THE LESSER KNOWN PREDECESSOR OF A MAJORLY HYPED AIRCRAFT
And the aircraft it competed against, THE F22 RAPTOR
The first American F22 Raptor took flight in 1997. A beast of an aircraft equipped with vast technological advancements over the standard 4.5th generation of fighters, it came with huge program cost overruns as novel technologies along the lines of Eliminating curved edges from aircraft surfaces and replacing them with sharp edges perpendicularly adjacent to each other, non ionizing radiation absorbing ferro paint (electrically isolated carbonyl iron balls suspended in epoxy), reduced magnetic signature paints and materials alloyed from platinum and a vast quantity of composites. The Raptor was fitted with 2D thrust vectorig nozzles and reduced ir signature Pratt and Whittney engines each of which generated a maximum of 157 KN of wet thrust.
Flight characteristics
1. It was a dedicated air superiority fighter (development started in 1980s to counter the Soviet Flankers that out manuvered most of then american fighters).
2. Predominantly one circle dogfighter.
3. TURNING radius is around 1,300 to 1,500 fret at 330 to 440knots.
4. Instantaneous turn rates of around 180 degrees.
5. Sustained turn rates of 28 deg/sec at mach 1 at 40,000 feet.(as againt the 18 degrees of the f15d)
6. Good rate fighter at the deck, can be outrated by tomcats with flaps down hitting rate speeds.
7. Thrust to weight ratio at 1.35
It is an extremely connected jet with very powerful radars fielding more than 2000 T/R modules and is different to spot on high frequency X band radars. Can be tracked by L band radars, but acquiring lock is difficult.
SOVIET UNION knew about the development of the Raptor and launched their project the Mig 1.44 to counter the Raptors. Fall of the soviet union led to the cancelation of the mig 1.44 project, designs of which were later sold to China.
After 1992 Russian economy started mending, growing and funds started being directed to stalled projects.
Sukhoi Design bureau pushed forward with their su 37(later renamed su 47 in 2002) project. A technological demonstrator used to test stealth technologies, AESA radar technology, sophisticated fly by wire system, advanced avionics and an unique airframe design for future incorporation into new stealth pleane design.
The Su 47
FORWARD SWEPT WING
Junkers Ju 287, a german plane of the 1940s developed under the nazi Wunderwaffe emergency fighter program explored the possibily of forward swept wing technology, a technology later captured by the Soviets and researched. The distinguishing feature of the aircraft was its forward-swept wing that gave the aircraft excellent agility and maneuverability.
The Su-47 has two tailbooms of unequal length outboard of the exhaust nozzles. The shorter boom, on the left-hand side, houses a rear-facing radar, while the longer boom housed a brake parachute.
PROS OF A FORWARD SWEPT WING DESIGN
1. The wing tips remain unstalled allowing the aircraft to retain aileron control as againt the conventional rear-swept wings during high AOA maneuvers.
2. Greater range during subsonic flights.
3. Retains all the characteristics of a Su 35.
CONS of A FWD SWEPT WING DESIGN
1. This inboard lift is not restricted by wingtip stall and the lift-induced wingtip vortex generation is thus reduced, while that reduces stall parametres, once the aircraft stalls, it is extremely difficult to recover the aircraft.
2. The wings are susceptible to bending by large degrees causing structural damage as it produces geometric wing twisting that bends under load due to more stress generated againt the stress the same load puts on back swept wings.
Flight characteristics
1. Dominant one circle dogfighter.
3. No so capable rate fighter and it relies on taking high aspect gun shots against rate fighting opponents.
4. Capable of achieving 180 degrees of turn with surprisingly good handling.
Tests done on the Su 47, which includes cheek and aft mounted accessory L band radars,supercruise and supermanuveibility along wid several advanced subsystems went into makig Russia’s first stealth fighter, the widely known, SU 57 FELON.
