Until production was discontinued in 1993, export-modification Su-24MK bombers were supplied to Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Libya. The contract concluded with India was later terminated at the initiative of the customer, and front-line bombers with inscriptions in English on the hatches and assemblies were transferred to the Soviet Air Force.
Iraq was the first to receive the Su-24MK in 1988 (after the end of the Iran-Iraq war). In 1989, the delivery of the Su-24MK to Algeria, Libya and Syria began. Given the long range and wide range of bomber weapons, this was extremely painful in Israel.
Although the Iraqis were actively preparing to use the Su-24MK for long-range raids and even created for them a 3000-kg air bomb of their own design and specially converted one Il-76 into an air tanker, the age of these aircraft as part of the Iraqi Air Force was short-lived. Due to the passivity of the Iraqi command, the Su-24MK were not used against the advancing forces of the anti-Iraqi coalition. Only a few reconnaissance flights were recorded. A total of 22 Iraqi Su-24MK bombers flew to Iran, where a significant part of them are still safely operated, fleeing US and British military air raids.
Satellite image of Google earth: Iranian Su-24MK at Shiraz airbase
Before the introduction of international sanctions, Libya managed to receive not all of the ordered aircraft. They did not fly very actively in this country, they were more idle at airfields. Nevertheless, after the outbreak of the civil war, some of the few Libyan Su-24MKs were still in flight condition and were involved in occasional airstrikes against the rebels. At the same time, only uncontrollable means of destruction were very ineptly used. One bomber was shot down by return anti-aircraft fire, and the rest were destroyed at airfields as a result of NATO bombing and rocket and artillery attacks.
The Su-24MKs received by Algeria have become a strong trump card in territorial disputes with its neighbors Morocco and Libya. The Algerian "twenty-fours" have never officially taken part in hostilities. According to unofficial information, which Algerian officials deny, the Su-24M attacked Islamist targets in Libya in 2014. Previously, they took part in a number of incidents on the border with Morocco. At the same time, it was reported about the loss of several cars in flight accidents.
Su-24M Algerian Air Force
In addition to the previously received bombers, Algeria ordered a number of upgraded Su-24M and Su-24MRs in the early 2000s. These aircraft were supplied from the Russian Air Force. Currently, the number of front-line bombers and reconnaissance aircraft in the Algerian Air Force exceeds 35 units.
An interesting fact is that the Algerian Air Force received the upgraded Su-24M with the SVP-24 system from Gefest and T CJSC earlier than the Russian Air Force. Lobbied by the former general director of the company "Sukhoi" M. A. Poghosyan's sighting and navigation system, developed by the OKB and NIREK (ROC "Gusar"), which had the worst characteristics, was quite reasonably rejected by the Algerian representatives.
SVP-24 combines instruments and means of aiming, navigation and control. It significantly expands the range of tactics available to pilots when searching for a target and going on the attack. The process of aiming and delivering missile and bomb strikes has been facilitated, while the accuracy has been increased. The range of aviation weapons available for use has expanded. For example, it became possible to use the Kh-31P anti-radar missile, which the Gusar could not provide. In combat work, it became possible to use a satellite positioning system, the navigation accuracy increased to 3 meters.
Su-24M with X-31P PLR
The reliability of the aiming and navigation system has also increased, while the use of a more modern compact element base has reduced the weight and dimensions of new electronic units.
In addition to Algeria, Angola received the Su-24M from the Russian Air Force, an agreement on this was concluded at the end of 2000. At that time, a civil war was going on in Angola between the government forces and the UNITA movement, which ended only in 2002 after the death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in battle. The Angolan Air Force needed a "bomb carrier" capable of striking remote areas of the country at any time of the day, regardless of weather conditions in the target area.
The contract with Angola provided for the supply of 22 Su-24M bombers for $ 120 million. It is not known whether this contract was fulfilled in full, but, according to the reference books, as of 2010, the Angolan Air Force had 10 Su-24Ms.
Syria actively used its Su-24MKs against Islamists. The Syrian "twenty-four" suffered the main losses not in the air, but during artillery and mortar attacks on airfields. In September 2014, one Syrian Air Force Su-24MK was shot down by a Patriot air defense missile system when it approached the border with Israel.
In 2013, bypassing the arms embargo, Belarus delivered 12 Su-24M bombers decommissioned from its own Air Force to Sudan. The aircraft are stationed at the Wadi Sayyidna airbase near Khartoum along with Belarusian technical personnel and crews.
Satellite image of Google earth: Sudanese Su-24M at Wadi Sayyidna airbase
At present, the former Belarusian Su-24Ms are actively used by the Sudanese military in protracted conflicts on the territory of the country. In the south of Sudan, there is a real civil war with the use of tanks and combat aircraft. In the rebellious Sudanese province of Darfur alone, fighting has killed an estimated 300,000 people in the past few years. However, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said that these aircraft will be used "only to repel external aggression."
