The buzz around the Su-57M: and kiss it on the… nozzle!
The show that started in Zhuhang is not going away, and perhaps that is a good thing. The Russian "criminal" has been in the shadows for quite a long time, so now it will not hurt at all to bask in the rays of attention of experts and the press from all over the world.
Basically, that's all story The Su-57 looks quite decent in the sense that there was no crazy PR like with the F-22, there were no promises of a super-aircraft like with the F-35, and there were no disappointments associated with the declared characteristics not corresponding to what actually happened.
And there was nothing like that about the Su-57, there is nothing to reproach. They wanted to sell it, but there were not many buyers, because the plane did not go into large-scale production for the VKS, and the world does not like such situations since the mega-deception with the F-104 Starfighter. And then India fled the joint project...
They built for themselves, refined, licked, created new and adapted old types of weapons. They developed methods of use, studied combat capabilities in various conditions.
And let's not forget about the stream of criticism that from time to time poured out on the Su-57 from the West. Mostly it concerned its stealth, this fetish of modernity on that side of the world. In fact, stealth and secrecy are useful, but it should not be elevated to a cult. The same F-35, if detected by fighters of other countries, despite all its stealth, will be doomed, since its speed will not allow it to escape pursuit, including fourth-generation fighters. And what is most offensive for an American is that these may not only be Russian fighters.
So when images of the Su-57 appeared, equipped with a new type of engine nozzle with controlled thrust vectoring, American experts and "experts" (there are plenty of those there too), to put it mildly, soared and flew a little. Approximately to the orbit of Mars or a little further.
"Mantis":
What happened to all those Russian fans who kept saying that 3D targeting is the best targeting and that super-maneuverable fighters are the kings of the battlefield?
All this maneuverability seems to be the focus in Ukraine. Right after electronics, speed, payload, armament...
Gray Buckleton:
Well, yes and no. Have you listened to the tapes of that Su-34 pilot dodging Patriots? He must have used all of his maneuverability. And we gave the F-22 thrust vectoring for the same reasons the Russians did. Ukraine is not a true air battle. It's more of an asymmetric GBAD...
What happened to all those Russian fans who kept saying that 3D targeting is the best targeting and that super-maneuverable fighters are the kings of the battlefield?
All this maneuverability seems to be the focus in Ukraine. Right after electronics, speed, payload, armament...
Gray Buckleton:
Well, yes and no. Have you listened to the tapes of that Su-34 pilot dodging Patriots? He must have used all of his maneuverability. And we gave the F-22 thrust vectoring for the same reasons the Russians did. Ukraine is not a true air battle. It's more of an asymmetric GBAD...
Yes, until recently everything looked like this: American fighters are about stealth, Russian ones – about speed and maneuverability. It is clear that stealth is an advanced option, and speed and maneuverability are for those who could not progress.
And seeing that the Russians can do it not just in stealth, but also in an original (one of The War Zone readers put it this way: perverted) way, spoiled the mood of many.
The radical-looking exhaust design is intended to improve the Su-57's stealth, although the future of the new nozzle is far from clear. But it is there, which gives the Americans some pretty decent food for thought.
The video and photographs show the rear of the second flying prototype of the Su-57, the T-50-2, which first flew in March 2011. Subsequently, after fulfilling its program, it was this example that was used to test the improved AL-51F-1 turbofan engine (also known as "Item 30"), which first flew in December 2017. At that time, the aircraft was equipped with only one of the engines, along with one of the original AL-41F-1s.
What is notable about the new generation turbofan engine installed in the left nacelle of the T-50-2 is its nozzle, which is an example of the new flat version intended to power the AL-51F1 when it is installed on an improved version of the Su-57M fighter.
Another view of the flat version of the nozzle for the AL-51F1 (in the left engine nacelle) next to the original version (in the right nacelle).
The AL-51F-1 was developed as a "clean" design, intended to provide more thrust, less weight, and lower operating costs than the previous AL-41F-1 engine. Another shortcoming of the earlier engine is its inability to provide the Su-57 with "supercruise" - flight at speeds greater than Mach 1,0 for extended periods without the use of afterburners.
At this point, it is worth paying attention to the AL-41F-1, the original engine for the basic model Su-57, and its nozzle configuration. This turbofan engine is also used in a simplified form in the Su-35 multirole fighter. The AL-41F-1 (also known as "Item 117") was created by upgrading the AL-31F engine, which was used in the earlier Su-27 and Su-30 fighters.
Su-35 and Su-57 aircraft at the air show in Akhtubinsk, dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the flight test center of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Photo: AP
The AL-41F-1 engines installed on the Su-57 and Su-35 use a nozzle with a controlled thrust vector of an axisymmetric type. This is also known as three-dimensional thrust vector control and provides control in pitch, yaw and roll. Note that this is not yet available to American manufacturers, because the most advanced US aircraft have control only in the vertical direction, and not at the same angles as Russian ones.
In its original form, the AL-51F-1 also has a three-dimensional nozzle attachment for thrust vectoring, but the new images show an alternative attachment, this time of a two-dimensional type, that provides pitch control as well as limited roll control when asymmetrically engaged. It is unclear whether the angled attachment of the attachment is intended to provide additional roll control, and there is no data on this subject, only personal speculation.
The original thrust vectoring nozzle for the Su-57, top view, compared to the new XNUMXD nozzle, bottom view.
