Su-35S testing continues

Apart from its T-50 fifth-generation fighter, Sukhoi has brought to MAKS 2013 a flying example of its Su-35S Gen 4++ fighter. The aircraft is being flown here by Yury Vashchuk, a Hero of Russia and an honoured test pilot. The Su-35S first premiered in a flying display program at MAKS 2009, where the Russian Air Force placed an order for 48 such aircraft with deliveries until 2015. The fighter’s overseas debut was at the Paris Air Show earlier this year.

As of early 2013, the Russian Air Force had received 10 Su-35S fighters. The first two were delivered in 2011, and the rest in 2012. The type is undergoing official tests. Sukhoi says the results of the flight testing program corroborate the design performance parameters for the airframe, powerplants, navigation system, and other equipment. The aircraft demonstrated 1,400 km/h maximum airspeed near ground, 2,400 km/h at altitude, and 18,000 km maximum altitude.

The aircraft’s Irbis passive electronically-scanned array has a range of over 400 km in the air-to-air mode. The fighter’s infrared search-and-track system can detect and tracks multiple targets at over 80 km away. The Su-35S has undergone several successful weapon release tests.

The Su-35S is also used as a testbed for advanced technologies to be used on the T-50, primarily for the new advanced avionics suite, which significantly enhances the pilot’s situational awareness. The aircraft is powered by two Item 117S engines, similar to those powering the T-50, with augmented thrust and thrust-vectoring capability; there is also an APU.