S-37
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I heard webmaster doesn't like 'em .. where is the pics??? i guess i'll link them here.
Sorry, it's been abandoned as a fighter concept. Russia has moved on since then. Both the US and Russia abandoned their FSW concepts some time ago. The Russian bird was a CTD only, the US made 4 aircraft but abandoned the design when it was apparent that better performance could be achieved using other concepts.PJ-10 BrahMos said:
(Sukhoi and Northdrop Grumman actually had a partnership in place for the original FSW platform. It lasted about 4 years and then both parties went their separate ways.)
There are 2 different types of Su-37, which can be confusing. The FSW and the conventional platform. The FSW is a non starter from all reports.srirangan said:
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Aussie Digger
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I wonder if the abandonment of this design had anything to do with this type of wings ability to carry ordance? It looks like it would be restricted in it's ability to carry significant amounts, to me anyway. Cheers.
IIRC correctly the major flaws with the Su-37, X-29 were as follows:
- sheer expense of materials required to build a bladed edge for the FSW concept
- having to apply the chord to the rear of the wing led to some loading issues
- lack of suitable materials to support the extra loadings on the FSW at high angles of attack. Not so much of an issue now due to composites, but the FSW design became more and more redundant once all aspect missiles came into play, off bore sight was finessed and TVC was deemed useful for ALI missiles.
It does become more useful if the aircraft uses internal weapons bays - which is not Russian preferred doctrine as they like to carry as much as possible - they like the concept of multi-roling into a bomb truck if necessary. At one stage it was also touted as being a preferred process of having some aircraft acting as heavy flying ADS. I think it's one of those doctrines that appeared in internal academy docs, but never won favour. But, they still like to load up.
- sheer expense of materials required to build a bladed edge for the FSW concept
- having to apply the chord to the rear of the wing led to some loading issues
- lack of suitable materials to support the extra loadings on the FSW at high angles of attack. Not so much of an issue now due to composites, but the FSW design became more and more redundant once all aspect missiles came into play, off bore sight was finessed and TVC was deemed useful for ALI missiles.
It does become more useful if the aircraft uses internal weapons bays - which is not Russian preferred doctrine as they like to carry as much as possible - they like the concept of multi-roling into a bomb truck if necessary. At one stage it was also touted as being a preferred process of having some aircraft acting as heavy flying ADS. I think it's one of those doctrines that appeared in internal academy docs, but never won favour. But, they still like to load up.
S-37 is just a test bed for technologies that will be instealled on the next generation combat aircraft for russian airforce. The PAK FA will be ready for service within a decade, some say it'll be a single engine light fighter like JFS, some say it'll look similar to S-37, but without the FSW.