Su-37 Super Flanker

Su-37 Super Flanker is a single-seat and/or two-seat multi-role combat aircraft that was first shown in model form at 1991 trade shows. Some wind tunnel tests completed as the aircraft entered the basic design stage in 1992, with foreign partners being sought for development. Unlike the other twin-engine Su-27 derivatives, the Su-37 concept originally featured a single Soyuz/Tumansky turbofan engine rated at 180 kN (40500 lb st) thrust with afterburning. What finally emerged from the design process was a supermanoeuvrable version of the Su-35 with a pair of AL-37FU afterburning turbofans with axisymmetric, steerable nozzles and thrust vector control (TVC). When the Su-37 was shown at Farnbrough in 1996 it stole the show, performing an astounding aerobatic display.

The Su-37 is a super-maneuverable thrust vectoring fighter derived from an Su-35 prototype. The Su-37 represents a new level of capability compared with the Su-27 and Su-35. The Su-37 test aircraft made its maiden flight in April 1996 from the Zhukovsky flight testing center near Moscow. This impressive single-seat all-weather counter-air fighter and ground attack aircraft, derived from the SU-27, has an updated airframe containing a high proportion of carbon-fibre and Al-Li alloy. The engines, avionics and armaments are also improvements on those originally installed in the SU-27. The AL-37FU engines are configured for thrust vector control, with the axisymmetric steerable thrust vector control nozzle is fixed on a circular turning unit. The steel nozzle in the experimental engines is replaced in production engines by titanium units to reduce the weight of the nozzle. The nozzle only moves in the pitch axis, and the nozzles on the two engines can deflect together or differentially to achieve the desired thrust vector for a particular maneuver.

The Su-37 has a variety of other innovative equipment such as a radar configured for simultaneous surveillance of airspace and the ground and a high-precision laser-inertial/satellite navigation system. The all-weather digital multi-mode phased array radar operates in either air and ground surveillance modes or in both modes simultaneously. Ground surveillance modes include mapping (with Doppler beam sharpening), search-and-track of moving targets, synthetic aperature radar and terrain avoidance. The Su-37 is also equipped with a rearward facing radar in the tail stinger area of the fuselage. The Su-37 features fly-by-wire and relaxed static instability, which along with 3D thrust vectoring give the aircraft tremendous agility. It incorporates state of the art ECM in wing-tip pods, allowing improved survivability in electronic warfare environments. The Su-37 can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons on 12 stations. The number of missiles and bombs carried can be increased to 14 with the use of multi-payload racks.

At the 1996 Farnborough Air Show, Sukhoy’s SU-37 astounded international observers with maneuverability previously unseen in a combat aircraft. The thrust-vectoring SU-27 variant stole show headlines with flight demonstrations widely described in the aviation press as “spectacular.”1 One air show reporter opined that the SU-37 shows that the Russian aviation industry “is still alive.”

The Su-37's astounding maneuvers included the "Super Cobra", demonstrated for the first time. In this move, the aircraft enters with a speed of 400 kmh and is pulled through to an alpha of 135 deg, then recovered to the vertical and held in place for 4-6 seconds. The nose is then allowed to fall to the horizontal position, emerging at 150kmh with no loss of height. Another used the thrust vectoring to flip the Su-37 onto it's back, and then to rotate it upright and continue in the opposite direction. The most impressive manouver was the kulbit (somersault). With an entry speed of 350 kmh the aircraft flipped onto it's back (a full 180 deg) facing the opposite direction, inverted and practically stationary. After 'pausing', thrust vectoring completes the kulbit (a 360 deg somersault) with a nose down angle of 30 deg and an exit speed of 60 kmh.

Sukhoi used payments earned in the sale of an Su-27 license to China to finance the Su-37 development. Russia's Air Force has not ordered any Su-37s. Sukhoi is studying the possibility of developing a two-seat version of the Su-37 with enhanced strike capabilities.

HISTORY:
First Flight 2 April 1996
Service Entry
mid-2005s

CREW: 1 pilot

ESTIMATED COST: unknown

AIRFOIL SECTIONS:
Wing Root unknown
Wing Tip unknown

DIMENSIONS:
Length 72.83 ft (22.22 m)
Wingspan 48.17 ft (14.70 m)
Height 21.08 ft (6.43 m)
Wing Area 666 ft2 (62.0 m2)
Canard Area unknown

WEIGHTS:
Empty 40,785 lb (18,500 kg)
Typical Load 56,590 lb (25,670 kg)
Max Takeoff 74,955 lb (34,000 kg)
Fuel Capacity 29,540 lb (13,400 kg)
Max Payload 17,640 lb (8,000 kg)

PROPULSION:
Powerplant two Saturn/ Lyul'ka AL-31FU afterburning turbofans
Thrust unknown

PERFORMANCE:
Max Level Speed at altitude: 1,490 mph (2,400 km/h) at 32,780 ft (10,000 m), Mach 2.3
at sea level: unknown
cruise speed: 870 mph (1,400 km/h) at 32,780 ft (10,000 m)
Initial Climb Rate 45,235 ft (13,800 m) / min
Service Ceiling 59,055 ft (18,000 m)
Range typical: 1,730 nm (3,200 km)
ferry: 3,505 nm (6,500 km)
g-Limits +9

ARMAMENT:
Gun one 30-mm GSh-301 cannon (149 rds)
Stations twelve external hardpoints and two wingtip rails
Air-to-Air Missile R-27/AA-10 Alamo, R-73/AA-11 Archer, R-77/AA-12
Air-to-Surface Missile unknown
Bomb unknown
Other rocket pods, ECM pods

KNOWN VARIANTS
Su-37 Prototypes have been built, but the aircraft has not entered production.
Two-seat model has been reported but designation unknown