Su-39 Frogfoot (Su-25T or Su-25TM)
The Su-39 (also known as the Su-25T or Su-25TM) is a Frogfoot variant incorporating post-Afghanistan lessons-learned. It is based on the Su-25UB two-seat trainder, with the rear seat and cockpit replaced with a fuel cell and extra avionics. The Su-39 carries the Kopyo-25 multi mode radar in a pod under the fuselage. Armament includes ground attack missiles such as the AT-16 Vikhr , anti-ship missiles, and AAMs such as the R-27, R-27ER, R-60, R-73 and R-77. A four-fold reduction in thermal signature has been achieved through cooling intakes on the upper surface of aircraft, and a new center body which masks hot turbine blades. Only a few dozen of these aircraft have been built.
Few people have not heard of the Kalashnikov assault rifle from the world of aviation - the simple and reliable Su-25 attack aircraft, which has taken part in all possible conflicts since Afghanistan. It has many advantages, the main one of which is, perhaps, survivability: the plane manages to return to the airfield after severe damage. But “Rook” also had disadvantages. Basically, they come down to outdated avionics equipment, which does not allow the effective use of precision-guided munitions: to search for a target and aim at it, the pilot has only his own eyes. And the very range of such weapons is limited to modifications of the Kh-25 and Kh-29 missiles with laser seekers. Also, the aircraft does not have a HUD (heads-up display); the archaic ASP-17VS-8 rifle sight, created for the Su-17, is used to use weapons. Yes, this is not a WWII sight, it is coupled with a laser rangefinder and can make adjustments, but it was still far from the most advanced back in the 1970s.
The complexes of combat armament, break-through devices of air defense systems and electronic warfare, designed for this very airplane create a perfect anti-tank (anti-ship) strike complex, the effectiveness of which for ground and sea targets exceeds the existing analogues among domestic and foreign airplanes. Reliable engines R-195, good maneuverability, equipment for automatic mode flights, armored protection of the pilot and main airplane components, dual fuel supply system and many other things provide the iv.on in combat missions, at any time of the day.
The Su-39 is intended for precise destruction of any targets on ground, sea and in the air located up to 900 km from home aerodromes day and night, in VFR and IFR of the weather conditions and enemy air defense counteractions. The aircraft features the following characteristics that ensure its highly effective combat use:
- armament control system that provides for the use of aboard weapons in a horizontal flight, diving, recovery from diving and pitching-up and two different weapon types in one attack:
- Shkval day/night automatic sight system constituting an optical radar with 23 power magnification of a target and terrain, including a system used for the search, identification, tracking and target designation for Vikhr missiles and weapons with laser guidance system, featuring 0.6 m guidance precision;
- Kopiye-25 radar sight system operating in a 3 cm band of electromagnetic waves intended for detection and target designation in "air-to-surface", "air-to-air", "air-to-sea" modes of operation and in a cartography mode;
- navigation aids providing for automatic target approach with up to 15 meter precision irrespective of a flight range.
- A large number of precision weapons, including "air-to-surface", "air-to-sea", "air-to-air" and "air-to-radar" missiles and all nomenclature of cheap and effective means of destruction: 85-250mm rockets, 30mm guns and air bombs up to 500 kg weighing up to 6,000 kg.
- The Vikhr antitank missile is the main versatile weapon of the Su-39. The aircraft is armed with 16 such missiles capable of directly hitting a moving tank, rapid boats, rapid maneuvering helicopters and heavy aircraft at a 10 km range.
- a radio reconnaissance set used to take bearings of all types of acquisition and fire control radars operating within 1.2 - 1.8 GHz, detect and locate targets;
- a jammer which produces misleading, noise, discontinuous, and angle deception signals directing enemy weapons to underlying surface;
- an optronic jammer producing interferences to missile IR heads;
- a dispenser of IR decoys, misleading enemy antiaircraft missiles, if used as passive interference in combination with the 'cold' engines of the aircraft;
- decoy air targets used to expose and mislead enemy air defense, airborne radars and guided missiles of all types.
