TITLE:

SUKHOI Su-24

NATO reporting name: 'Fencer'

TYPE:

Two-seat variable geometry 'battlefield bomber', reconnaissance and EW aircraft.

PROGRAMME:

Design started 1964 under Yevgeniy S. Felsner, Pavel Sukhoi's successor, to replace Il-28 and Yak-28 attack aircraft; T-6-1 prototype, first flown June 1967 and now at Monino, had fixed delta wings with downswept tips, and four Koliesov auxiliary booster motors mounted vertically in fuselage for improved take-off performance; T-6-2IG variable geometry prototype chosen for production; first flight January 1970; by 1981, delivery rate 60-70 a year; production of Su-24M/MR/MP continues.

DESIGN FEATURES:

Variable geometry shoulder wing; wing section SR14S-5.376 on fixed panels, SR14S-9.226 to SR16M-10 on outer panels; 4 degrees 30' anhedral from roots; incidence 0 degrees at root, -4 degrees at tip; triangular fixed glove box; four-position (16, 35, 45, and 69 degrees) pivoted outer panels, each with pivoting stores pylon; slab-sided rectangular section fuselage; integral engine air intake trunks, each with splitter plate and outer lip inclined slightly downward; chord of lower part of tail fin extended forward, giving kinked leading-edge; leading-edge sweepback 59 degrees 30' on fin, 30 degrees on inset rudder, 50 degrees on horizontal tail surfaces; basic operational task, as designated 'frontal bomber', to deliver wide range of air-to-surface missiles for defence suppression, with some hard target kill potential; specially developed long-range navigation system and electro-optical weapons systems make possible penetration of hostile airspace at night or in adverse weather with great precision, to deliver ordnance within 55 m (180 ft) of target.

LANDING GEAR:

Hydraulically retractable tricycle type, with twin wheels on each unit; main units retract forward and inward into air intake duct fairings; steerable nose unit retracts rearward. Oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers. Trailing-link main units; KT-172 mainwheel tyres size 950 x 300 mm, pressure 12.15 bars (176 lb/sq in); KN-21 nosewheel tyres size 600 x 200 mm, pressure 9.1 bars (132 lb/sq in); KT-69.430 brakes on mainwheels, with IA-58 anti-skid units; mudguard on nosewheels; two cruciform brake-chutes, each 25 m{2} (269 sq ft).

POWER PLANT:

Two Saturn/Lyulka AL-21F-3A turbojets, each 75.0 kN (16,865 lb st) dry and 109.8 kN (24,690 lb st) with afterburning; fixed engine air intakes. Four internal fuel tanks, capacity 11,700 litres (3090 US gallons; 2574 Imp gallons), can be supplemented by two 2000 litre (528 US gallon; 440 Imp gallon) external tanks under fuselage and two 3000 litre (792 US gallon; 660 Imp gallon) tanks under wing gloves. Pressure and gravity fuelling. Probe-and-drogue flight refuelling capability, including operation as buddy tanker. Oil capacity 24 litres (6.35 US gallons; 5.25 Imp gallons).

ACCOMMODATION:

Crew of two (pilot and weapon systems officer) side by side on K-36DM ejection seats; cockpit width 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in); jettisonable canopy, hinged to open upward and rearward in two panels, split on centreline.

AVIONICS:

Two superimposed radar scanners in nose, for nav/attack and terrain clearance and ranging to airborne target; laser ranger/designator under front fuselage; SPO-15 radar warning receivers on sides of engine air intakes and tail fin; LO-82 Mak-UL missile warning receivers above centre-fuselage and below front fuselage; ram air intakes for heat exchangers above centre-fuselage and at base of fin; Geran-F active jamming system. Integrated defensive aids suite.

ARMAMENT:

(Su-24M): Nine pylons under fuselage, each wingroot glove and outer wings for guided and unguided air-to-surface weapons, including TN-1000 and TN-1200 nuclear weapons, up to four TV or laser-guided bombs, missiles such as Kh-23 (NATO AS-7 'Kerry'), Kh-25ML (AS-10 'Karen'), Kh-58 (AS-11 'Kilter'), Kh-25MP (AS-12 'Kegler'), Kh-59 (AS-13 'Kingbolt'), Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge') and Kh-31A/P (AS-17 'Krypton'), rockets of 57 mm to 370 mm calibre, bombs (typically 38 x 100 kg FAB-100), 23 mm gun pods or external fuel tanks; two R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') air-to-air missiles can be carried for self-defence. No internal weapons bay. One GSh-6-23M six-barrel 23 mm Gatling type gun inside fairing on starboard side of fuselage undersurface; fairing for recording camera on other side.

DIMENSIONS: EXTERNAL:

Wingspan: 16 degrees sweep: 17.638 m (57 ft 10 1/2 in)

69 degrees sweep: 10.366 m (34 ft 0 in)

Wing aspect ratio: 16 degrees sweep: 5.63

69 degrees sweep: 2.10

Length overall, incl probe: 24.594 m (80 ft 8 1/4 in)

Height overall: 6.19 m (20 ft 3 3/4 in)

Tailplane span: 8.39 m (27 ft 6 1/2 in)

WEIGHTS AND LOADINGS (Su-24MK):

Weight empty, equipped: 19000 kg (41,885 lb)

Max wing loading: 945.2 kg/m{2} (193.6 lb/sq ft)

Max power loading: 180.5 kg/kN (1.77 lb/lb st)

PERFORMANCE (Su-24MK):

Max level speed, clean: at height: Mach 1.35

at S/L: Mach 1.08 (712 knots; 1320 km/h; 820 mph)

Stalling speed, flaps and wheels down:

151 knots (280 km/h; 174 mph)

Max rate of climb at S/L: 9000 m (29,525 ft)/min

Service ceiling: 17,500 m (57,400 ft)

g limit: +6.5

LENGTH (m): 24.59

HEIGHT (m): 6.19

WINGSPAN (m): 17.63

MAX T-O WEIGHT (kg): 39,700

MAX WING LOAD (kg/m{2}): 945.20

MAX LEVEL SPEED (knots): 712

T-O RUN (m): 1300

LANDING RUN (m): 950

MAX RATE CLIMB (m/min): 9000

SERVICE CEILING (m): 17,500