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Su-24M of the Russian Air Force, May 2009 | |
Role | All-weather tactical bomber/interdictor |
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National origin | Soviet Union / Russia |
Manufacturer | Sukhoi |
First flight | T-6: 2 July 1967; 56 years agoT-6-2I: 17 January 1970; 54 years ago |
Introduction | 1974 |
Status | In service |
Primary users | Russian Aerospace Forces Ukrainian Air Force Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force Algerian Air Force |
Produced | 1967–1993 |
Number built | Approximately 1,400 |
The aircraft was officially sanctioned on 24 August 1965 under the internal codename T-6. The first prototype, T-6-1, was completed in May 1967 and flew on 2 July with Vladimir Ilyushin at the controls. The initial flights were performed without the four lift jets, which were installed in October 1967. At the same time, R-27s were replaced with Lyulka AL-21Fs. STOL tests confirmed the data from S-58VD that short-field performance was achieved at the cost of significant loss of flight distance as the lift engines occupied space normally reserved for fuel, loss of under-fuselage hardpoints, and instability during transition from STOL to conventional flight.[2] So the six-engine approach was abandoned.
The Su-24 has a shoulder-mounted variable geometry wing outboard of a relatively small fixed wing glove, swept at 69°. The wing has four sweep settings: 16° for takeoff and landing, 35° and 45° for cruise at different altitudes, and 69° for minimum aspect ratio and wing area in low-level dashes. The variable geometry wing provides excellent STOL performance, allowing a landing speed of 230 kilometers per hour (140 mph), even lower than the Sukhoi Su-17 despite substantially greater takeoff weight. Its high wing loading provides a stable low-level ride and minimal gust response.
Ceiling
Combat RANGE
Aircraft Speed
Max Crew
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The Ukrainian Air Force inherited all of its Su-24s from the Soviet Union when the latter dissolved in 1991.[49] In 2009, amid declining relations with Russia, Ukraine began to have difficulty obtaining spare parts from Sukhoi.
During the war in Donbas, a Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 was damaged by a MANPADS fired by pro-Russian forces on 2 July 2014.
On 21 August 2014, the downed plane was identified as a Su-24M.