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MILITARY SUKHOI T-SO

Piotr Butowski reports on the latest developments to the Sukhoi T-SO fighter

·fI'!!5;"=.....-Iwelve months have passed since the maiden flight of Russia's fifth generation fighter, the Sukhoi T-50,

developed Within the PAK FA

All photos courtesy programme. In December 2009

ofSukhoi unless otherwise stated T-SO-KNS, a non-flyir.g example,

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performed. high~speed taxiing on the runway auhe Komsomolsk-onAmur plant, and then on January 29, 20·10, aircraft Tc50-1 mad e th~ maiden flight.

During a two-week break from test flying, T-50-1 was painted in a three-colour camouflage, with side number

51. It flew again on February 12, the first of a series of six flights that was completed on March

26, after which it was dismantled and airlifted onboard an An-124 transport aircraft (with T-SO-KNS) to Zhukovsky near Moscow on April 8. The aircraft was reassembled and made its first flight at Zhukovsky (its seventh flight)

on April 29. Subsequent flights followed on May 14, May 25 and June 3.

Prime Minister of Russi"

Vladimir Putin watcheda four-In inute display by T-sb-1 at Zhukovsky on-June 1 hits 16th flight. Five practiCe€> flig~ts were made during the days leading up to the display.

·Alonger break in the test flying programme took place between mid June and August, a period tharwaslenqthened by the terri ble forest and rn oor fi res around Moscow,

In late August, T-50-1 returned .to the air; conducting intensive preparations for a display that took place on August 31 when the aircraft was demonstrated

at Zhukovsky toa delegatLon from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the Indian Ministry

of D-efence. By the end of .November 2010, aircraft T-50-1 had made 40 flights.

The second prototype, T-50-2, waS expected to fly by the end

of 2010, but its maiden flight is delayed and is likely to take place in late January at Komsomolskon-Amur.

Aircraft T-50-1 and T-50-2 will be used for handling and

p,ert"orma" ,\c~, ff[ght control and navigation sy\;tI"'ri'\S,

nircraft i nst,,11;3tior'ts and-s r"l.9 in@ testing. Aircraft tbr-ee(T-SO_,3)will fly in ?Oljanti ai(craft four (T-50- 4) in 2012. B""oth will be equipped ""tit~ a full Wissi ens system suite; . neither TeSO-1oe T-50:-2 are

fitted with radar or other mission

systems.

Two other nOll-flying examples are undergoing tests. T-50-KNS {Kompleksnyi Nat~rnyi Sterid, Complex Full-scale St,md)is

used for synchronization of all construction cornoonents, and T-50-0 for staf c stress tests.

Factory trials of the T-50 prototypes will continue until

2012 at Zhukovsky (the Russian

air industry test centre) followed hy state trials at the Ministry of Defence test centre at Akhtub i nsk.

During a press conference

at Farnborouqh International Airshow in July 2010, Mikhail Pogosyan, head of the Sukhoi Company, stated that the T-50 test programme comprises more than 2,000 test flights. He also announced plans to display

the T-50 at the MAKS air show

at Zhukovsky in August 2011. Pogosyan also said that the fifth generation fighter "exceeds preceding aircraft three times in terms of effectiveness". The PAK FA will be more expensive than current fourth generation aircraft, mainly because of the costs of

its new systems, but "for export it will be much cheaper than the rivals," he said.

In June 2010 Vladimir

80p.o.\d<in olhif

. fjrstqsputy qf'the

ssi at).'. D",,{~oc<e. Mi Rister &tiel'l"tpuri;haseS,

<1"'11. th'!rtJrI201~,qftertbe

fir$~ ,s,tGl@eoftheaimaffstri'"is are d:tmp(et$;J:hi'!. Ministry'of D~fence. . will bUY'an initial batch of six to

t,§n]£!:iOs formilitery-triels:

Procurement or aircraft for

. op~r'ati6nai(jnits wHi begin

in 2016. ''We estimate the

Air Force's Meed for6D-1 00 aircraft [through to 20201:;said Popovkin. Colonel General Alexander Zelin Commander-inChiefofthe Russia,n AirForce, then announced future orders by the Air'Forcefor "more than 60 fighters" (a nurnberwith.n the National Armament Programme through to 2020)

, The announcements made to date seem to be realistic because the PAK FA programme has undisturbed funding and with only minor delays all programme timelines previously announced will be kept.

