Su-35S board number 07 red, Ramenskoye, no later than August 25, 2013 (photo - Vladimir Petrov, The fifth generation fighter T-50, created under the PAK FA program, will enter service with the Air Force no earlier than 2015-16. For some time after being put into service, the number of these aircraft in the Air Force will be insignificant and they will not be able to have a large impact on the general condition and capabilities of the armed forces. In this regard, it was decided to purchase additional fighters of a different type, designed to become a temporary measure in anticipation of a sufficient number of T-50s. The Su-35S fighter was chosen as the most modern and perfect aircraft designed to ensure the combat capability of the Air Force over the next few years.
Su-35S with number 01413 in the final assembly shop at KnAAPO, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, published on 2013-05-10 (photo - Elena Peteshova, By 2015, the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant is to build and transfer 48 Su-35S aircraft to the troops. By now, according to various sources, 10-12 cars have been built. In addition, the plans for the current 2013 include the construction of 12 new aircraft. The same plan is determined for 2014, and in 2015, aircraft manufacturers from Komsomolsk-on-Amur are to build 15 fighters. Officials have mentioned several times that after completion of work under the current contract, a new order for 48 Su-35S fighters is possible. For obvious reasons, it is not yet completely clear whether a second contract will be signed.
The beginning of the construction of Su-35S fighters was preceded by a long saga with the development of a new aircraft of the Su-27 family. The development of a fighter with the Su-27M index, which later received a new designation Su-35, began in the mid-eighties of the last century. The main difference between the updated Su-27 and the base machine was the use of several new technical and technological solutions, as well as the widespread use of modern electronic equipment at that time, including digital. In 1988, a prototype T-10M-1, converted from the serial Su-27, took to the skies for the first time. Until 1994, the Sukhoi company and the Komsomolskoye-on-Amur Aviation Production Association built 12 prototypes of the Su-27M / Su-35 aircraft and regularly showed these aircraft at air shows, expecting to receive export contracts. In 1995, the serial production of Su-35 fighters started, which resulted in only three aircraft. Due to the absence of any orders in 1997, the Su-27M / Su-35 project was closed. Some of the developments on this project were used to create new aircraft of the Su-27 family.
The first prototype of the Su-27M - T-10M-1 board # 701 at the Air Force Museum in Monino, early 1990s (photo - Christian Waser, The modern history of the Su-35 aircraft began in 2005, when it was decided to revise the existing project and launch serial production of the updated fighter. Initially, the updated version of the project was designated the Su-35BM, but later, with the start of serial construction, the fighters began to be called the Su-35S. When revising the existing project, it was planned to radically update the aircraft's radio-electronic equipment and bring its capabilities to the level of the "4 ++" generation. In addition, the project used some elements and developments typical of the next generation of fighters.
By its design, the Su-35S fighter is a typical representative of the Su-27 family of aircraft. The airframe of the new aircraft was made on the basis of the previous project, but has undergone some changes. First of all, it is necessary to note the strengthening of the airframe, carried out in order to increase its resource. According to the available data, the service life of the airframe is 6,000 hours, which will allow the fighters to operate for 30 years. Some units of the airframe of the Su-35S aircraft differ from the corresponding parts of both the Su-27 and the Su-35 of the first version. During the creation of the Su-35BM / Su-35S project, the Sukhoi designers changed some details of the fuselage, wing and empennage. So, the Su-35S has a vertical tail, which differs from the keels of the previous machines. In addition, the new fighter lost the brake flap on the upper side of the fuselage. The keels are now used as an air brake, synchronously deflected outward.
The first prototype of the original assembly of KnAAPO - T-10M-3 / Su-35 board No. 703 at the MAKS-1995 air show, Ramenskoye, August 1995 (photo - Maxim Bryanskiy, Su-35S aircraft are equipped with two AL-41F1S turbojet engines developed by NPO Saturn. These engines are capable of developing afterburner thrust up to 14,500 kgf, and are also equipped with a thrust vector control system. This gives the aircraft high flight and maneuverability characteristics. In addition, to supply power to a number of systems, the aircraft is equipped with an auxiliary gas turbine power plant TA14-130-35 with a capacity of 105 kW. AL-41F1S engines provide the aircraft with a high thrust-to-weight ratio. With a normal take-off weight of about 25, 3-25, 5 tons, the thrust-to-weight ratio exceeds 1, 1. In the case of the maximum take-off weight (34, 5 tons), this parameter is reduced to 0, 76.
With such indicators, the Su-35S aircraft has high flight characteristics. It is capable of speeds up to 2500 km / h at an altitude and 1400 km / h at the ground. During the tests, it was found that the fighter without the use of afterburner can accelerate to speeds in excess of 1300 km / h. The Su-35S has a service ceiling of at least 18 km and a maximum flight range with outboard fuel tanks of about 4,500 kilometers.
