This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Su-24 Fencer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sukhoi Su-24 |
| Type | Supersonic all-weather attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Sukhoi Design Bureau |
| First flight | 1967 |
| Introduction | 1975 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Forces |
| Produced | 1967–1993 |
| Number | approx. 1,400 |
Su-24 Fencer The Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer is a Soviet-designed, two-seat, variable-sweep wing, supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed for low-level penetration and precision strike. It entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in the mid-1970s and served with successor and allied air arms including the Russian Aerospace Forces, Ukrainian Air Force, Syrian Air Force, Iraqi Air Force, and several other operators in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Su-24 combined terrain-following avionics, a dedicated weapons bay, and specialized navigation/attack systems to conduct interdiction, maritime strike, and reconnaissance missions during Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts.
Development began in the 1960s at the Sukhoi design bureau under the leadership of designers such as Pavel Sukhoi associates and was driven by requirements from the Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union), Frontal Aviation planners, and the Air Force Scientific Testing Institute to replace earlier strike types like the Sukhoi Su-7. The prototype program competed with designs from Tupolev and Mikoyan-Gurevich before the Su-24 was selected; it first flew in 1967 and entered service following flight testing at facilities including Akhtubinsk and trials overseen by the Gromov Flight Research Institute. Design goals emphasized low-altitude, high-speed ingress using terrain-following radar and inertial navigation systems developed with input from institutes such as NIIP and GosNIIAS to reduce exposure to surface-to-air missile systems like the S-75 Dvina and S-125 Neva/Pechora.
The airframe featured a variable-sweep wing for optimized transonic and low-level flight, a side-by-side cockpit derived from lessons learned with crew coordination observed during operations of the Tupolev Tu-22 and Ilyushin Il-28, and twin Lyulka AL-21F-derived engines managed by the Baranovsky engine design teams. Avionics integration included the OPB-11 optical bombing/navigation suite and the Leninets/RPK-10 series radars linked to helmeted crew tactics developed in concert with the Air Force Academy.
The Su-24’s aerodynamics used a shoulder-mounted variable-sweep wing, double-slotted flaps, and full-span flaperons for low-level stability akin to Western contemporaries such as the General Dynamics F-111. The fuselage incorporated a weapons bay and multiple underwing pylons able to carry guided weapons like the Kh-23 and Kh-25 and unguided munitions employed in strikes comparable to armaments used on the Dassault Mirage F1 and Panavia Tornado. Propulsion relied on two turbofan engines with afterburners and was supported by complex fuel systems similar to those fielded on the Sukhoi Su-17.
Avionics suite centered on multimode navigation and attack systems including terrain-following radar and Doppler navigation units, an integrated ECM suite and chaff/flare dispensers, and a forward fuselage housing optical bombing sights. Crew workload management used side-by-side seating with dual controls, enabling coordinated tasks between the pilot and weapons systems officer as practiced by crews on the Grumman A-6 Intruder and Rockwell B-1 Lancer.
The Su-24 entered frontline service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1975 and saw widespread deployment across Soviet tactical aviation regiments stationed in European and Far Eastern Military Districts and theaters such as Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. It performed strike and reconnaissance sorties under conditions that mirrored missions flown by NATO strike aircraft during exercises such as REFORGER and deployments around the Cold War periphery. Post-Soviet conflicts saw Su-24s operate in theaters including the First Chechen War, Second Chechen War, the Syrian Civil War, and operations over Eastern Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Export users employed the type in regional conflicts; Iraqi Su-24s were active during the Iran–Iraq War and in the 1991 Gulf War era before export variants were phased or upgraded. The platform’s role evolved with precision-guided munitions integration, aerial reconnaissance pods, and incremental avionics upgrades carried out by organizations like Tikhomirov NIIP and Sukhoi modernization programs.
Significant variants included dedicated reconnaissance and upgraded avionics models produced by Sukhoi and partner enterprises. Notable export and upgraded versions paralleled modernization efforts similar to upgrades performed on Western types such as the Panavia Tornado IDS. Specialized reconnaissance Su-24Rs carried photographic and ELINT gear developed by scientific institutes affiliated with Russian Air Force procurement. Later modernization attempts produced avionics remanufactures aimed at increasing compatibility with munitions comparable to systems on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18.
Primary and former operators included the Soviet Air Forces, successor Russian Aerospace Forces, Ukrainian Air Force, Belarusian Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Force, Iraqi Air Force, Libyan Arab Air Force, Angolan Air Force, Iranian Air Force (received components via intermediaries), and other nations in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia that procured aircraft through bilateral agreements with the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia.
The Su-24 has been involved in multiple accidents and combat losses across operators and conflicts, sometimes linked to hostile air defenses such as engagements with Turkish Air Force jets during border incidents, shootdowns over Syria and Ukraine, and peacetime mishaps during training exercises and low-level flights. Investigations often involved agencies like national air accident boards and military inquiries similar to procedures used by the Ministry of Defence (Russian Federation).
- Crew: 2 (pilot and navigator/weapons officer) - Dimensions: Variable-sweep wing; wingspan variable similar to that of the General Dynamics F-111 - Powerplant: Two turbofan engines with afterburners, installed by design teams at Lyulka - Performance: Supersonic at sea level and low-altitude dash speeds; terrain-following capability for nap-of-the-earth ingress employed by crews trained at Akhtubinsk - Armament: Internal weapons bay plus underwing hardpoints for air-to-surface missiles (e.g., Kh-series), bombs, and reconnaissance pods used by operators including Iraqi Air Force and Syrian Arab Air Force - Avionics: Terrain-following radar, inertial navigation systems, dedicated attack/navigation suites developed by Soviet-era institutes such as NIIP and Tikhomirov OKB