PAK FA's Superson IC Environment

Overall shape of the T-SO,s

not surprisingly an evolution

of the Flanker, adapted for

the requirements of stealth technology, supersonic cruise speed and agility. In comparison to the Flanker the T-50's two engines are mounted further apart to allow weapon bays to be positioned between them. Vertical tall surfaces are scaled down, single-piece and allmoving. The fuselage has an angular shape to reduce radar cross-section and the wing is blended with canards and the tail planes. These design aspects combined with a wide fuselage creates a uniform aerody-ia-nic

AI.02.11 .. ·•·•··•·•· ..•.• <._33)

MILITARY SUKHOI T-SO

surface that easily adapts to all flight envelopes.

Fourth generation fighters

like the Flanker reach supersonic speed for only short periods

of time and their typical flight envelopes lay beneath the speed of sound. By comparison the T-50 not only cruises at supersonic speed (a capability known as supercruise), but also and most importantly manoeuvres and fights at supersonic speed. These characteristics impose significant requirements on the aircraft's aerodynamic layout, the engines must be capable of generating high thrust without afterburner and its mission systems must react qui ckly to th reats.

The most characteristic

feature of the T,50's aerodynamic layout are the fonward stretched winq-root extensions, ended

by large moving flaps on the leading edge, connected with

the wings by elastic couplings. The extensions shift the centre

of pressure forward, increasing the static instability, which is especially important in supersonic flight, when the centre of pressure naturally shifts aft and the aircraft becomes too stable and less manoeuvrable Static instability of the T,50 amounts to 10,12%; by comparison, the Su-27M Flanker has 5,6%, and the Su-27

is statically neutral. Thanks to high static instability the T-50 can manoeuvre at supersonic speed much better than any previous fighter.

The T-50 has triangular wings with a leading edge sweep of 48° and" reverse sweep to the trailing edge of, 10°, smoothly blending into a very broad lift-producing fuselage, The wingtips are cut. There is a long nose flap on the leading edge and two sections of flaperons on the trailing edge. Single'piece horizontal tail planes are similar in shape to the wings. Vertical tail surfaces are also single piece, are relatively small planes set at an obtuse angle of 26°.

Moving engine nozzles function in the same way as the Su,30MKI Flanker: they move in one plane (up and down), but

the planes of movement are

tilted from vertical: the right one to the right, and the left one to the left. Thus the nozzles move along the arms of the V letter and provide control in all directions. All control surfaces and engine nozzle movements are controlled by aKSU-50 (Kompleksnaya Sistema Upravlenya) digital flight control system, developed by the Avionika Company of Moscow, Thanks to extended wing high,lift devices and variable thrust vector,

; 34 " ·AI02.11

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the aircraft is capable of operating from short airstrips.

The T-50 aircraft is powered

by two Saturn ALA 1 F1 (izdeliye 117) engines, rated at 15 tons (147kN/33,046Ib) of thrust each. It is a thorough upgrade of the AL,31 F engine used by the Su,27 with a larger diameter fan, new high- and low-pressure turbines, upgraded combustion chamber and a new FADEC control system, integrated with the aircraft's control system. The AL-41 F1 engines will be the power plant of the PAK FA fighters at least until 2020. Production of a

new engine, rated at 18 tons (1765kN/39,679Ib) of thrust is expected at a later date.

Su rvivabil ity ~.~.~?'~.9..~ .. ~.?~~a Ith I

According to published assessments a tenfold reduction of an aircraft's radar cross section increases its survivability du ring the mission by 40%. Alexander Davidenko, Chief Designer of

the PAK FA at the Sukhoi design bureau says, that the radar cross section of previous generation aircraft, for example the Su,27 amounts to 12 sguare metres, and the American F-22 - some 0.3-0.4 sguare metres, The PAK FA will be in this respect "not worse than the F-22, but close to it", says Davidenko. Meaning that the radar cross section of the PAK FA will be at least 30 times smaller

than that of the Su,27, hence its survivability is twice greater.

