Su-47 "Berkut" Firkin

The Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut, NATO reporting name Firkin, is a Russian twin-engine, forward-swept wing technology demonstrator developed by the JSC Sukhoi Company. Designated S-32 and S-37 during initial development, the single aircraft produced never entered serial production or military service. First flown in 1997, the Su-47 served as an experimental testbed for composite materials, fly-by-wire controls, and forward-swept wing design, yielding technologies later applied to the Su-35 and Su-57 fighters.

Development

The project originated in 1983 upon an order from the Soviet Air Force. State funding was frozen following the fall of the USSR, prompting Sukhoi to privately fund the project's continuation. Sukhoi redesignated the aircraft from S-37 to Su-47 in 2002. Only one prototype was built. Development of the forward-swept wing configuration was not pursued for production because its aerodynamic advantages occurred primarily at transonic speeds, while conventional aft-swept wings proved superior at supersonic speeds.

Design

The Su-47 utilizes a tandem-triple aerodynamic configuration featuring forward-mounted canards, forward-swept wings, and tailplanes. To withstand the structural twisting loads generated by forward wing sweep, the wing skins are constructed of composite materials designed to twist opposite to geometric twisting when bending under load. The aircraft shares its forward fuselage, vertical tails, and landing gear with the Su-27 family to reduce development costs. Power is provided by two Soloviev D-30F11 afterburning turbofan engines, each generating 93.1 kN dry thrust and 153 kN with afterburner, with thrust-vectoring engine modifications planned to provide ±20° deflection in pitch and yaw. System accommodations include space for a nose-mounted mission radar, tail-mounted electronic countermeasures radomes, and a rearward-facing radar housed in one of two unequal-length tailbooms.

Armament

The airframe includes an internal weapons bay for ordnance carriage. System specifications also incorporate provisions for conformal weapon storage.

Operational History

As a technology demonstrator, the Su-47 did not undergo combat deployments or achieve export sales. The single aircraft made regular flight appearances at Russia's MAKS air show from 1997 through 2007, followed by a public display at the MAKS-2019 air show in Zhukovsky.