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The Su-35S is equipped with a modern complex of electronic equipment, which includes the latest developments of the respective enterprises. The basis of the avionics complex is a radar station with a passive phased antenna array N035 "Irbis", created by the Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Engineering named after V. I. V. V. Tikhomirov. The antenna array of this station consists of 1772 modules, which provides operation in several modes: target detection and tracking, as well as terrain mapping. Depending on the parameters of the target, the radar N035 "Irbis" can find it at a distance of up to 400 km. The radar is capable of tracking up to 30 air and 4 ground targets or providing an attack on 8 air and 2 ground targets simultaneously.
In addition to the radar, the Su-35S received an OLS-35 optical location station. This station can detect targets in the optical and thermal imaging ranges. In addition, the OLS-35 has a laser rangefinder. According to available data, the optical location station is capable of finding aircraft that do not use the afterburner at ranges of up to 90 km, depending on the relative position of the fighter and the target. The maximum range, which can be measured using a laser rangefinder, reaches 30 kilometers. The OLS-35 station can simultaneously track up to four targets.
Like the previous aircraft of the Su-27 family, the new Su-35S is equipped with a fly-by-wire control system. Also, the fighter's electronic equipment includes active jamming equipment.
The Su-35S GOZ-2012 aircraft, board number 09, red at the Shagol / Chelyabinsk airbase during the ferry from KnAAPO, February 8, 2013 (photo - ilius, The built-in armament of the Su-35S fighter consists of one GSh-30-1 30-mm automatic cannon with 150 rounds of ammunition. Rockets and bombs are suspended from pylons under the wing and fuselage. 8 points of suspension are located under the wing, 4 more - under the fuselage. The aircraft can carry several types of guided air-to-air missiles at all external hardpoints. Guided and unguided air-to-surface missiles can only be suspended at six nodes. Also, to engage ground targets, it is proposed to use corrected and unguided bombs of various calibers.
In the summer of 2007, the assembly of the first prototype of the Su-35BM / Su-35S aircraft was completed. On February 19 of the following year, this fighter took off for the first time under the control of test pilot S. Bogdan. In total, three flight prototypes were built, but only two of them participated in the tests. In April 2009, the third prototype aircraft crashed during a high-speed run. The cause of the incident was a failure of the engine management system.
Su-35S board number 04 red with X-31 missiles in Ramenskoye, February 2013 (photo - Vyacheslav Babaevsky, In August 2009, during the MAKS-2009 air show, the Ministry of Defense and the United Aircraft Corporation signed a contract for the supply of 48 Su-35S fighters until 2015. Work on the fulfillment of the order of the military department began a few months after the signing of the contract, in the fall of 2009. The first production fighter took off in early May 2011. In August of the same year, two prototypes and the first production aircraft were transferred to the 929th State Air Force Flight Test Center for state joint tests. Already the first stage of testing confirmed the declared characteristics of the aircraft.
To date, including prototypes, no more than 12-15 Su-35S fighters have been built. In August of this year, there were reports according to which the Air Force will receive 12 new aircraft this fall. The new fighters will go to serve at the Dzemgi airbase (Komsomolsk-on-Amur). According to various estimates, up to eight fighters are currently in various stages of production. They will probably go for testing and will be handed over to the air force only next year.
Su-35S serial No. 01-06. Airfield KnAAPO Dzemgi, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, published on 06.12.2012 (https://www.knaapo.ru).
For obvious reasons, there are no specific data on the characteristics and combat capabilities of the new Su-35S fighter. However, the information already published allows us to make some assumptions. The latest domestically produced avionics will allow the aircraft to effectively find and attack air or ground targets. High flight data will also have a positive effect on the combat potential of the fighter. Often there are estimates according to which the Su-35S can be compared in a number of parameters with the T-50 fighter currently being tested. It is difficult to say how such estimates correspond to reality, since a large amount of information about these projects is classified.
Regardless of the results of comparing the Su-35S fighter with the latest T-50, we can talk about the superiority of the first over the aircraft available in the troops. The difficult situation of past years, due to which the air force has relatively old equipment, has correspondingly affected the potential of military aviation. In this case, the production and delivery of 48 state-of-the-art aircraft could have a positive impact on the state of the air force. It should be noted that the Su-35S is not the only new type of fighter designed to increase the potential of the Russian Air Force. In 2012, two contracts were signed for the supply of 60 Su-30SM and 16 Su-30M2 aircraft. Thus, if all existing contracts and plans are fulfilled, then by the end of this decade, the Russian air force will receive 96 Su-35S fighters and 76 Su-30 aircraft of several modifications.
Su-35S board No. 06 red serial No. 01-05. Airfield KnAAPO Dzemgi, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, published on 06.12.2012 (https://www.knaapo.ru).
By the time the contracts for the supply of Su-35S and Su-30 are completed, the domestic aviation industry should master the serial production of new T-50s, which will optimize the transition to the construction and operation of fifth-generation fighters. At the same time, for a long time, the Su-35S, which have a resource of about 30 years, will serve together with the new T-50. Thus, in the coming decades, the Russian Air Force will use fighters of generations "4 ++" and "5", which should accordingly affect the state of front-line aviation as a whole.
Su-35S board number 07 red at the air show in Le Bourget, June 17-23, 2013 (photo - Marina Lystseva,
