Su-24 Fencer

Cold War era high performance, low level, all weather tactical fighter bomber.

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History

Conceived in the 60's as a replacement for the Su-17/20/22 Fitter series fighter-bomber, the Su-24 Fencer was the first Soviet aircraft to incorporate an integrated combat avionics system combining a computer bombsight, weapons control system and anavigation/terrain avoidance system. Though this was a very ambitious project (roughly equivalent to the contemporary American FB-111 Aardvark project) Soviet designers recognized that advances in Surface to Air Missile (SAM) technology had rendered level bombers such as the Ilyushin Il-28 and Yak-28 obsolete. In order to survive on the modern SAM infested battlefield, bombers would need to be capable of high speed (Mach 1 plus) low level penetrations in all weather conditions, depending on terrain masking, electronic jamming and precision weapons delivery to accomplish their mission. Lastly, in order to meet Soviet multi mission capabilities, the new aircraft would have to be adaptable to tactical reconnaissance and air interceptor missions.

An early test aircraft incorporating a delta wing VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) design with separate lift and cruising engines was abandoned because of poor low level handling characteristics. Successes with the variable geometry wings of the MiG-23 Flogger interceptor and Su-17 Fitter offered another option; variable geometry allowed for acceptable performance at all altitudes and airspeeds. The first successful flight test of the Fencer-A occurred in 1970. Initial Fencer-A production aircraft were equipped with variable aperture intakes on the engines, which allowed for a high altitude maximum speed above Mach 2, but since the Su-24 wouldn't be spending much of it's life at high altitude, and such speeds were not possible at low altitude, the actuators were later dropped to save weight and reduce maintenance requirements.

Although NATO currently recognizes numerous variants of the Su-24, these variants do not represent the same degree of technological improvement that is present in the Su-27 Flanker series. Instead, the Su-24 variants represent product improvement steps, similar to the developement of the MiG-21, rather than wholesale design changes. Still in production, the Su-24 Fencer remains a capable aircraft. Many Fencer-B and C models remain in service with the Russian Air Force as well as many of the former Soviet Republics.