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
|
(source: Jane's)