Editors note: This is an interesting aircraft. The cockpit is pressurized like a transport aircraft that allows to operate up to 10,000 metres (32,800 ft) without oxygen masks. The crew members have room to stand and move about the cabin during long missions. The space between the seats allows that they can take naps on long missions, if necessary. A small toilet and a galley are located behind the crew seats.
MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia would like to expand sales of such warplanes as the Su-34 throughout the world, President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Chinese TV.
The Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback, an advanced two-seat fighter-bomber and attack aircraft, was flown by Medvedev in March.
The president told China Central TV his flight was supposed to "deliver several messages."
He said he wanted to "learn first hand about the potential of Russian equipment," and was able to see for himself that "this equipment is really great."
He added that as commander in chief, he wanted to share the experience with "people serving in the Armed Forces," including the "strain and other challenges."
Medvedev said Russia was "interested in expanding the geographic base" for the export of these aircraft "to include our neighbors, as well as other countries."
The Su-34 is armed with a 30mm GSh-301 gun and 180 rounds of ammunition and can fire up to 1,500 rounds a minute.
The aircraft can carry an array of missiles, including air-to-air, air-to-surface, anti-ship and heat-seeking missiles, and guided and unguided bombs.
Full-scale production began in January 2008, and 24 Su-34 aircraft are expected to be in service by 2010. In January 2008, the Russian Air Force said it would procure 70 aircraft by 2015.
Experts say the new bomber has the potential to become the top plane in its class for years to come. It has a combat role similar to the US F-15 or F-111.
The Sukhoi Su-34 (export designation Su-32, NATO reporting name Fullback) is an advanced Russian 2-seat fighter-bomber and strike aircraft. It is intended to eventually replace the Sukhoi Su-24.
It is a dedicated fighter bomber version of the Su-27 'Flanker' which was developed in the 1980s. It made its first flight on 13 April 1990 and was originally designated Su-27IB.
Budget restrictions stalled the program repeatedly, and led to the prototype aircraft being displayed publicly under a variety of roles and designations. When first described in the official Russian press in 1994 it was described as the Su-34.
At the 1999 Paris Air show the aircraft was nicknamed the Platypus due to the unusual shape of the nose. The Russian Air Force has apparently recently adopted the designation Su-34.
The aircraft shares most of its wing structure, tail, and engine nacelles with the Su-27/Su-30, with canards like the Su-30MKI/Su-33/Su-27M/35 to increase static instability (higher maneuverability) and to reduce trim drag.
The aircraft has an entirely new nose and forward fuselage with a cockpit providing side-by-side seating for a crew of two. The Su-34 retains the Su-27's engines, but with fixed intakes, limiting its maximum speed to Mach 1.8+.
To date only a handful of pre-production models have been built. In mid-2004 Sukhoi announced that low-rate production was commencing and that initial aircraft would reach squadron service around 2008. Upgrade programs continue for surviving Russian Su-24 "Fencers", as the Su-34 may still not enter wide service for some years to come.
In March 2006, Russia's minister of defense Sergei Ivanov announced that the government had purchased only two Su-34s for delivery in 2006, and planned to have a complete air regiment of 44 Su-34s operational by the end of 2010.
New SU-34 aircraft will be purchased by 2015 to replace some 300 Su-24s, which are going through modernization upgrades currently to prolong their service life. Ivanov claimed that because the aircraft is ". . . more effective on all critical parameters" the Russian Air Force will need far fewer of these newer bombers than the old Su-24 it replaces.
In December 2006, Ivanov revealed that approximately 200 Su-34s are expected be in service by 2020.
Two Su-34s were delivered on 4 January 2007, and six more will be delivered by the end of that year. Russia plans to have 24 Su-34s operational by late 2010 with a total of 70 to be purchased by 2015.
The Su-34 has a three surface planform, with a conventional horizontal tail at the rear and a pair of canard foreplanes in front of the wings for extra lift and more maneuvering power. The Su-34 has an active-safety system with artificial-intelligence elements.
This system enables the plane to execute just about any combat maneuver and to fly at near ground level at a maximum speed of 1,400 km/h. The Su-34 can also fly in TERCOM (Terrain Contour Matching) mode, bypassing unexpected obstacles and streaking through ground air-defense zones.
The Su-34 has 12 pylons for up to 8,000 kilograms (17,635 lb) of ordnance, intended to include the latest Russian precision-guided weapons. It retains the Su-27/Su-30's 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon. The Su-34 ordnance load includes subsonic and supersonic homing missiles and glider bombs, can destroy hardened and well-camouflaged targets at a range of up to 250 km.
The airplane has enlarged capacity internal fuel tanks for practical unrefueled flight of 4,000 kilometres (2160 nm). With three refuelings, the Su-34 is capable of covering a distance of more than 14,000 kilometres (7560 nm).
The onboard electronics engineering ensures the flight crew with a full information about parameters of flight and enclosing space, condition of onboard systems and power plant, purposes in an air on ground, on surface of water and under water, about means of radar-tracking detection. In addition, the Su-34 features a rearward facing radar capable of detecting, tracking, and directing R-73 or R-77 AAMs at pursuing enemy aircraft.