Front-line bombers of the Russian Air Force Su-24M and reconnaissance aircraft Su-24MR in the past have been repeatedly used in hostilities in the post-Soviet space. They were involved in the first and second Chechen companies and the 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict.
Initially, in December 1994, the plans of the Russian military leadership did not provide for the widespread use of front-line aviation. It was assumed that after the introduction of federal troops, Dudayev's militants would flee to their homes, throwing away their weapons. To suppress individual pockets of resistance, it was considered sufficient to use Mi-8 and Mi-24 army helicopters with aviation small arms and cannon armament, NURS and ATGM. However, the reality turned out to be different, and it was not possible to take Grozny with the forces of one airborne regiment, as the then Minister of Defense Grachev had promised.
The federal forces, having met fierce resistance from the Chechen armed groups, which, in addition to small arms, had heavy weapons and anti-aircraft systems, asked for air support. Large-caliber bombs were required to destroy fortifications and bridges.
The SU-24MR scouts conducted aerial reconnaissance, flying at heights inaccessible to enemy anti-aircraft weapons, and the Su-24M struck at the militants' strongpoints, covered them on the march, and destroyed bridges and communication centers. Once again, the Su-24M's ability to operate in conditions of poor visibility on radar landmarks came in handy.
To train the crews of the 196th and 559th BAPs involved in Chechnya and largely lost their skills in using guided weapons, it was necessary to attract specialists and pilot-instructors from the Lipetsk 4th Combat Training Center and the 929th State Flight Test Center in Akhtubinsk.
KAB-1500L
When weather conditions allowed, the most well-trained crews of front-line bombers, allowed to use guided weapons, used X-25ML laser missiles and X-59 television guidance, KAB-500L and KAB-500KR corrected aerial bombs, as well as heavy KAB-1500L and KAB- 1500TK. The last to be destroyed were two bridges across the Argun River. Heavy corrected bombs were used after the use of smaller caliber aviation ammunition did not give satisfactory results.
Unfortunately, there were some losses. On February 3, 1995, at low altitude in dense fog, the Su-24M crashed into a mountain southeast of the village of Chervlennaya. A possible cause of the disaster could be a failure of the onboard navigation system.
After squeezing the Dudayevites from the plains into the mountainous terrain, Su-24MRs were actively used to search for their bases and camps, after which front-line bombers and attack aircraft entered the business.
At that time, the twenty-fours became a real nightmare for the leadership of the militants. Using information obtained by intelligence, front-line bombers, flying at heights inaccessible to the air defense of the militants, methodically struck high-precision ammunition strikes at command posts, weapons depots and headquarters buildings in the territory not controlled by the federal forces.
To destroy point targets, KAB-500L corrected bombs with laser and KAB-500KR with television guidance were very effectively used. So, on May 24, 1995, two KAB-500L destroyed an ammunition depot located in a cave on a mountainside south of the village of Zona. On May 28, bombs with television-command guidance KAB-500KR destroyed the headquarters of the militants, and a powerful radio station in the village of Vedeno. In total, about 30 KAB were dropped from the Su-24M during the 1st Chechen War.
During the 2nd Chechen War, the military leadership acted more intelligently. During this "time of troubles" the flight time in the combatant regiments was minimal due to the lack of jet fuel, and the young pilots simply did not have the necessary flight experience (the average flight time per pilot was only 21 hours). The veterans who had gone through Afghanistan and the 1st Chechen war went into battle again.
Before the start of the ground operation, active aerial reconnaissance was carried out. The main source of information when planning air strikes were maps prepared on the basis of Su-24MR reconnaissance flights.
Su-24M bombers were used to deliver massive bombing strikes with FAB-250 and FAB-500 high-explosive bombs. In addition to directly destroying facilities, manpower and equipment, the explosions of powerful land mines helped block Chechen militants in isolated areas, creating impassable rubble in mountainous and wooded areas. Also, high-precision aviation ammunition has once again found application.
On October 4, 1999, during a reconnaissance flight, the Su-24MR from the 11th RAP was lost. The pilot died in this case, and the navigator successfully ejected and was captured by the Chechens, but later he managed to escape.
Three more Su-24Ms were lost on January 30, 2000 at the airfield in Akhtubinsk. The planes, fully fueled and loaded with ammunition, burned down after the driver of the airfield "heat gun" TM-59G, who fell asleep from fatigue, crashed into them. Perhaps this was the most ridiculous loss of aircraft in the entire war.
On May 7, 2000, a Su-24MR was shot down from a MANPADS near the Chechen village of Benoy-Vedeno, both crew members were killed. Unlike previous attempts, the calculation of the anti-aircraft complex acted extremely competently and calmly. The missile was launched from a successful firing position and at the most favorable moment for the defeat of the aircraft turn.
