Sukhoi Company has started the flight tests of the first Su-35S serial fighter. The aircraft was flown from the airfield of Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association named after Yuri Gagarin (JSC “KNAAPO”).
During an hour and a half flight the pilot performed tests on various operating modes of takes off on its the power plant and integrated control system. All aircraft systems and engines functioned smoothly.
The aircraft was piloted by the RF Honored test pilot Sergey Bogdan. He was the very pilot, who flew the first Su-35 prototype on February 19, 2008.
After the completion of production flight tests the aircraft will be delivered to the RF Ministry of Defense.
Nowadays Sukhoi Company has successfully finished preliminary tests of Su-35/Su-35S thus conformed the avionics key features set by technical specification, the aircraft stability and controllability in flight and performance of power plant and navigation system were fully checked.
In 2011 the fighter flight tests are considerably intensified due to the new aircraft to be involved in testing program. The Su-35/Su-35S has been presented to the state integration tests.
The first stage within the bounds of the state integration tests will be the accepting of the customer (Russian Air Force) preliminary resolution on the aircraft compliance with the main requirements for the purpose of its future delivery to the air force regiments.
Su-35 is a profoundly modernized multi-role super-maneuverable fighter of “4++” generation. At Su-35 development a lot of 5th-generation-fighter technologies were used that put Su-35 ahead of fighters under development and production in the world.
The new fighter boasts of the up-to-date avionics based on digital information-management system integrating onboard equipment and systems, a new phased array radar providing long ranges of aerial targets detection with the increased number of simultaneously tracked and attacked targets (30 aerial targets tracking and 8 aerial targets attack, and 4 ground targets tracking and 2 ground targets attack); new TVC-engines with enhanced thrust.
The Su-35 possesses wide range of short, medium and long range guided weapon including anti-radar and anti-ship missiles, and guided bombs, and unguided weapon as well. The aircraft’s radar observability was considerably reduced due to the canopy’s electro-conducting coating, the use of radio absorbent materials and coating, and the reduced number of protuberant sensors.
The aircraft lifetime is 6,000 flight hours; its design service life is 30 years of operation, and the specified lifetime of the TVC engines is 4,000 hours.
