Su-37 Super Flanker is a super-maneuverable thrust vectoring fighter derived from an Su-35 prototype.
The last Su-35 prototype number 711 was fitted with Lyulka Saturn AL-31FU engines that incorporate two dimensional thrust-vectoring (TVC) nozzles.
Externally similar to the Su-35 - apart from the nozzles the Su-37 has a side-stick controller and has demonstrated some amazing manoeuvres, including a complete 360deg Cobra - known as a Kulbit.
This single-seat and/or two-seat multi-role combat aircraft was first shown in model form at 1.991 trade shows.
Some wind tunnel tests completed as the aircraft entered the basic design stage in 1.992, with foreign partners being sought for development.
Unlike the other twin-engine Su-27 derivatives, the Su-37 concept originally featured a single Soyuz/Tumansky turbofan engine rated at 180 kN (40500 lb st) thrust with afterburning.
What finally emerged from the design process was a super maneuverable version of the Su-35 with a pair of AL-37FU afterburning turbofans with axisymmetric, steerable nozzles and thrust vector control (TVC).
When the Su-37 was shown at Farnbrough in 1.996 it stole the show, performing an astounding aerobatic display.
The Su-37 represents a new level of capability compared with the Su-27 and Su-35.
The Su-37 test aircraft made its maiden flight in April 1996 from the Zhukovsky flight testing center near Moscow.
This impressive single-seat all-weather counter-air fighter and ground attack aircraft, derived from the SU-27, has an updated airframe containing a high proportion of carbon-fiber and Al-Li alloy.
The engines, avionics and armaments are also improvements on those originally installed in the SU-27.
The AL-37FU engines are configured for thrust vector control, with the axisymmetric steerable thrust vector control nozzle is fixed on a circular turning unit.
The steel nozzle in the experimental engines is replaced in production engines by titanium units to reduce the weight of the nozzle.
The nozzle only moves in the pitch axis, and the nozzles on the two engines can deflect together or differentially to achieve the desired thrust vector for a particular maneuver.
The Su-37 has a variety of other innovative equipment such as a radar configured for simultaneous surveillance of airspace and the ground and a high-precision laser-inertial/satellite navigation system.
The all-weather digital multi-mode phased array radar operates in either air and ground surveillance modes or in both modes simultaneously. Ground surveillance modes include mapping (with Doppler beam sharpening), search-and-track of moving targets, synthetic aperture radar and terrain avoidance.
The Su-37 is also equipped with a rearward facing radar in the tail stinger area of the fuselage.
The Su-37 features fly-by-wire and relaxed static instability, which along with 2D thrust vectoring give the aircraft tremendous agility. In the 1.980's General Designer Mikhail P. Simonov insisted that the Su-37 be equipped with axisymmetric vectoring nozzles instead of the 2D vectoring nozzles.
When Sukhoi did research and testing for each configuration, they found that the 2D nozzle suffered from serious technological problems.
However, in the end, the 2D Su-37 was produced, of which no major problems were seen to jeopardize the Su-37's operational performance.
It incorporates state of the art ECM in wing-tip pods, allowing improved survivability in electronic warfare environments.
The Su-37 can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons on 12 stations.
The number of missiles and bombs carried can be increased to 14 with the use of multi-payload racks.
At the 1.996 Farnborough Air Show, Sukhoy's SU-37 astounded international observers with maneuverability previously unseen in a combat aircraft.
The thrust-vectoring SU-27 variant stole show headlines with flight demonstrations widely described in the aviation press as "spectacular.
One air show reporter opined that the SU-37 shows that the Russian aviation industry "is still alive.
The Su-37's astounding maneuvers included the "Super Cobra", demonstrated for the first time.
In this move, the aircraft enters with a speed of 400 kmh and is pulled through to an alpha of 135 degrees, then recovered to the vertical and held in place for 4-6 seconds.
The nose is then allowed to fall to the horizontal position, emerging at 150kmh with no loss of height.
Another used the thrust vectoring to flip the Su-37 onto it's back (a full 180 degress), and then to rotate it upright and continue in the opposite direction.
The most impressive maneuver was the kulbit (somersault).
With an entry speed of 350 kmh the aircraft flipped onto it's back, a 180 degree flip facing the opposite direction, inverted and practically stationary.
After 'pausing', thrust vectoring completes the kulbit (a 360 deg somersault) with a nose down angle of 30 deg and an exit speed of 60 km/h.
Sukhoi used payments earned in the sale of an Su-27 license to China to finance the Su-37 development.
Russia's Air Force has not ordered any Su-37s.
Sukhoi is studying the possibility of developing a two-seat version of the Su-37 with enhanced strike capabilities.
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