The fuselage of the T,50 is shaped by facets placed at different angles; in its construction special materials are used. Weapon bay and wheel well

doors have 'toothed' edges and the production version will be covered with radiation absorbing skin. According to Alexander Davidsnko. the share of composites in the airframe weight amounts to 25% and in the aircraft overall, 70%,

The most important design solution used to reduce the T-50's radar cross section is the use of internal weapon bays to carry its basic weapons load, Two 1.0m (3ft 3in) wide and 4.6m (1 Sft 1 in) long bays, positioned in tandem, occupy the entire length of the fuselage ventral surface, from the nose wheel well to the engine nozzles housed between the engines. Both bays will carry medium, and long range air-to-air missiles and precision-quidod airto-ground munitions.

However the aircraft also needs short range air-to-air missiles for close-air combat. The seeker of such a missile must lock on to

the target before launch, which is impossible, ifthe missile is carried in a main fuselage weapon bay because the bay's walls obscure the missile's seeker.

Theoretically, a short range missile might be launched 'blind', controlled by autopilot according to preliminary target indication and then lock on to the target

in flight. But in practice this

SUKHOI T-50 MILITARY

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way is ineffective: in a dynamic close air combat scenario there will be insufficient time and the probability of missing the target will be very high.

Designers of the T-50 have used so-called 'quick bays' (Bystryi otsek in Russian) in the shape of oblong under wing fairings, near the fuselage to carry short range missiles for the close air combat. In comparison the F-22 Raptor has bays especially designed to carry Sidewinder missiles located in the sides of the fuselage.

The disadvantage of the conformal weapon bay is the increase of the aircraft's midsection, but the advantage is the fuselage inner space freed up that can for example be used to carry fuel.

All-aspect Awareness

and .. ~.r.:9.,~.9.,~~!2.~.~

The task of the PAK FA is to fight all kinds of tactical targets in the air, on the ground and on the surface of the ocean, from

any position around the aircraft. Sensors that monitor the air space and ground surface around the aircraft will be used with the aircraft's high manoeuvrability, and various weapons to accomplish this.

Another essential component of all-aspect awareness is the aircraft's ability to link into a secure digital communication network. To this end the PAK FA will have secure communication links to enable the exchange of data with other aircraft, airborne and ground-based command points. The Russian design bureaus are working on this requirement, but unfortunately no more information is currently available.

The degree of system integration under design for the PAK FA is much higher than that of the 5u-27 Flanker which has

the radar, electro-optical (EO) sight and the helmet-mounted sight integrated with each other, enabling for example, the EO sight to feed target coordinates to the radar.

PAK FA will have a significantly enhanced sensor suite and the 5h121 radar system will have five antennas (six if the millimetre radar housed in a pod IS counted), but not one in the nose.

The Atoll EO system is no longer a single 'egg' in front of

1 T-50-1 an its maiden flight from Komsomolsk-on-Arnur plant on January 29. 2009. 2 T-50-1 on

final approach to Komsomolsk-onAmur. The right side oblong under wing fairing is easily seen, near the fuselage. 3 The T-50's tandem internal weapon bays can clearly be seen under the fuselage extending from a forward point adjacent the engine inlets to the engine nozzles. 4 Two drag chutes help to slow T.SO-1 on roll-out after landing on the runway at Komsomolsk-on-Amur following the type's maiden flight on January 29, 2009.

the cockpit, but at least three sensors, searching the space around the aircraft. Geofizika-NV based in Moscow is developing

a new helmet-mounted sight and display (HM5D) for the PAK FA.

A flight-navigation system, central computer and the manmachine interface are being developed at the RPKB design bureau at Ramenskoye.

The T-50 cockpit differs very little from the Su-35 and is equipped with two large 3BOmm (15 inch) LCD displays and three smaller control panel displays positioned throughout the cockpit, The only difference is a new wide-angle (30x22°) ShKAI-S head-up display made by the Elektroavtomatika Company based in St Petersburg (the

Su-35 has a more conventional IKSh-1 M HUD made by the RPKB Company).

Development work on the

Sh 121 radar and other sensors is ongoing. The first experimental example of the forward Sh121 radar antenna for the PAK FA

was made in November 2008

and displayed by the Tikhomirov NIIP institute at the August 2009 MAKS airshow. Three examples of the radar are currently undergoing lab trials; in 2011- 2012 two ofthem, along with other mission systems will be fitted to aircraft T-50-3 and T-50-4.

