By Vovick Karnozov
AWN Moscow-based columnist

MOSCOW, August 19, 1999 - The day of August 19 was certainly the Day of Sukhoi and its industrial partners. To mark this day and the show in general, the Sukhoi company dispatched the Su-32FN naval strike fighter to set new world records.

At 9:00am the crew of Sukhoi test pilot Igor Soloviyev and navigator Vladimir Shendrik set their Su-32FN into climb. They reached altitude of 16,150 m with a payload of 2,300 kg, thereby setting a world's record in the C1r category (aircraft with take-off weight between 35 and 45 tons).

On the very same day, the Su-32FN set two other records, by putting a 1,000 kg and 2,000 kg payload into certain altitudes in the shortest time possible.

Later that day, Sukhoi demonstrated to the public for the first time its new deck fighter, the Su-33KUB. It is a twin-seat aircraft that first flew at the end of April this year. In comparison with the basic Su-33 deck fighter (also referred to as the Su-27K), the KUB has a bigger wing (70 sq.m vs 62 sq.m for the Su-33) with a longer span.

The wing features "adaptive geometry": when its leading edge is deflected, there is no slot between the edge and the main portion of the wing. This allows it to achieve higher lift to drag ratio at take-off and landing, as well as manuevering at high angles of attack.

According to the Sukhoi general designer Mikhail Simonov, the Su-33KUB is a generation ahead of the existing Su-33. The new aircraft will have a new radar, the N-014 radar from Phazatron-NIIR. In the future, the two AL-31F engines on the first prototype will be replaced with either AL-31FP with deflectable nozzles or AL-41F with swivel nozzles.

Simonov said that the Su-33KUB will use new-generation weapons systems, including high-speed anti-ship missiles.

Another remarkable Sukhoi aircraft flew today - the S-37 Berkut. According to Mikhail Pagosyan, Sukhoi general director, since the first flight two years ago, the Berkut has so far made 40 test. They have proved the expectations of Sukhoi designers. Technologies developed in the frame of the S-37 project will be used in creation of a family of fifth and sixth generation fighters, he added.

But the best flight performance was shown today by the Su-30MK side number 08 with Slava Averyanov at the controls. Yesterday, there were two flights of the Su-30MK when Averyanov was accompanied by French pilots.

Averyanov strictly followed the display flight routine that was unsuccessfully attempted at Paris on the Su-30MK, side number 01. According to Simonov, the French pilots that flew with Averyanov agreed that the crash at Le Bourget was not caused by a lack of pilot skills.

"Flights of the Su-30MK and Su-32FN here at MAKS have naturally eliminated the charges to the Blue 01 crew. Both Averianov and Shendrik have been rehabilitated," Simonov concluded at the special press briefing at the end of the day.

Sukhoi also tries to use its high technologies amassed in the military sphere in civil products. Over 200 single-piston sport airplanes - Su-26, Su-29 and Su-31 - were sold to foreign customers in a dozen countries. Being most expensive in their class, they are regarded as the best aerobatic aircraft available anywhere, which has been repeatedly proved in world aerobatic championships.

Sukhoi industrial partner KnAAPO is finalizing ground tests on the S-80 first operable prototype, which is scheduled to fly by the end of this year. Powered by two General Electric CT-7-9 engines of 1800 shp each, it is meant to be the best utility airplane in the class of seating capacity 20-30 passengers. The main task for this aircraft is to revive the network of cargo and passenger airlines in the Russian North and Far East regions.

Another promising civil project is the S-21, a supersonic business jet with a flight range of 8000 km. For more than 10 years Sukhoi specialists have been doing research on such a plane. Recent changes in the market demand for corporate planes makes projects like the S-21 more attractive in commercial terms. According to market studies of US research agencies, market demand in the S-21-class aircraft has grown from 150 to 300 airframes over a period of 10 years. An interest in supersonic business jets is also expressed by Boeing, Gulfstream and Lockheed Martin, and Sukhoi is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation with foreign companies on joint creation of such aircraft. At today's press briefing Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pagosyan said that Sukhoi is ready for cooperation with western aircraft manufacturers on the S-21 project.

Financial difficulties in the Russian economy do not allow the Russian air force to acquire new combat aircraft in sufficient quantities. However, it remains a powerful force, thanks to a high potential of Sukhoi combat aircraft. Now, the Russian MoD is embarking on a major modernization program on the existing fleet of the Su-27UB and Su-30 twin-seat fighters. The modernization is aimed at giving these aircraft additional capabilities. At MAKS '99 Sukhoi and Irkutsk Aircraft Production Association (IAPO) demonstrated the Su-30K side number 302, the first series-built Su-30K airframe converted from a pure interceptor into a multifunctional strike aircraft.

According to Col. Gen. Anatoly Sitnov, chief for armament with the Russian MoD, the modernization package showed on the Aircraft 302 will allow to maintain the Su-30 at the level of world's best multirole fighters up to the year 2015. The Aircraft 302 will be equal in performance with the F-15E Strike Eagle while having much lower list price. A newly built airframe to the Aircraft 302 standard would cost 10%-15% more than the current production version, while offering three times higher combat value. The Aircraft 302 will carry a wide range of air-to-surface smart weapons, including X-59ME, X-31A, X-31P, X-29 missiles and KAB-500/KAB-1500 guided bombs.

Presenting the Su-30K side number 302 to the journalists at today's briefing, Col. Gen. Anatoly Sitnov said that except for other improvements, the aircraft provides much better working conditions to the crew on the ways of using multifunctional color displays. In July the deputy chief of Gromov's Flight Test and Research Institute (LII) Anatoly Kvochur spent 11.5 hours in the air in the Aircraft 302 cockpit. He made a test flight over northern regions of Russia, covering a distance of 9,800 km. During this non-stop flight he made five in-flight re-fueling sessions.

After MAKS '99 the Aircraft 302 will commence its flight test program. It has already successfully passed checks of the navigation systems. The next stage would be weapons firing with guided missiles and bombs.