Demonstrator of the all-weather multirole fighter aircraft Sukhoi Su-37 “Terminator” was developed on the base of fighters of the family Su-27, belonging to the Su-27 family by the Experimental Design Bureau, Moscow. The family is coded in NATO as “Flanker”; it comprises Su-27UB, Su-30, Su-33, Su-32FN, and Su-35. However, it was never intended for mass production.
The design, however, featured two-dimensional thrust vector control engines, which allowed the Su-37 to recover from spins and stalls at nearly any altitude. Other incredible and truly unique features included the full digital fly-by-wire control system, which also further aided in elevating the aircraft’s handling characteristics.
The prototype took to the skies first in April 1996, and that same year, a series of public demonstrations were hosted at the Moscow Air Show and the Farnborough Airshow.
The Su-37 aircraft was high-performance, and some of its capabilities included sustained nose-on-flight path by presenting its pointed nose in the direction of flight, 360 degrees of nose rotation, and recovery from a tail slide, rolling into a separate plane.
Nonetheless, despite such capability achievements, state funding for the Su-37 had been largely withdrawn for quite some time, but in 1999, its funding was reinstated to continue with the flight testing.
The Su-37 cockpit consists of four liquid crystal displays to provide the pilot with tactical and navigation information, onboard systems monitors, and a control panel that indicates operating conditions. A side-stick controller, an avionics management handle, and also engine thrust control using a strain gauge are used in the cockpit. Avionics for the aircraft is manufactured in Kronstadt, St. Petersburg.
The Su-37 can carry as many as 14 air-to-air missiles and 8,000 kilograms of ordnance. All the twelve external hardpoints can be used for carrying air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, bombs, rockets, and an ECM pod. It is also equipped with a GSh-301 30mm gun, which can fire at a rate of 1,500 rounds per minute.
The armament included R-73E short-range air-to-air missiles with infrared terminal homing, and long-range air-to-air missiles with active radar 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 designed to be capable of carrying 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 concurrently and command air-to-air missiles. The rear-looking NIIP NO-12 radar and an optronic fire-control and surveillance system were on the radar.
To power its propulsion, the Su-37 used two AL-31FU TVC turbofan power plants designed by the Lyulka OKB, now NPO Saturn.
The class of two-shaft turbofans, AL-31F, was used for the Su-27. The engine produced 83.36 kN and 142 kN of thrust with an afterburner. The thrust-vectoring control was completely integrated into the digital flight-control system, so you could complete the maneuver with near-zero speeds without restrictions on any 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 caused by software malfunctions and structural failures, and the Su-37 program was finally canceled. Yet, the technology of the Su-37 was later taken on and used with other models, namely the Su-30MKI and Su-35BM, so some of its legacy lived on in modern Russian fighter jets.