Es took part in the now widely known "Operation Anaconda". The aim of the operation was to capture or physically eliminate the al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan and the destruction of militant bases and hideouts in the Shahi-Kot valley.
From the outset, due to planning errors and inaccurate intelligence, the operation went wrong. The Americans several times underestimated the enemy's forces in the area. As it turned out later, up to 1000 militants were present here.
During the landing of the special forces, two MH-47 Chinook helicopters were shot down, the casualties in manpower amounted to 8 killed and 72 wounded American soldiers.
Only thanks to air support, including those provided by several F-15Es, did the Americans manage to turn the tide of the battle and avoid the complete destruction of the landed assault force. At the same time, one F-15E fighter-bomber had to fire from a 20 mm cannon at the Taliban advancing on the positions of the American special forces until the ammunition was completely used up, which has not happened in the American Air Force since the days of Vietnam.
Afghanistan has not been without "unwanted incidents." On 22 August 2007, F-15E dropped 500 lb (230 kg) bombs on British troops. In this case, three soldiers were killed. On September 13, 2009, the F-15E crew was recruited to intercept the MQ-9 Reaper drone, which stopped responding to commands from the ground, after which it became likely to invade another country's airspace. On July 18, 2009, an F-15E crashed in central Afghanistan, killing two crew members.
In January 2003, part of the F-15E fighter bombers of the 4th Fighter Aviation Regiment from the Seymour Johnson airbase was deployed to the Qatar airbase Al Udeid. They operated in the southern and western parts of Iraq, striking radars, airfields, repeaters, communications centers and headquarters, thus paralyzing the control of Iraqi troops.
As the scale of hostilities expanded, the number of Strike Needles operating in Iraq increased. In February 2003, bombers of this type were engaged in the destruction of Iraqi anti-aircraft systems on the border with Jordan, which subsequently made it possible for coalition aircraft to fly there freely. It is believed that the F-15E during the 2003 campaign destroyed about 60% of the targets bombed by tactical aircraft of the US Air Force. One plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire in the Tikrit area, the crew was killed.
In 2011, as part of Operation Dawn of Odyssey, F-15Es were used to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya. At the same time, one aircraft was lost under unknown circumstances, both pilots successfully ejected and were rescued.
In September 2014, F-15Es bombed IS targets in Iraq and Syria (Operation Inalienable Determination), completing up to 37% of sorties carried out by an aviation group of Western countries. However, according to observers, the impact of these attacks was low. The main purpose of the air strikes was not to crush the caliphate, but to squeeze the Islamists out of Iraq into Syria.
In total, over the years of operation, 15 F-15E fighter-bombers from the US Air Force were lost during the hostilities and in disasters, a significant part of the lost aircraft crashed during training flights at extremely low altitude.
The Su-34 does not have such a rich combat biography, as it only recently appeared in Russian combat aviation units. The first Su-34s entered the 929th State Flight Test Center (GLITs) named after V. P. Chkalov, located near the city of Akhtubinsk, in the Astrakhan region and in the 4th Lipetsk Combat Training Center.
Satellite image of Google earth: front-line bombers Su-34 at the airfield in Lipetsk
The first combat regiment was the 47th separate mixed aviation regiment at the Baltimore airbase near Voronezh. Currently, this airfield is undergoing a large-scale reconstruction of the runway and infrastructure. That will allow in the future to increase the number of front-line bombers based here.
On June 4, 2015, when landing at the Buturlinovka airfield in the Voronezh Region, after performing a planned training flight, the Su-34 aircraft did not open its braking parachute. The front-line bomber rolled off the runway and capsized.
Satellite image of Google earth: front-line bombers Su-34 at the Buturlinovka airfield
It was at the Buturlinovka airfield that the Su-34 and Su-24M were temporarily relocated from the Baltimore airbase during the reconstruction of the runway there.
In the Rostov region, the Su-34 received the 559th BAP, based at the Morozovsk airfield. There are 36 "thirty-fours" posted here.
The first "baptism of fire" of the Su-34 was the Russian-Georgian armed conflict in August 2008. Then these, not yet officially adopted for service, front-line bombers covered other Russian combat aircraft with an on-board jamming system. Su-24M front-line bombers carried out strikes on Georgian air defense systems with X-58 missiles under the cover of Su-34 REP stations.
Georgian radar station 36D6 destroyed by anti-radar missile
An analysis of the combat activities of the Su-34 in Georgia showed that this front-line bomber needs further improvement in its aiming and search equipment. For guaranteed detection of small targets, the radar complex was not enough. This requires sophisticated thermal imagers and high definition television systems. Not so long ago, there were reports in the media about the development of an upgraded version - the Su-34M.
In September of this year, 6 Su-34 units were involved in the operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic. It is noted that guided aircraft weapons are used from these state-of-the-art machines during air strikes on IS positions and facilities.
Perspectives
In general, comparing the American F-15E Strike Eagle and the Russian Su-34, it can be noted that these machines are at different stages of their life. The Su-34 is just beginning its long-term service, and the F-15E is already preparing for its completion. Many F-15Es are already running out of service and will be decommissioned within the next 5 years.
Compared to the Su-34 bomber, which has solid armor protection for the cockpit and parts of the units and is better adapted for operations at low altitudes, the American F-15E has a greater "fighter orientation" - there is practically no armor protection on it.
The F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber is currently the only tactical aircraft in the US Air Force that is capable of long-range raids and long-range low-altitude flights.
It is not known whether the number of built Su-34s will surpass that of the F-15Es delivered to the US Air Force, but it is already clear that the thirty-four will become the basis of front-line aviation combat vehicles in the future.
In the near future, the Su-34 will have to finally defeat the "children's sores". The aircraft of the first series, as well as pre-production copies, differed significantly from each other, which complicates operation. They noted the unstable operation of the radar and sighting and navigation system.
In terms of increasing the reliability of avionics and improving the operational characteristics of the Su-34, designers and industry are doing serious work. At the moment, all front-line bombers have been brought to the level of the 3rd factory series. They are equipped with auxiliary gas turbine units designed to start the main engines without airfield equipment. This allows in the future to increase the autonomy and expand the list of home airfields.
There is no doubt that on the Su-34, which in the future will become the main Russian front-line bomber, all "growing pains" will be successfully overcome and this combat aircraft will have a great future and many years of service.
The author expresses his gratitude to "Ancient" for consultations.
