MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax-AVN) - The Sukhoi-offered SU-27SKM upgrade package for the conventional Flanker is ideal for Air Force pilots, the Sukhoi design bureau's chief designer Igor Dyomin said in an interview with the Izvestia daily, published on Monday.
"We have not created the aircraft for 'new' pilots, but for those serving today. That is why the SU-27SKM is comfortable to retrain to, although the plane is new," he said.
According to Dyomin, the new derivative features, in contrast to the conventional Flanker, all-weather day/night capability, as well as equal AA and AS performance with all currently operational smart and dumb aerial bombs and air- launched missiles.
The navigation- and radar-controlled bombing technology does not require that the pilot see the target, just press the LAUNCH button in due time. The radar of the new aircraft can track not only aerial but also land targets, the designer said.
The SU-27SKM single-seater has a maximal speed of 1,400kmph near the ground and 2,430kmph at a high altitude, a practical ceiling of 18,000m, a transfer operational range of 3,680km, and a maximal g-load factor of nine.
The armament includes the 30mm GSh-301 one-barrel cannon (1,500rpm, 150 rounds), and a maximum of 8,000kg of AA and AS missiles, dumb and smart aerial bombs suspended at 10 hard points.