Demonstrator of the all-weather multirole fighter aircraft Sukhoi Su-37 “Terminator” was developed from the fighters of the Su-27 family, taken as a basis, by the Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau, Moscow. This family is called by the NATO codename “Flanker” and includes the Su-27UB, Su-30, Su-33, Su-32FN, and Su-35. However, it was never destined to be produced in any significant quantity.
Highlighting this was the inclusion of two-dimensional thrust vector control engines, which enabled the Su-37 to recover from spins and stalls at almost any altitude. Other amazing and truly unique features included the full digital fly-by-wire control system, which also further augmented the aircraft’s handling characteristics. The prototype made its first flight in April 1996, and the same year, a series of public demonstrations took place at the Moscow Air Show and the Farnborough Airshow.
The aircraft displayed high performance including a nose-on-flight path sustained by presenting its pointed nose of the direction of flight, 360 degrees of nose rotation, and recovery from a tail slide by rolling into a separate plane. Despite such capabilities, state funding for the Su-37 had been widely withdrawn for some time but in 1999 its funding was restored to continue flight testing.
The Su-37 cockpit featured four liquid crystal displays reflecting tactical and navigation information, monitors of onboard systems, and a control panel to monitor operating conditions. There is also a side-stick controller, an avionics management handle, and strain gauge engine thrust control in the cockpit. Avionics for the aircraft was fabricated at Kronstadt, St. Petersburg.
The Su-37 could carry as many as 14 air-to-air missiles and 8,000 kilograms of ordnance. The air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, bombs, rockets, and an ECM pod could be loaded on the twelve external hardpoints. It was armed with a GSh-301 30mm gun, capable of firing 1,500 rounds per minute.
The armament consisted of R-73E short-range air-to-air missiles with infrared terminal homing and long-range air-to-air missiles with active radar guidance guidance, called RVVAE. The R-73E (NATO- AA-11 Archer) can hit either tailing or approaching targets at altitudes between 0.02 km to 20 km. The Vympel RVV-AE missile, code-named Adder by NATO, can engage targets up to 3,600 kph and at altitudes ranging from 0.02 to 25 km.
Su-37 had been configured to carry Kh-25 (AS-12 Kegler) short-range missiles and Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) with a 317 kg penetrating warhead for air-to-surface missions. NO-11M pulse-Doppler phased-array radar manufactured by NIIP was installed and could track up to 15 targets simultaneously and guide air-to-air missiles. The rear-looking NIIP NO-12 radar and an optronic fire-control and surveillance system were included in the radar.
For the propulsion of the Su-37, two AL-31FU TVC turbofan power plants were used, designed by the Lyulka OKB, currently NPO Saturn. The engines belonged to a class of two-shaft turbofans AL-31F, which powered the Su-27 and produced a thrust of 83.36 kN and 142 kN with afterburner. The thrust vectoring control was fully integrated to the digital flight control system, allowing you to realize the maneuver with near-zero speeds without any limitations from the angle of attack.
However very promising in potential, the program Su-37 very seriously suffered soon after the prototype crashed during a routine test flight in Zhukovsky on December 19, 2002. The crash was due to software malfunctions and structural failures, and the Su-37 program was terminated. However, the technology of the Su-37 was later incorporated into other models, namely the Su-30MKI and Su-35BM, so that some of its legacy lived on in modern Russian fighter jets.