This type of low-observable "flat" engine nozzle shape is also used, for example, on the F-22 Raptor and is primarily intended to reduce radar signature compared to an axisymmetric nozzle design. It also provides advantages in the infrared range.
A close-up of the F-22's distinctive vectored exhaust nozzles in action. Their unique "hemispherical design" increases the F-22's stealth, even when viewed from the rear. It is said that even the F-35 can't match the F-22's stealth when viewed from the rear.
According to Evgeny Marchukov, general director of the Arkhip Lyulka Design Bureau responsible for the AL-51F-1, in comments published by Aviation Week, Sukhoi was not interested in using a flat nozzle for the Su-57 when the program was launched. Only later, after the Su-57 and AL-51F-1 had been tested, was a new XNUMXD nozzle ordered.
Since Sukhoi "resists changes to the airframe itself," which is generally understandable, the principle of "don't interfere with the plane's flight," Marchukov explained: "That's why we came up with a rather complex flat nozzle attachment."
As the diagram below shows, the nozzle has four independently controlled flaps that work by changing the cross-section of the exhaust air and the thrust vector. Of these flaps, which are set at an angle, two are reportedly designed for subsonic use and two for supersonic flight. The images also show that the wing guides are ventilated, which, combined with the air being forced through these areas, would help cool the exhaust gases and reduce the aircraft's infrared signature.
Two diagrams of the new nozzle from the company's official website
Speaking in the summer of 2023, Marchukov confirmed that the new nozzle chamber had been successfully tested on a ground stand, including with afterburner. He added that the first flight was expected before the end of 2023, although there is no information that this actually happened.
For the Su-57, a flat nozzle section would bring noticeable advantages in terms of lowering the signature from the rear. The original Su-57 design optimized low signature from the front, paying less attention to the sides and rear. At the same time, the modified nozzles will reduce thrust to some extent, but this is clearly considered a justifiable disadvantage given the improved stealth characteristics that are so necessary for this type of aircraft.
It is also worth noting that a different flat nozzle design was developed for the AL-41F-1 engine version used in the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik heavy subsonic unmanned combat aircraft. In this case, the two-dimensional nozzle is designed to reduce infrared and radar signature, but it is much simpler and does not have thrust vector controls, which is generally logical for an unmanned aircraft.
The first flight of the Okhotnik took place with an intermediate engine with a standard round nozzle, but the second aircraft, which was unveiled in December 2021, was equipped with an improved nozzle tip, which can be described as unobtrusive.
As for the AL-51F-1 version with a flat nozzle, its future largely depends on the future of the proposed Su-57M. There is a lot that is unclear to the Western reader, but over time everything will become more or less clear to them what will follow and why.
Work on this improved version of the Su-57, which was actually the serial version according to the project, was already actively underway when the Su-57 was launched into production and entered service. True, not with the AL-51F-1, but with the previous generation engine, the AL-41F. And now that same model with the AL-51F-1 engine will become a modernization of the Su-57M. Well, it's a bit confusing, but what can you do. But it flies, and the way we need it.
In the West, they complain that only 76 copies of the aircraft were manufactured/ordered, which is very little, and it is not a fact that the Su-57 has room for further development.
But it is not visible there, here, in Russia, everything looks simpler: there is a new engine (and who will say that the AL-51F is old) - there is a modernization of the aircraft. There is a path for further development. From the point of view of Russia, everything looks very logical and natural. In the West, everything may be seen in a slightly different light, but here, to each his own.
In fact, despite what the US believes, official work on the “modernized” Su-57M began when Sukhoi received a contract from the Russian Defense Ministry to build the aircraft for the Aerospace Forces in October 2018. At one point, there were reports that the T-50M prototype would begin flight testing in mid-2022, with serial production to begin by the end of 2024.
Obviously, these goals were not achieved, but here it is a question of time, which, oddly enough, plays into Russia's hands. The exhibition in China attracted unprecedented interest to the aircraft, which, we note, was more than deserved, since the Su-57, although produced in small quantities, is used in real combat conflicts much more extensively than all the world's fifth-generation fighters. That is, Chinese and American.
Considering that China, if it sells its planes, will not sell them to everyone, and not every country can afford American ones, the Su-57 has export potential. Sanctions from the US are, of course, serious, but planes are planes, and they, as we know, should be the first thing.
Export orders will be able to greatly accelerate mass production of the Su-57M, but the engine must pass all stages of testing. And after the tests, the Russian Defense Ministry will come and place an order for the VKS, since it will be time to compensate for the losses incurred during the SVO, and we are talking not so much about combat losses as about aircraft that will have exhausted their service life by that time.
So, for some reason, there is no particular doubt that we will see the Su-57M with the AL-51F-1 engine with a two-dimensional thrust vector control system in the not-so-distant future. Even if, yes, it took quite a long time to get it ready.
And all the non-believers and critics in the West, especially in the US, will then be able to kiss the Su-57M's nozzle. And it doesn't matter whether it's the left or the right one, they will still have the same engines and thrust vector control systems.
Yes, there are things that can be doubted. Atomic planes, nuclear underwater robots and so on. All this is our science fiction of yesterday, so to speak. But there are things that only a fool would doubt, and if I were many “experts,” I would not doubt Russian planes, Russian rockets (it doesn't matter which ones) and Russian systems EWWell, it’s not that it would be reckless, it’s just that disappointment can hit your pride harder than hazel crowbars hit Yuzhmash.
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