An operational mission for the Su-34 begins with a mission planning period that loads into the aircraft's two main computers the coordinates and elevations of every navigation and mission-dependent point from takeoff to landing. At each coordinate-point or time-hack, automatic switching of modes can be accomplished so that the pilots can be hands-off or involved with other parts of the mission.
Data link with command aircraft, ground stations, and command ships will be maintained and where line-of-sight limits are reached these communications resort to satellites for expanded coverage. Mission updates can be passed by higher authority anytime during the flight.
All types or tactical and strategic ordnance can be utilized with emphasis being placed on long range standoff weapons such as the Kh-59 Ovod/Kh-59ME cruise missiles, Kh-29 & Kh-31 anti-radiation weapons, Kh-35 Uran anti-ship weapon, and the Kh-41 Moskit long range anti-ship missile.
Unlike the earlier Su-27, the Su-34 has a modern glass cockpit, with colour CRT multi-function displays. Its avionics currently are based around a Leninets V004 passive electronically scanned array radar, and a UOMZ laser/television system for designating and guiding precision-guided munitions.
The front-mounted radar is supplemented by a rear-aspect V005 radar housed in the long tail "stinger". The Su-34 is equipped with comprehensive ECM equipment, including an infrared missile launch detection system.
The avionics suite has an extended architecture of computers, memory boards, color multi-function displays, and processors designed as self-contained information processing modules.
They consist of large "Argon" digital computer units with specially programmed processors that use multiplex data-exchange channels. All information modules are controlled by a dual central computing system that fully coordinates workload and provides all relevant information to the flight deck.
Two-way data link enables the mission planning and weapon aim-point computations to be loaded or updated while in flight or aircraft to aircraft. As a strike aircraft, the Su-34 incorporates an advanced multi-function phased array radar capable of terrain following and avoidance for high speed, low level operations.
The Su-34's most distinctive feature is the unusually large flight deck. Much of the design work went into crew comfort. The two crew members sit side by side in a large cabin, with the pilot-commander to the left and navigator/operator of weapons to the right in jettisonable NPP Zvezda K-36dm seats. The advantage of the side by side cockpit is that duplicate instruments are not required for each pilot, which improves efficiency and comfort.
As long missions require comfort, it has pressurization that it allows to operate up to 10,000 metres (32,800 ft) without oxygen masks, which are available for emergencies and combat situations. The crew members have room to stand and move about the cabin during long missions. The space between the seats allows that they can lie down in the corridor, if necessary. A small toilet and a galley are located behind the crew seats.
A long-range surveillance radar, passive detection systems, system of communication for tactical and strategical voice and data in a single platform with long-range capacity with flight refueling, transform the Su-34 into a way of monitoring and recognition in real time and platform of command and control, forming a complete battle management system.
General characteristics
Crew: Two
Length: 23.34 m (72 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
Height: 6.09 m (19 ft 5 in)
Loaded weight: 39,000 kg (85,980 lb)
Useful load: 8,000 kg (17,600 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 45,100 kg (99,425 lb)
Powerplant: 2× Lyulka AL-35F turbofans, 137.2 kN (30,845 lbf) with afterburner each
Performance
Maximum speed:
High altitude: Mach 1.8 (1,900 km/h, 1,180 mph)
Low altitude: Mach 1.2 (1,400 km/h, 870 mph) at sea level
Combat radius: 1,100 km (680 mi)
Ferry range: 4,000 km (2,490 mi)
Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,200 ft)
Wing loading: 629 kg/m² (129 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.68
Armament
1 × 30 mm GSh-30-1 (9A-4071K) cannon, 150 rounds
2 × wingtip rails for R-73 (AA-11 'Archer') air-to-air missile
10 × wing and fuselage stations for up to 8,000 kg (17,630 lb) of ordnance, including Kh-29L/T, Kh-25MT/ML, Kh-25MP, Kh-36, Kh-38, Kh-41, Kh-59M, Kh-58, Kh-31P, Kh-35 Ural, Kh-41, Kh-65S, Kh-SD, 2 Moskit, 3 × Jachont air-to-ground missiles, KAB-500L/KR or KAB-1500L guided bombs, unguided bombs, B-8 rocket pods with 20 × 80 mm S-8 rockets, B-13 rocket pods with 5 × 122 mm S-13 rockets, O-25 rocket pods with 1 × 340 mm S-25 rocket, fuel tanks, EW- and reconnaissance pods.
sources:
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090615/155256775.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-34
Source: Pravda.Ru
The G8 summit that came to an end on Thursday has brought new prospects for major reforms in the world’s most influential political institutions.
The Russians are likely to win the contract with India because they have a 40 year history with the Indian Air force (IAF), their fighter is more current 4.5 generation than the competiion and costs about two-thirds of the comepetitor's aircraft at under $40 million per unit. Of course, it's not over until the Fat Lady sings. 
07.07.2009
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Editors note: This is an interesting aircraft. The cockpit is pressurized like a transport aircraft that allows to operate up to 10,000 metres (32,800 ft) without oxygen masks. The crew members have room to stand and move about the cabin during long missions. The space between the seats allows that they can take naps on long missions, if necessary. A small toilet and a galley are located behind the crew seats.
