Russia’s Experimental Su-47 Fighter: Better for Hobbyists Instead of Pilots: This is an airplane hobbyist’s dream. Most if not all fighter planes in a collection of miniatures have backward-swept wings. But there is at least one model you can buy with a forward-swept wing design. One can purchase a model of this Russian experimental fighter called the Su-47 for around $24 on Amazon. This will surely make a noteworthy addition to your model fleet, but how close was the Su-47 to becoming a mainstay in the real Russian air force?
Here’s one clue: Moscow only built one of them.
The Su-47 Golden Eagle Had a Different Look
The Su-47 started out its lifespan as the S-37 Berkut or Golden Eagle produced by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The Su-47 conducted its first flight in 1997.
The design not only has forward-swept wings but also a curious component: an “unstable tri-plane with three main lifting surfaces,” according to Airforce-Technology.com.
Other design aspects should be familiar to Su-27 Flanker aficionados. The Su-47 had vertical tails and a similar canopy. The Su-47 made it to the flight line with its first flight in 2000 and various in-flight testing efforts in 2001.
Radically Changing the Wings
Why the forward-swept wings?
The idea was to give the jet more agility in a dogfight. Sukhoi was excited about the airplane’s maneuverability. Better stability of the airframe made in-air actions to change the angle of attack easier. The forward-swept wing also gave the fighter better lift and climbing ability with fewer stalls.
Airforce-Technology continued to describe the Su-47’s unique design: “[C]ompared to a swept-back wing of the same area, the swept-forward wing provides a number of advantages: higher lift to drag ratio; higher capacity in dogfight maneuvers; higher range at subsonic speed; improved stall resistance and anti-spin characteristics; improved stability at high angles of attack; a lower minimum flight speed; and a shorter take-off and landing distance.”
Engines Enabled Agility But Not Necessarily High Speed
Two Perm Aviadvigatel D-30-F6 turboshaft engines enabled the turn rates to be considered topnotch for close-in fighting and for medium attack parameters for longer-range missiles. It could take on multiple targets. The cruising speed was a more pedestrian MACH 1.5+.
Well-Armed and Relatively Easy to Fly
This was an experimental airplane, but it was fully armed with an enviable 14 hardpoints that could carry a large complement of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
The cockpit was modern and enabled the pilot to handle significant amounts of g-force.
Problems Cropped Up in the Su-47
What happened to the Su-47? The wings were a major problem during high-speed maneuvers. The designers and engineers tried to replace the composite filter to alleviate stress cracks in the wings, but this effort did not work.
The Su-47 was also heavy when loaded down with fuel and weapons and this placed more pressure on the wings.
It Went Down the Drain
The Su-47 experimental program then lost its luster and was plagued by neglect and lack of funds. Only one airplane was built.
Russia had high hopes that the fighter would be more maneuverable with the wing configuration. They did not plan for the stress cracks, and the program languished.
Russian military strategy was changing, too. The Chechen wars of the 1990s were more counter-insurgency and counter-terror fights. Russia also endured tragic death-filled terror incidents in the early 2000s that placed more emphasis on irregular warfare and not experimental fighter jets. The Su-47 was considered excessive in this threat environment.
Russia Always Has Fighter Plane Drama, It Seems
Now, Russia is having trouble with its Su-75 and Su-57 fighter programs. They are not coming to fruition as planned. Russian engineers should be given credit for making such a risky move with a revolutionary design for the Su-47, but it was not to be. Perhaps the Kremlin should be careful with experiments, stick to traditional designs, and focus on stealth, performance, and weapons instead.
Su-57. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
This means the future of aircraft design should be more conventional, or else the Russian aerospace programs will waste more money and resources when the ground war in Ukraine and now in Kursk, Russia is taking precedence over the new fighter programs.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