Once again, the Su-24M's ability to operate in bad weather and frequent fogs in the mountains proved to be especially valuable. "Twenty-four" were often the only front-line aircraft that flew in adverse weather conditions. At the same time, it was considered inexpedient to send them to support ground units due to the high risk of striking the positions of their own troops. Su-24Ms were used exclusively for strikes against pre-designated targets far from the line of contact. In total, about 800 sorties were made to the 2nd Chechen Su-24M and Su-24MR.
In the "Russian-Georgian war" of 2008, bombers were involved: Su-24M of the 959th BAP from Yeisk, the 559th BAP from Morozovsk, the 4th PPI and PLC im. Chkalov from Lipetsk, as well as the Su-24MR scouts of the 11th separate guards Vitebsk RAP from Marinovka and the 929th GLITs from Akhtubinsk.
In this armed conflict, for the first time in modern Russian history, our Air Force faced with a not too numerous, but rather modern and centralized air defense system.
Particularly distinguished was the Georgian battalion of the Buk-M1 air defense missile system, which operated in the Gori region, as Ukrainian officials later admitted, at that moment Ukrainian military advisers and technical specialists were present at the station. The Buk crew managed to shoot down a Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft piloted by the crew of the 929th GLITs from Akhtubinsk. The pilots were able to eject, but one of them died, and the other was seriously injured.
According to unconfirmed reports, in addition to the Su-24MR scout, the Su-24M bomber was also lost, presumably shot down by an Israeli-made Spider air defense system.
In this conflict, there was an unprecedentedly low proportion of high-precision weapons used by the Su-24M designed to destroy ground targets. And it was not a matter of difficult weather conditions that prevented the guidance of guided bombs and missiles from a laser or television seeker, as in Chechnya.
By 2008, stocks of high-precision aircraft weapons produced in the USSR were mainly used up or expired. And the Air Force command was afraid to use the remaining guided munitions for reasons of leaving the existing front-line bombers unarmed, which was unacceptable in the event of an escalation of the conflict with the West. So, once again, the "twenty-fours" had to process point targets with free-falling "cast iron".
Did the 2008 conflict serve as a catalyst, or just coincidentally, but in 2009 the RF Ministry of Defense decided to finally abandon the modernization of the remaining Su-24Ms according to the Su-24M2 version proposed by Sukhoi OJSC (ROC Gusar) and chose the modernization according to the option from ZAO "Gefest and T" (OKR "Metronome"). The sighting navigation equipment SVP-24 of ZAO "Gefest and T" at the exit turned out to be much more practical, cheaper and more accurate. The old Su-24M equipped with SVP-24 are not inferior in their strike capabilities to more modern machines.
The automated system of operational control ASEK-24 significantly reduces the time for analyzing the results of a combat mission, which makes it possible to increase the intensity of the use of the Su-24M.
In addition to the modernization of the bomber's sighting and navigation complex, a ground component was also introduced - the Ground complex for preparing and monitoring flight missions (NKP and K). Its use more than doubles the frequency of combat sorties of the Su-24M (Su-24MK) when the mission statement is changed.
The big plus of this modernization option is that it can be carried out in combat regiments, without sending aircraft to aircraft repair enterprises. Labor costs for the installation of SNRS-24 are 85 man-hours.
Simultaneously with the introduction of a new digital complex of SVP-24 equipment, it was decided to resume production and modernize some types of old high-precision ammunition and adopt new ones.
In general, the Su-24M with the updated avionics are quite effective strike vehicles. In some ways, they are even superior to modern front-line bombers Su-34. During joint training flights at extremely low altitude with the Su-34, the pilots of the latter, due to excessive shaking, after a while asked to rise higher. In the same conditions, the Su-24M, due to its aerodynamic layout, with the wing set to the maximum sweep angle, runs smoothly - "like an iron". I think that no one needs to explain the importance of flying in WWI when breaking through air defense.
The artillery armament of the modernized Su-24M, which he inherited from the earlier Su-24, remains highly controversial. The 23-mm six-barreled gun GSh-6-23M with 500 rounds of ammunition has a rate of fire of up to 10,000 rounds / min. However, firing a cannon with a powerful recoil often led to avionics failures. Vibration, thermal, acoustic and shock loads had a detrimental effect on the structure of the right air intake, causing damage and corrosion of its panels. In the mid-80s, shooting from the GSh-6-23 on the Su-24 was temporarily prohibited until modifications were made to exclude the occurrence of emergencies.
The designers, installing the GSh-6-23 on the Su-24, planned to use it primarily for ground attack attacks. The same applies to the SPPU-6 suspended cannon mounts with 23 mm six-barreled cannons. The carriage of the SPPU-6 installation had two degrees of freedom of movement. The movement of the carriage was controlled using a synchronous servo drive from the pilot's sighting device. It was assumed that from the SPPU-6, targeted firing of targets from low-level flight will be carried out.
