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23A, Polikarpov Str., 
125284 Moscow, Russia 
Tel.: + 7 095 9456525, 
Telefax: +7 095 2004243 
Telex: 414716 suhoi su

Sukhoi Design Bureau

Mikhail Simonov, the former chief designer at the Sukhoi aircraft design bureau who was known as the father of the Su-27 family of fighter jets, died on 04 March 2011 aged 81. Simonov served as Sukhoi's chief designer from 1983. During his time at Sukhoi, he worked on the Su-24 strike aircraft and Su-25 ground-attack jet, as well as setting up the company's sport aircraft division, but will be best remembered for his work on the Su-27 fighter, which went on to set world records and became one of the best-selling military aircraft of the post-Soviet era. Variants of the Su-27 family remain in production today. Simonov was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation (1999) and Lenin Prize (1974), and held the Order of the Red Banner. He was a doctor of technical science, and professor of the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Sukhoi Design Bureau is one of the leading companies dealing with the design of combat aircraft, develops a number of projects of commercial aircraft, including supersonic transport, ground effect vehicles and general aviation aircraft. The design bureau founded in 1939 by Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi began its activity by designing the Su-2 strike aircraft. Later the design bureau developed fighters Su-7, Su-9, Su-11, Su-11, Su-15, Su-17, bombers Su-24, attack aircraft Su-25, T-4 ("2100"), long-range supersonic strike reconnaissance complex. At the beginning of 80s air superiority fighter Su-27 was designed, it became the basis for the Su-27UB, Su-30, Su-33, Su-27IB, Su-35, Su-37, Su-30Mk, Su-27KUB. The Su-27 has set up 41 world records.

The origin of Joint-Stock Company Sukhoi Design Bureau dates back to team No 4 of CAHI's AGOS aviation, flying boat aviation and aircraft prototype engineering facility, the team having been taken over by P.O. Sukhoi in October 1930. It was at that point that the team of the future Design Bureau started to take shape.

The next nine years saw the team produce:

• The experimental fighters I-3, I-14, DIP;
• The record-breaking RD aircraft used by the crews of V.P. Chkalov and M.M. Gromov to perform a number of trailblazing long-distance flights, and by the crew of M.M. Gromov to set an absolute world record in direct flight range, 10,148 km, the distance having been covered in 62 hours 17 min;
• The long-range DB-2 bomber, an upgraded version of which, called Rodina, was used by the all-female crew under V.S. Grizodubova to perform a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East;
• The multi-role BB-1 aircraft (after 1940 known as the Su-2), which was the first Sukhoi series aircraft to be produced in large numbers (910 planes) and in its short-range bomber and artillery recon/spotter versions took an active part in the Great Patriotic War.

The subsequent efforts of the team are focused on development of:

• versions of the Su-2 aircraft;
• The prototype armoured Su-6 attack aircraft in single-seat and two-seat versions, for which P.O. Sukhoi was awarded Stalin's Prize of the 1st Level in 1943;
• The prototype cannon-armed Su-1 (Su-3) fighter;
• The prototype long-range two-seat armoured Su-8 attack aircraft;
• The experimental Su-5 and Su-7 with combined powerplants.

Beginning in 1945, the Design Bureau was engaged in development and building of:

• The Su-9, Su-11, Su-15, Su-17 jet fighters (the first ones under this system of naming);
• The Su-10 jet bomber;
• The twin-engine Su-12 piston recon/spotter Su-12.
• The Tu-2 bomber platform was used to develop, and put into production, the trainer bomber UTB-2; it addition, design work was carried out on passenger and troop-carrying aircraft, the Su-14 jet attack aircraft and a number of other aeroplanes.

The five post-war years saw the Design Bureau develop and introduce the nation's first:

• booster aircraft control system;
• landing braking parachute;
• catapult ejection seat with telescopic trolley;
• jettisonable nose with pressurized cockpit.

In November 1949, a government's resolution scrapped the Design Bureau, not to be resurrected till May 1953, when it was set up with new production facilities. The Design Bureau got a new lease on life with the advent of supersonic jet aviation. That is why the design team's major projects at the initial stage were the supersonic fighters S-1 and T-3. The S-1 provided a platform for the family of fighter-bombers, the Su-7 and Su-17, and more than 20 versions of them, with the Su-17 becoming the USSR's first aeroplane with a variable sweep wing. The experimental T-3 became the platform for the first Soviet target interception air launched missile system Su-9-51 and the subsequent Su-11-8M and Su-15-98(M) systems. In the '60s, the list of the equipment being developed by the Design Bureau became longer. In 1962, a project was launched to produce a long-range strike/recon aircraft, the T-4, the maiden flight of the prototype taking place on 22nd August 1972. This aircraft featured this country's first fly-by-wire system and automatic throttle control, with a weld-fabricated airframe of titanium and heavy-duty steel.

The year 1969 saw the maiden flight of the frontline Su-24 bomber with variable sweep wing, the first Soviet all-weather strike aircraft. The Su-24 was produced in several versions. It is currently in the inventory of the Air Forces of the RF and a number of other countries. The year 1975 saw the maiden flight of the armoured Su-25 attack aircraft designed for destruction of battlefield targets. The Su-25 was the nation's first mass-produced jet attack aircraft; it has several versions and is currently a key asset of RF combat aviation.

In 1969, the Design Bureau started development of a fourth-generation fighter, and in 1977, the prototype Su-27 fighter made its first flight. In the following years, the Su-27 platform was used to produce the Su-27UB, Su-30, Su-32, and Su-33. In order to implement design solutions and master new materials and engineering processes, an experimental prototype aircraft, the Su-47 (maiden flight 1997), was developed.

The aircraft-building experience gained by the Design Bureau's team over many decades made it possible to produce a family of aerobatic aeroplanes, the Su-26, Su-29, and Su-31. The manufacture of sports aircraft and their specialized modifications is expanded: trainers, agricultural aircraft, etc. Multifunctional cargo passenger aircraft S-80GP has been developed, KnAAPO completes its building . The development of supersonic business aircraft S-21 goes on, knowledge and experience accumulated during creation of military supersonic aircraft are used in the manufacture of its structures and systems. The work on a number of advanced projects is being carried out.

OJSC "Advanced technologies" (a unit of Sukhoi design bureau) working on the manufacture of light aircraft created a jet trainer for training pilots to fly fighters Su-30MK, Su-37 and S-37 "Berkut". A new trainer will be equipped with the Al-55 engine of the OJSC A. Lyulka-Saturn manufacture. It is supposed that aerodynamics of the new trainer is similar to the S-37 "Berkut" design (extended fuselage with a forward swept wing, two vertical stabilizers with a tilt).

Along with the fulfillment of defense orders in 1983-1999 the design bureau created a family of single- and twin-seat sports aircraft Su-26, Su-29, Su-31 and their modifications widely using composite materials. With these machines, the national aerobatics team of the USSR and RF have won a total of 330 medals (156 gold medals) at the World and European Championships. At the World show of inventions and discoveries "Brussels - Evrika"95" the "Su" sports aircraft got a gold medal.

In different periods, the team was headed by P.O. Sukhoi, Ye.A. Ivanov, M.P. Simonov, and since 1999, the Chief Executive Officer has been M.A. Pogosyan. Over many decades, the Design Bureau's team has developed about 100 aircraft types and versions, with 60+ types put into production, giving a total of 10,000 production aeroplanes. Over 2,000 planes have been exported, to 30 countries. Su- planes have been used to establish over 50 world records.