The cardinal difference from conventional Su-25s was the use of an on-board computer, which solved problems of using weapons and navigation. To put it simply, the plane received an autopilot, which the base Grach did not have. Instead of a rifle sight, a multifunctional HUD was installed. They decided to build the future Su-25T on the basis of the Su-25UB combat training airframe. An additional fuel tank and Shkval system equipment were placed in place for the second crew member. In the first prototype, to disguise it as a regular pair, a glazing for the seat of the second crew member was painted on the hull.
The nose section also underwent major changes, which had to be redesigned to accommodate the sighting system. They wanted to replace the 30-mm GSh-2-30 cannon with a new promising 45-mm cannon, but the military did not want to complicate the logistics with another type of shell, so they left the same cannon, but moved it under the fuselage and moved it back, placing it behind the chassis. Another fuel tank was added to the tail section. There, under the keel, an optical-electronic jamming station “Dry Cargo” was installed, designed to protect against missiles with an infrared homing head.
Since the aircraft was created on the basis of the airframe from the Su-25UB combat trainer, it inherited the same changes compared to the conventional Su-25 that were introduced in the twin. The most noticeable of them are the enlarged keel and wings of a different design, on which the antennas of the Irtysh electronic warfare system were installed.
The Su-25T was equipped with new R-195 engines, which are an improved version of the R-95 from the base Su-25. The engines still did not have an afterburner, which was not required for a subsonic attack aircraft, but were able to operate briefly in emergency mode (EM), in which the thrust reached 4300 kg instead of the maximum 4100 kg. Also, special nozzles were installed on the engines to reduce visibility in the infrared range.
Thanks to the Shkval system, the Su-25T could detect a tank-type target from 8-10 kilometers and attack without entering the range of short-range air defense systems. Each attack aircraft could carry up to 16 supersonic anti-tank “Whirlwind”, which could operate from a maximum range of 8-10 km, and at night - from 5-6 km. Thanks to the tandem warhead, the missile is capable of hitting tanks and other equipment with dynamic protection. The Shkval system and Whirlwind missiles, in addition to the Su-25T, were installed on Ka-50 helicopters, and currently the improved Whirlwinds are successfully used with the Ka-52.
The expansion of the attack aircraft's arsenal was not limited to Whirlwinds alone. The Su-25T was taught to use Kh-29T missiles that operate against static targets using the fire-and-forget principle, KAB-500KR adjustable bombs, and R-73 missiles to counter air targets. When using the suspended container "Phantasmagoria" from the Su-25T, it was possible to use Kh-58E anti-radar missiles, which make it possible to hunt for serious air defense systems
At the same time, the Su-25T retained the entire range of unguided and guided weapons of the base Su-25. Now the convenience and accuracy of using the Kh-25L, S-25L and Kh-29L have increased significantly, since the pilot’s eyes were helped by optics with 23x magnification. When entering the air defense coverage area, the aircraft was protected with the help of the Sukhogruz optical-electronic countermeasures station, which was supposed to illuminate the homing heads of MANPADS missiles. Jamming stations were hung under the wings, preventing missiles with radar seekers from being aimed at the aircraft.
It was assumed that the aircraft would be able to operate at night, for which a low-level Mercury television system was created. It no longer fit into the dimensions of the aircraft and was placed in a hanging container. During testing, a “tank” type target was detected at night from three kilometers away, which was clearly not enough. As a result, “Mercury” was never brought to digestible characteristics and was not included in the equipment of the production aircraft.
The crew consisted of one pilot, who had to simultaneously control the aircraft and use weapons. Part of the load, especially in terms of navigation, was removed by electronics; the detection process was simplified by Shkval, but the load was still significant.
The "Other" Su-39
The Su-39 designation had reportedly been applied to a totally un-related tandem two seat aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear, derived from the Su-26 and Su-29 aerobatic competition aircraft. Reports in the mid-1990s that the Su-39 designation had been assigned to a primary trainer, designed to replace the Yak-52, are apparently incorrect.
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