MOSCOW. July 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Tests of the upgraded SU- 24M Fencer frontline bomber are to be completed before the end of the year, Director General of the Sukhoi military aircraft corporation Mikhail Pogosyan said on Tuesday.
"We are planning to complete tests of the SU-24M this year," Pogosyan said at the opening ceremony of the monument to the SU- 24 plane on the grounds of the Sukhoi design bureau.
In response to a question from Interfax-Military News Agency, he said that upgrade and tests are ordered by the Russian Air Force.
Two planes are taking tests at the State Fight Testing Center in the town of Akhtubinsk in the Astrakhan region, Pogosyan said.
According to him, the upgraded bombers' onboard equipment will feature new capabilities that will boost its combat efficiency.
Pogosyan noted that the upgraded aircraft will be exhibited at the upcoming MAKS 2003 air show in the Moscow region.
Major General Vladimir Ilyushin, test pilot of the Sukhoi design bureau who was the first person to take the SU-24 bomber to the air, said at the ceremony that the SU-24 remains a frontline aircraft. It is the first Russian plane capable of doubling the terrain, he said.
The SU-24 is intended for destroying ground and surface targets in favorable and adverse weather conditions 24 hours a day on the enemy's territory. The plane has a variable-sweep wing.
The power plant consists of two AL-21F3 engines developing 11,200kg each.
The bomber is armed with a broad range of bombs and missiles, including up to four KH-23 missiles, up to two Kh-28 and Kh-58 missiles, and up to two R-60 missiles. The upgraded SU- 24M has a broader composition of missile armament consisting of four Kh-25L missiles, three Kh-29L missiles, two Kh-31P missiles, and two Kh-59 missiles, as well as KAB-1500L guided air bombs.
Mass production of the SU-24 is handled by the Novosibirsk aircraft production association.
The plane's crew consists of two persons. Its regular take- off weight is 35,910kg, maximum take-off weight 39,700kg, regular payload 3t, maximum payload 8t, operation range up to 570km, maximum speed 1.35M, and practical ceiling 11,000m.