,1.02.11 , ( 35 ,::

I.... MILITARY SUKHOI T-SO

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The mai_h I-Q",ding '£lear rn the final '""1':;

moment of the retraction sequence.

PAK FA prototype T-50-1 makes a ~piiited departure from the runway at Zhukovsky ~ Seconds from touch down at Zhukovsky, this view of the T-50-1 shows the small

single piece vertical tail surfaces set at an obtuse <ihgle of 260 4 A test pilot dimbs into the cockpit of T-50-1 at Zhukovsky on June 17 for

a demonstration Hight for the Prime Minister-of Russia Vladimir Put;n.

{. 36':: ···················Af.02.11

supplied by NPP Istok of Fryazino (the X-band) and NPP Pulsar of Moscow (the L-band).

Chief antenna designer at

NIIP, Anatoly Sinani claims, that

in series production the price of an X-band module will amount to 20,000-25,000 roubles (£450-550) each, and the front radar antenna has more than 1,500 modules. Side antennas are much smaller. X-band modules are biased to Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), and the L-band modules are biased to silicon.

Thirty years ago, the Infrared search and track devices for

the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker fighters Were designed by NPO Geofizika, and produced by the UOMZ plant at Yekaterinburg. In the 19905 Geofizika broke up into several smaller companies and largely lost its potential,

while UOMZ was growing. In 2002 UOMZ, employing some Geofizika employees opened

its engineering division UralGeofizika in Moscow, which currently designs new EO

sights. Ural-Geofizika is the

main contractor of the Atoll programme, within which the

PAK FA's electro-optical system,

The complete Sh 121 radar system has five antennas: the forward X-band (centimetre wavelength). two smaller X-band, situated on the sides of the forward antenna and two L-band (decametre wavelength) in the wing leading edges. Additionally a Ka-band antenna (millimetre wavelength) may be carried

in a pod. The NIIP institute emphasises that the production technology and components utilized in antenna construction are RU5sian; transceiver modules will be produced by the GRPZ plant at Ryazan from elements

SUKHOI T-50 MILITARY

known in Russia as the 'optical architecture' of the fighter, is being developed.

A precise configuration of the Atoll system is not known, but

it will consist of at least three

se n sors. The fi rst, typi ca I of previous Russian fighters, is a sight mounted In the 'egg' on the starboard side in front of the cockpit. The second is the upper hemisphere observation device mounted on the fuselage aft of the cockpit and the third is for the lower hemisphere (ground surface) observation device

in development for UOMZ by

the Vavilov Optic I nstitute at St Petersburg. The lower sensor will probably be pod-mounted but this is unconfirmed.

All three sensors are active and passive in the infrared band (not just passive like previous

1.02."········· .. ······ <37 .' :

examples), and can track and engage multiple air and ground targets simultaneously. Even

less is known about the T-50's self-defence system. Certainly the antennas of the Sh 121 system and the Atoll EO sensors will be utilized, and probably four laser sensors mounted on the aircraft, covering 3600 in azimuth.

Information collected and processed wi II be used fa r th reat assessment, turning on jamming devices or launching decoys and giving recommendations to the pilot.

The PAK FA's electronic jamming system is reportedly being developed by the KNIRTI

Company of Kaluga and is integrated with the Sh 121 radar system. The Vympel Company

in Moscow is developing the UV-50, a launcher intended for conventional thermal and radar decoys, as well as single use ECM transmitters; all of 50mm (2 inches) calibre.

The MKS Vympel design bureau in Moscow is developing all of the missiles and internal missile launchers for PAK FA.

A typical weapon load for air-to-ai r missions consists of four medium range K-77M missiles and two short range K-74M2s. The K-77M missile is currently underqoinq trials and will soon

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enter series production and the K-74M2 is yet to undergo flight tests.

Air-to-ground weapons include the Kh-S8UShK anti-radiation missile which is due to enter series production in 2011, the modular universal Kh-38M missile is completing trials and the KAB-SOOS guided bomb recently entered production, two others, the KAB-SOOM and UAB-2S0 will follow.

The aircraft may carry a heavier armament load on four under wing pylons; two under each wing but such a weapons load is only feasible on missions not requiring stealth.

