[3e] Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer"

[Phaelen Bleux]

Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer"
Designed in the 1960s, the Su-24 was to replace the Yak-28 "Brewer" in the roles of tactical bomber, reconnaissance and electronic warfare roles. Initially designed with tandem seating, this was changed to a side-by-side arrangement due to the size of the Orion-A radar system. Although its appearance makes it tempting to compare the Su-24 with the F-111, the Fencer is by far more inferior, with shorter range, poorer avionics, and unreliable electronic systems.
Despite its failure as an attack aircraft, the Su-24 can deliver a bewildering array of ordnance, including tactical nuclear weapons (TN-1000, TN-1200), semi-active laser and TV-guided missiles (Kh-23, Kh-25ML, Kh-29L/T, and Kh-59), air-to-surface missiles (Kh-25Mp, Kh-31P, Kh-29MP and Kh-58), antiship missiles (Kh-31A and Kh-35), and the R-60 IR AAM for self-defense. The Su-24 can also carry 14,528 lbs. of external fuel, and is capable for refueling other aircraft in flight.
The Su-24 has seen active service in Afghanistan. The Su-24MK version has been exported to Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Lybia, and Syria.
The Su-24 has a crew of two: pilot and weapon systems officer. It burns 1,551 gallons of jet fuel per hour at routine usage. A full (internal) tank of fuel costs $9,393. Ammo for the cannon costs $1,500. The Su-24 has a range of 1,770 miles on internal fuel alone. It has an operating radius of 348 miles, or 777 miles with external fuel. Ordnance costs vary by payload.

Sukhoi Su-24M "Fencer-D"
Subassemblies: Body +4, STOL Wings with Variable Sweep +3, 3 retractable small Wheels +1.
Powertrain: Two 17,230-lb. thrust Turbojets with Afterburners, 2,300-kWs advanced battery.
Fuel: 3,131 gallons jet fuel (Fire 13) in standard self-sealing fuel tanks (Fire +0).
Occupancy: 2 NCS.
Cargo: 0.

Armor
All: 4/40

Weaponry:
23mm 2-barrel Autocannon/GsH-6-23 [Body:F] (500 rounds SAPHE).
19,841-lbs. of disposable ordnance [Body/Wings:U].

Equipment:
Body: Long range radio with scrambler (300-mile), very long range radio with scrambler (3,000-mile), precision navigation instruments, digital recon camera, transponder, IFF, autopilot, 2 ejection seats, 54,000-lb. brake parachute, refueling probe, terrain following radar, 60-mile radar (Scan 21), advanced radar/IR detector, HUDWAC, decoy discharger with 12 chaff/flare reloads, datalink, two small computers with terminals, dedicated targeting computer, 20x LLTV, 20-mile laser designator, 0.5 man/days limited life support. Wings: 5 hardpoints.

Statistics:
Size: 74'x58'x20' Payload: 19.2 tons Lwt.: 43.8 tons
Volume: 948 cf. Maint.: 5.8 hours Price: $11,725,861

HT: 11. HPs: 2,838 Body, 1,782 each Wing, 256 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 1317 aAccel: 8/11 aDecel: 39 aMR: 10 aSR: 4
Stall Speed: 143 mph. Take-Off Run: 1,422 yards. Landing Run: 1,040 yards.
gSpeed: 449 gAccel: 22 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.25 gSR: 3
Ground Pressure Extremely High. No Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:
Body is 700 cf; wheels are 35 cf; wings are 124 cf each. Wing volume was reverse-calculated from historical wing area. Structure is Extra-Heavy, Standard with Superior Streamlining. Armor is expensive metal. Electronic controls. Design Loaded weight is 89,062 lbs.; this was decreased 2% to the actual value. The design payload runs high; design empty weight was within 2% of the historical value of 49,162 lbs. Historical values for wing area and loaded weight were used for performance calculations. See p. VE160 for the effects of swept wings on performance. The design afterburner produced 51,690 lbs. of thrust; the historical value of 49,600 lbs. of thrust was substituted for performance calculations.
Design aSpeed is 1,101 mph dry, 1,349 mph with design afterburner, and 1,321 with historical afterburner. The aSpeed of this design was a bit problematic. Although the design requires Superior streamlining to achieve supersonic flight, this produced a very low aDrag leading to a top aSpeed of 1,903 mph. This is far in excess of the historical top speed of 807 mph. However, one reference quoted a theoretical top speed of 1,317 mph (as shown above); treating the design as having Very Good streamlining produced calculated aSpeeds more in line with this value, and so this is how the aircraft's speeds were calculated. (Adding empty space to the design was a considered, but this would require over 3,000 cf of waste space!)
Design stall speeds were 195 mph, or 155 mph with wings extended. The historical top speed, landing speed, take-off run, and landing run are shown above. -15 mph to aSpeed per loaded hardpoint. Historical cost was $24-25 million in 1997.

Variants:
The Fencer-A through -C (1973-83) were similar to the -D, but could not carry as wide a variety of ordnance. They lacked in-flight fueling capability, INS, laser designator, and LLTV.
The Su-24MK "Fencer-D (Mod)" was a downgraded version for export.
The Su-24MR "Fencer-E" is a reconnaissance version with a large dome on the spine to accommodate the extra electronics.
The Su-24MP "Fencer-F" is an electronic warfare version with large antennae under the nose and on the spine behind the cockpit.