OKB Sukhoi History - Late Cold War
On September 15, 1975, the founder of the OKB, P.O. Sukhoi, his closest associate, E.A.Ivanov, was appointed his successor as the General Designer.
By the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR of November 11, 1975, the Kulon Machine-Building Plant was renamed the P.O. Sukhoi. On July 8, 1976, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued, according to which the Design Bureau was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.
Under the leadership of E.A. Ivanova, the OKB team, actively continued to work on the whole range of topics assigned for development. From 1976 to 1985, the design bureau successfully tested and consistently introduced the series: a new version of the Su-15, 11 (including export vehicles) of the Su-17, 3 versions of the Su-24, an Su-25 attack aircraft and a Su-27 fighter.
In the family of Su-17 fighter-bomber, by upgrading the power plant, equipment and weapons, the combat potential of the original machine was increased almost 4 times! There were only 16 serial modifications of the Su-17, and the total output of these cars from 1969 to 1991 was almost three thousand aircraft, of which more than a thousand were exported.
With the modernization of the Su-24, the OKB was able to meet the rather contradictory requirements of the military, aimed at increasing combat effectiveness. The OKB was the first in the country to install an in-flight refueling system on front-line aircraft, the first to introduce an on-board defense complex and a wide, unparalleled range of guided and unguided weapons to work on ground targets.
When developing the Su-25 for the first time, special technical solutions to increase combat survivability were used for the first time, such as crew cabin reservation, shielding of more important systems less important, ensuring the explosion safety of fuel tanks using polyurethane foam, protecting fuel tanks, etc. On the personal order of the USSR Minister of Defense in 1980, two prototypes of the Su-25 were sent to Afghanistan "for testing the aircraft in real combat conditions." According to the results of these tests, the high combat effectiveness and unpretentiousness of the Su-25 was confirmed. Further operation of the machine, incl. in the context of the conduct of hostilities in the DRA, has repeatedly confirmed this initial assessment.
The events developed quite dramatically during the work on the project of the Su-27 fighter. It turned out, in particular, that not all the proposals of the KB in practice have confirmed their effectiveness, in connection with this it became necessary to revise and clarify many constructive layout solutions. As a result - a long epic with the processing of the project, "restarting" the machine into mass production and testing of the aircraft in a modified form. It was here, in the work on the Su-27, that the scientific and technical background of the T-4 project was fully demanded:
- Electro-radio control system (CDS), ensuring the stability of the aircraft in a closed control loop;
- hydraulic system with increased working pressure;
- widespread introduction of onboard computers, integration of various avionics systems, etc.
The hard work of the OKB team and the entire cooperation of subcontractors was rewarded a hundredfold: the Su-27 state tests were successfully completed in 1983, the new aircraft across the entire range of combat characteristics are now really rated as one of the best fighters in the world in its class.
At the same time, the circumstances were such that during a short period of time from 1977 to 1981, 4 test pilots of the OKB were killed in disasters during testing of new cars. In this situation, the MAP decided to change the management of the OKB, and as a result, in January 1983, E.A. Ivanov took the post of General Designer, M.P. Simonov.
Under his leadership, the OKB began active work on the creation of new modifications of the Su-27.
The new General Designer made a major stake in the work on the creation of new modifications of the Su-27, at the same time, on the initiative of M.P. Simonov, design work began on a promising experimental C-22 (C-32) aircraft with a backward-swept wing and on a new, rather unexpected for the design bureau theme - the aerobatic aerobatic C-42 (Su-26). Work continued on the Su-25 modifications, at the same time, work on the Su-17 and Su-24 gradually faded away.
The family of modifications being developed for the Su-27 included: a Su-27UB combat trainer, a multifunctional T-10M, a shipboard T-10K, a striking T-10B, and a whole range of other vehicle variants. For each of the above modifications, the design bureau completed a full design cycle, and all of them were put into production with an eye to the series. A similar situation exists on the topic of the Su-25, where the Su-25UB Sparka and the specialized anti-tank version of the Su-25T attack aircraft were launched. However, as is the case with the new modifications of the Su-27th, not all cars have successfully completed this path.
At the end of the 80s, the MAP leadership decided that combat aircraft could now be sent to international air shows. So, in the summer of 1989, the Sukhoi Design Bureau first showed up at an exhibition in Le Bourget, triumphantly demonstrating the high level of its LTX, and V.G. Pugachev, who showed his famous “Cobra” there, from that moment forever entered the history of world aviation.
However, all these events, so gratifying for the prestige of a firm, took place against the background of an increase in negative phenomena in the economy. Beginning in the second half of the 80s, defense financing in the USSR was gradually reduced, in this situation, the OKB leadership was forced to independently look for funds to continue the work. In KB, design work on “conversion” topics begins (C-21, C-51, C-80, etc.), besides this, M.P. Simonov for the first time voiced before the political leadership of the country an offer to sell the Su-27 for export. And already in 1990, the Design Bureau received such permission.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
