Sukhoi Su-47

This article is about the aircraft at one time designated S-37. For the aircraft designated Su-37, see Sukhoi Su-37.

Su-47 Berkut
Role	Experimental/Technology demonstrator
Manufacturer	Sukhoi
First flight	25 September 1997
Status	In development
Primary user	Russian Air Force
Number built	2

The Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut (Russian: Су-47 Беркут—Golden Eagle) (NATO reporting name Firkin), also designated S-32 and S-37 (not to be confused with the twin-engined delta canard design offered by Sukhoi in the early 1990s under the designation Su-37) during initial development, was an experimental supersonic jet fighter developed by Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. A distinguishing feature of the aircraft was its forward-swept wing that gave the aircraft excellent agility and maneuverability. While serial production of the type never materialized, the sole aircraft produced served as a technology demonstrator prototype for a number of advanced technologies later used in the 4.5 generation fighter SU-35BM and current fifth-generation jet fighter prototype Sukhoi PAK FA T-50.

On 11 August 2014, Commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Forces, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev claimed that Russia is still continuing the research and development of Su-47 or similar forward-swept wing fighters. The new prototypes of such aircraft will be unveiled in the near future.

Development

Originally known as the S-37, Sukhoi redesignated its advanced test aircraft as the Su-47 in 2002. Officially nicknamed Berkut (Golden Eagle), the Su-47 was originally built as Russia's principal testbed for composite materials and sophisticated fly-by-wire control systems.

TsAGI has long been aware of the advantages of forward-swept wings, with research including the development of the Tsibin LL and study of the captured Junkers Ju 287 in the 1940s. Forward-swept wings yield a higher maximum lift coefficient, reduced bending moments, and delayed stall when compared to more traditional wing shapes. At high angles of attack, the wing tips remain unstalled allowing the aircraft to retain aileron control. Conversely, forward sweep geometrically creates increased angle of incidence of the outer wing sections when the wing bends under load. The wings experience higher bending moments, leading to a tendency for the wings to fail structurally at lower speeds than for a straight or aft-swept wing.

The project was launched in 1983 on order from the Soviet Air Force. But when the USSR dissolved, funding was frozen and development continued only through funding by Sukhoi. Like its US counterpart, the Grumman X-29, the Su-47 was primarily a technology demonstrator for future Russian fighters.

Design

File:Sukhoi Su-47 outline.svgThe Su-47 is of similar dimensions to previous large Sukhoi fighters, such as the Su-35.To reduce development costs, the Su-47 borrowed the forward fuselage, vertical tails, and landing gear of the Su-27 family. Nonetheless, the aircraft includes an internal weapons bay, and space set aside for an advanced radar.

Though similar in overall concept to the Grumman X-29 research aircraft of the 1980s, the Su-47 is larger and far closer to an actual combat aircraft than its US counterpart.

Like its immediate predecessor, the Su-37, the Su-47 is of tandem-triple layout, with canards ahead of wings and tailplanes. Interestingly, the Su-47 has two tailbooms of unequal length outboard of the exhaust nozzles. The shorter boom, on the left-hand side, houses rear-facing radar, while the longer boom houses a brake parachute.

Maneuverability

The Su-47 has extremely high agility at subsonic speeds, enabling the aircraft to alter its angle of attack and its flight path very quickly while retaining maneuverability in supersonic flight. The Su-47 has a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 at high altitudes and a 9g capability.

The swept-forward wing, compared to a swept-back wing of the same area, provides a number of advantages:

• higher lift-to-drag ratio
• better agility in dogfight situations
• higher range at subsonic speed
• improved stall resistance and anti-spin characteristics
• improved stability at high angles of attack
• a lower minimum flight speed
• a shorter take-off and landing distance

Wings

The forward-swept midwing gives the Su-47 its unconventional appearance. A substantial part of the lift generated by the forward-swept wing occurs at the inner portion of the wingspan. This inboard lift is not restricted by wingtip stall and the lift-induced wingtip vortex generation is thus reduced. The ailerons—the wing's control surfaces—remain effective at the highest angles of attack, and controllability of the aircraft is retained even in the event of airflow separating from the remainder of the wings' surface.

A downside of such a forward-swept wing design is that it geometrically produces wing twisting as it bends under load, resulting in greater stress on the wing than for a similar straight or aft-swept wing. This requires the wing be designed to twist as it bends—opposite to the geometric twisting. This is done by the use of composites wing skins laid-up to twist. The plane was initially limited to Mach 1.6.

Thrust vectoring

The thrust vectoring (with PFU engine modification) of ±20° at 30°/second in pitch and yaw will greatly support the agility gained by other aspects of the design.

Specifications (Su-47)

Data from World Aircraft & Systems Directory

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22.6 m (74 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 15.16 m to 16.7 m (49 ft 9 in to 54 ft 9 in)
• Height: 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 61.87 m² (666 ft²)
• Empty weight: 16,375 kg (36,100 lbs)
• Loaded weight: 25,000 kg (55,115 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 35,000 kg (77,162 lbs)
• Powerplant: 2 × Aviadvigatel D-30F11 afterburning, thrust vectoring (in PFU modification) turbofans
  • Dry thrust: 83.4 kN (18,700 lbf) each
  • Thrust with afterburner: 142.2 kN (32,000 lbf) each
• Thrust vectoring: ±20° at 30° per second in pitch and yaw

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.65 (Achieved in test flights) (1,717 km/h, 1,066 mph)
  • At sea level: Mach 1.16 (1,400 km/h, 870 mph)
• Range: 3,300 km (2,050 mi)
• Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,050 ft)
• Rate of climb: 233 m/s (46,200 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 360 kg/m² (79.4 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 1.16 (loaded) / 1.77 (empty)

See also

• J-XX
• Medium Combat Aircraft
• Mitsubishi ATD-X

Related development

• Sukhoi Su-27
• Sukhoi Su-30
• Sukhoi Su-33
• Sukhoi Su-34
• Sukhoi Su-35BM
• Sukhoi Su-37

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Grumman X-29
• Mikoyan Project 1.44
• Sukhoi PAK FA / Sukhoi/HAL FGFA

External links

• S-37 Berkut at Fighter-Planes.com
• S-37 at airforce-technology.com
• Su-47 at Gromov Flight Research Institute, Zhukovsky