On July 31 a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet crashed and dived into the Sea of Okhotsk
in the Khabarovsk Territory of the country’s Far Eastern regions.
Fortunately, the pilot ejected and landed safely.
He was quickly found by a search and rescue team and securely shifted to his military base.
As per reports, the fighter was on a training flight and crashed due to engine failure.
An investigation was subsequently launched into the incident.
Russia is facing developmental and reliability issues with engines
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why the first-ever crash of the Russian Sukhoi
Su-35 is just the 'tip of the iceberg'? Let's get into the details.
This video is sponsored by War Thunder, the most comprehensive military vehicle online game for PC,
PlayStation4 and Xbox One, in which you can go to battle on more than 1200 playable aircraft,
tanks, helicopters and ships from the 1930s to the 1990s.
The game has an amazing attention to detail and focuses on a realistic combat experience,
which is why knowing your vehicles and skill really makes a difference. It's easy to get into,
and all you need to play is nothing more but your mouse and keyboard or controller. Immerse
yourself in cross-platform combat with more than 20 million other military vehicle enthusiasts
from all over the world . Download and play War Thunder for free using the link in the description
below and also get a free bonus tank or aircraft or ship and three days of premium account.
The Sukhoi Su-35 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is single-seat, twin-engine, heavyweight,
super-maneuverable aircraft, designed by the
Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant.
The aircraft is being considered to be a 4++ generation fighter.
The type was originally developed by the Soviet Union from the Su-27 and was known as the
Su-27M. It incorporated canards and a multi-function radar giving it multi-role
capabilities. The first prototype made its maiden flight in June 1988. Following the dissolution
of the Soviet Union Sukhoi re-designated it as the Su-35 to attract export orders.
In 2003, Sukhoi embarked on a second modernization of the Su-27
to serve as an interim aircraft awaiting the development of the Sukhoi PAK FA (Su-57) program.
Also known as the Su-35, this version has a redesigned cockpit and weapons-control system
and features thrust-vectoring engines in place of the canards.
The type made its first flight in February 2008. Although it was designed for export, the Russian
Air Force became the launch customer in 2009, with the production version designated Su-35S.
The aircraft has a top speed of Mach 2.25
In January 2016, Russia made the first combat deployment of the Su-35S
when it sent a fleet of four aircraft to Syria. Since Sukhoi Su 57 is still not operationally
deployed yet, Su 35 is considered to be the premier fighter jet in the Russian inventory.
The aircraft is powered by two AL-31F 117S turbofan engines, each supplying 86.3kN
thrust or 142.2kN with an afterburner. The engine was developed jointly by Sukhoi, Saturn and UMPO.
The AL-31F 117S is an upgrade of AL-31F engine. The engines are equipped with thrust-vectoring
nozzles, which have their rotational axes canted at an angle;
the nozzles operate in one plane for pitch, but the canting allows the
aircraft to produce both roll and yaw by vectoring each engine nozzle differently;
this configuration was first implemented on the Su-30MKI and is also used on the Su-57.
As per Rostec, the upgrade has increased significantly
improved expected life by a factor of 2x – 2.7x compared to the production AL-31F.
The engine gives the Su-35 the limited ability
to sustain supersonic speed without the use of afterburners.
While Russia wanted a better engine, things haven't gone that way.
Russia is facing issues when it comes to engine development.
Even its premier fighter jet - Su-57
touted to be a 5th generation fighter has not been able to escape this.
Sukhoi originally planned to use an advanced derivative
of the Saturn AL-31F engine, found on its Flankers, for the Su-57.
Su 57 was supposed to have the new AL-41F-1 engine.
But the AL-41F-1 engine ran into technical difficulty and didn’t
match the required performance criteria. Saturn, the manufacturer is working on a
new and more powerful design, known as the Izdeliye 30 or Product 30. But even this has
been facing developmental challenges and may be available for integration at some time in 2025.
India has imported 45 MiG-29K fighters jets from Russia.
The engine was a major source of concern.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India or CAG audit observed that as of September 2014,
a total of 65 engines (42 with 21 aircraft and 23 spares) had been acquired.
However, since its induction in February 2010, 40 engines (representing 62% of 65 engines) had
been withdrawn from service/rejected due to design-related defects/deficiencies.
The CAG report had noted in 2016. “The issue has serious flight safety implications,
since in-flight engine defects had led to ten cases of single engine landings.”
The engine is the heart of an aircraft. While all components have their own importance,
a compromised engine has major implications.
Though an investigation is underway, in general,
proper reports don’t ever come out or are massively delayed.
It must be noted that unlike in ‘West', where media is able to highlight any
shortcomings of armed forces, in Russia they are choked and tough questions can't be asked.
This keeps the things under wraps but the root cause in many instances
is not dealt with in a professional manner.
While the Russian military under President Putin is has been embarking on the path of
modernization, it is handicapped because of a limited budget which is creating issues.
It remains to be seen how things are handled, going forward.