Other new large tactical munitions, currently entering or due to enter production in the next years are the upgraded Kh-31 PM anti-radiation missile, Kh-35U

and Kh-S9MK anti-ship missiles and precision-guided stand-off Kh-59M2 missiles. Further Into

the future the PAK FA will receive entirely new long, medium and short range air-to-air missiles.

Indian Thread

Negotiations about Indian participation in the PAK FA programme have been ongoing for nearly ten years. For the

first time a common RussianIndian fighter became the

subject oftalks between the

two countries in June 2001. In January 2003, Russia and India signed the letter of intention,

and in October 2007 signed an

I ntel'-govemmental agreement about common development of the fifth generation fighter aircraft based on Sukhoi's design. The most recent step was made on December 21,2010 in New Delhi, where Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Sukhoi with Rosoboronexport Signed a contract for preliminary design of the aircraft. I n the contract document written in English, the joint fighter is called the Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF) which is a direct (and incorrect) tra n s I atio n of its Russi a n acronym PMI or Perspektivnyi Mno qofunktsionamyi Istrebitel used by Sukhoi for the PAK

FA's export derivative. The correct translation is Future (or Prospective) Multirole Fighter.

An official Indian MoD press release referred to the Sukhoi T-50 as a "technology demonstrator", made no mention of th is designation and stated that the PMF will be modified "to meet IAF specifications which are much more stringent".

The press release also says that "programme options include the design and development

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SUKHOI T-SO MILITARY

of a twin-seat variant and the integration of an advanced engine with higher thrust at a later stage," A week before, the chairman of HAL Ashok Nayak told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency that

the contract value is $295 million

and the preliminary design will be ready within 18 months. A series of contracts will follow to cover the next stages of the PMF programme. India is expected to produce 200-250 aircraft.

Indian participation in

1 A good view of the form of the

upper fuselage and the forward form

of the wing. 2 Good rear view shot ofT-50-1 :3 Computer-generated

image of the PAK FA's cockpit. 4 Putin views his latest mount. 5 Yuri Belyi, head of the NIIP radar design bureau (right) and Anatoly Sinani, head of the antenna division at NIIP together with the first test example of a front AESA antenna forthe Sh121 radar system

Piotr Butowski 6 The maximum size of weapon to be carried Inside the weapon bays IS 4,200 x 400 x 400mm (165 x 16

x 16 in ches) a nd these a re the exa ct dimensions of the new modular Kh-38M air-to-ground missile with folded wings and fins. Several seekers are available for the Kh-38M including semi-active . laser, active radar, and Infrared as well

as a satellite navigation receiver. A Kh-38M weighs up to 520kg (23Slb) including a 250kg (114Ib) warhead. The missile's maximum range is 40km (25 miles). Piotr Butowski 7 A drawing from Vympel of the UVKU (Unifitsirovannoye Vnutrifyuzelazhnoye Katapultnoye Ustroystvo) unified internal catapult launcher. Vympe/ B The Raduga missile design bureau miniaturized its Kh-58 anti-radar missile (above) into the Kh- 58UShK version (below) to fit inside the PAK FA:s internal bay. Raduga

9 Forward stretched wing-root extensions have large moving flaps on the leading edge, and are connected with the wings by elastic couplings.

.. - - . -t:SO PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION

Length (Without probe) Wing span

Height

Undercarriage base

------

Undercarriage track

Empty weight

Nominal take-off weight Maximum take-off weight Eng i ne th rust

Maximum speed

Cruise speed

Maximum range

19,7m (64ft 7in) 14,Om (45ft 11 in)

-----.----~__.

4.8m (15ft 9in)

cUm (20ft)

5,Om (16ft 4in)

18 tons (39,68atb) 25 tons (55,115Ib) 35 tons en ,1601b)

15 tons (147kN/33,046Ib) Mach 2.3

Mach 1.3

3,OOOkrn (1,864 miles)

the programme is vital for investment and the order is valued by the Russian authorities so much so that an Indian delegation was invited for taxiing trials of the T-50-KNS at Komsomolsk on Amur as early

as December 2009. In the future Russia counts on selling an export version of the PAK FA (PMF) to countries currently operating the Su-30MKI (Malaysia and Algeria), and initial talks were held

with Indonesia.

,I

.9.

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