SPPU-6
The SPPU-6 installation, despite its unique properties, due to its excessive complexity, was not popular among pilots and, especially among gunsmiths who were preparing for the use of aircraft weapons. These aircraft artillery systems, outstanding in their characteristics, have never been used in a real combat situation, being, in fact, expensive ballast.
The refusal to use aircraft cannons on the Su-24 in combat conditions is explained by the vulnerability of a front-line bomber when using this type of aircraft weapon from anti-aircraft guns and even small arms fire. In this case, the Su-24 loses its main advantage - the ability to deliver sudden, precise strikes from medium altitudes at any time of the day and regardless of weather conditions. And to use an expensive front-line bomber with a sophisticated sighting and navigation system as a microscope to hammer in nails is too costly.
The capabilities of the Su-24 to combat air targets have always been rated very modestly. The R-60 melee missiles on the Su-24 are designed mainly to combat enemy helicopters. More modern R-73 missiles have better characteristics, but the pilots of all modifications of the "twenty-fours" considered it good to evade air combat with modern fighters, since they had practically no chance of victory. The Su-24 is capable of aerobatics without a suspension of weapons and with a limited supply of fuel.
In this respect, of course, the Su-34 looks more preferable, but it also carries only the close-range R-73 missile launchers with TGS. Despite the presence on the Su-34 of an airborne radar capable of detecting and tracking air targets at a considerable distance, the Su-34 ammunition still lacks medium-range guided missiles. This means that, taking into account all its many advantages, the newest Russian front-line bomber is capable of conducting only a defensive air battle so far.
Another advantage of the Su-34 is the presence of a perfect REP complex on it. The Su-24 electronic countermeasures station has much more modest capabilities and is now outdated.
The case with the alleged "blinding" of the radar equipment of the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) destroyer, which was widely publicized in a number of domestic media and caused a surge of "hurray-patriotic" moods, unfortunately, does not correspond to reality. Since, due to financial constraints, the Khibiny L-175V electronic warfare system has never been installed on Su-24M aircraft.
Model of the Su-24MK with the KS-418E container of the REP "Khibiny" complex
In the 1990s-2000s, a suspended container version of the KS-418E with the REP "Khibiny" complex for export Su-24MKs was being worked out, but things did not progress beyond the construction of models.
Unlike the Su-24M front-line bombers, the Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft available in individual reconnaissance aviation regiments have not been modernized. Their reconnaissance equipment, created in the early 80s, is morally and physically outdated and no longer meets modern requirements. But after the decommissioning of the supersonic high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft MiG-25RB, the reconnaissance version of the "twenty-four" remained the only front-line aircraft capable of conducting integrated reconnaissance.
Most likely, the leadership of the Air Force plans to transfer reconnaissance functions to the Su-30SM and Su-34 aircraft equipped with suspended containers with reconnaissance equipment. Currently, for these machines, suspended containers KKR (container for complex reconnaissance) have been created and are being tested.
Earlier, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that all Su-24M and Su-24M2 will be replaced by new front-line Su-34 bombers by 2020. Even taking into account the fact that at the time of reforming and giving the armed forces a "new look" a number of aviation bomber regiments of the armed Su-24Ms were liquidated, it is reasonably doubtful that all currently available "twenty-fours" will be replaced in the near future by the Su-34 in a 1: 1 ratio.
Su-24M at Shagol airbase
Currently, there is a shortage of combat aircraft capable of performing strike missions in the Russian armed forces. This is confirmed by the armament of the Su-27SM and Su-35S air superiority fighters with unguided air weapons - NAR and free-falling bombs.
Currently, the Russian Aerospace Forces has about 120 Su-24M and Su-24M2. In light of the aggravated relations with the United States and its NATO allies, the hasty abandonment of these aircraft seems absolutely unreasonable. Front-line bombers, which received an updated avionics, thanks to which their strike potential practically does not differ from the Su-34, are capable of successfully solving assigned combat missions for at least another 10 years.
Recent events in Syria, where there are 12 Su-24Ms in the Russian aviation group of 34 combat aircraft at the Khmeimim airbase, confirm the demand for these very effective front-line bombers.
It is noteworthy that the Su-24M, deployed to Syria from the Shagol airbase near Chelyabinsk, in the course of strikes on IS targets, mainly use free-fall bombs of old types, most likely from stocks supplied to Syria during the Soviet era.
Guided high-precision aviation ammunition is carried by the latest Su-34, apparently, an emergency stock was "printed" for them, and possibly new products from the export order of the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation were used.
The author expresses his gratitude for the advice to "Ancient".
Another publication in this series: Service and combat use of the front-line bomber Su-24. Part 1.
