Su-33 Flanker-D
Carrier Flanker with canards and folding wings, launched off a ski-jump instead of a catapult.
- Canards
- Folding wings and tail
- Arrestor hook
- Ski-jump launch
Specification
- Origin
- Russia
- Manufacturer
- Sukhoi
- Role
- Air superiority
- Generation
- 4
- Introduced
- 1998
- Combat type
- Air
- Spawn code
- su33
On the server
The Su-33 was accepted into Russian naval service in 1998 for operation from the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. Because that ship has a ski-jump ramp and no catapults, the aircraft needed more lift at low speed, so Sukhoi added canard foreplanes ahead of the wing, enlarged the wing with folding sections, fitted a strengthened undercarriage and an arrestor hook, and made the tail fold as well to fit the hangar deck. Only a couple of dozen were built. On MCS the Flanker-D is a big air superiority fighter that behaves better at low speed than the standard Su-27 because of those canards, and it gets airborne in a remarkably short distance. It carries less fuel usefully than its size suggests once the deck equipment weight is counted, and it has almost no ground attack fit. Recommended for pilots who want a Flanker that can operate from tight strips.