Flanker aerodynamics: Irrelevant?

June 2, 2009 · Posted in Blogroll, Uncategorized · 3 Comments 

Su-30MK_1Steve Trimble has an interesting interview with a LockMart test pilot who puts the awesome aerodynamic prowess often exhibited by the Sukhoi Flanker family into the context of actual WVR combat.

Naturally, now that the (aerodynamically supreme) F-22 is practically a “dead” project and the market spotlight is on the F-35, LM goes to great lengths to argue that the JSF’s aerodynamic deficiencies don’t matter.

As one might expect, the comments on that post quickly degenerated to the typical “great airshow stuff, irrelevant in combat”.

Quick quiz: How many AMRAAMs did that Serbian MiG-29 in Kosovo ‘99 successfully dodge before finally running out of altitude, airspeed and ideas? 3-4 is the prevalent estimate. Want to guess how many shots a JSF would be able to aero-avoid in an identical situation? (Not counting DECM; you can backfit jammers on an aircraft, but the maneuverability is built-in).

People who diss the Cobra (and Hook, and Bell, and Tailslide, and Kulbit, and…) as pure airshow gimmicks are missing the larger point. The Russians didn’t spend $7 billion (R&D) on an airframe just to show off at Le Bourget and Farnborough.

Are these maneuvers applicable in combat? Mostly not. (I say “mostly” because under certain circumstances the Cobra can be a neat card to play, albeit a one-shot affair).

BUT: Being able to do these stunts at an airshow means that, in real combat, you can do maneuvers that the adversary simply can’t follow you through – and dictate the pace of the battle. The Cobra (& friends) may not in themselves be applicable, but the attributes that enable them (superb aerodynamics, high T/W ratio, highly capable flight-control systems, engines that tolerate a wide range of airflow & AoA conditions etc.) are welcome in any fighter pilot’s list of priorities.

The USAF & USN may casually score off the Flanker stunts as “airshow gimmicks” – but when push comes to shove and the choice comes down between the “efficient AAM truck” (e.g. Crusader-III, F6D Missileer, F-111B, F-23) and the “aero supremo” (F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22) guess which one gets picked? Time and time again, the air services display their tacit recognition of the importance of aerodynamic performance.

As for the oft-quoted argument that the airshow maneuvers are only made possible by unrealistic light load: During the ‘96 Farnborough show, the Su-30MK demonstrator performed a full aerobatic routine with a full 8-ton weapons load. Likewise, the F-22 is reportedly able to execute a supersonic break-off even with a full internal AAM load.

Irrelevant? Nobody has yet to pick the AAM truck over the aero champ. Actions speak louder than words.

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