The two-seat, all-weather Su-24 tactical bomber, which can operate around the clock, was developed in order to counter the USAF F-111 multi-role tactical fighter. Development of the Su-24 started in 1961 under the internal codename T-6. The first prototype, the T-6-1, was completed in May 1967 and was first operated by Soviet test pilot Vladimir Ilyushin on July 2. It was the first Soviet tactical attack aircraft to feature an integrated digital navigation/attack system. On February 4, 1975, the Su-24 was accepted into service, kicking off an important stage in the development of the USSR's national aircraft industry.
A major problem in developing the new plane was to design the aiming and navigation system (ANS) to give the pilot as much automatic control over all major flight and tactical deployment procedures as possible.
Photo: A Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber prepares for takeoff from the Hmeimim airbase in Lattakia, Syria.
Photo: A Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber prepares for takeoff from the Hmeimim airbase in Lattakia, Syria.
The day or night and all-weather capability was achieved thanks to the Puma ANS, consisting of two Orion-A superimposed radar scanners for nav/attack, a dedicated Relyef terrain clearance radar to provide automatic control of flights at low and extremely low altitudes and an Orbita-10-58 onboard computer.
Photo: A Su-24 jet is seen above a tank during the Tank Biathlon competition in Volgograd Region, Russia.
Photo: A Su-24 jet is seen above a tank during the Tank Biathlon competition in Volgograd Region, Russia.
The aircraft’s NATO reporting name is Fencer, for its elongated nose reminiscent of a sword.
Photo: A Su-24 jet during Russian Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol, Russia.
Photo: A Su-24 jet during Russian Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol, Russia.
The 24-meter aircraft is able to reach a speed of 1700 km/h and can accommodate several hundred missiles, as well as dozens of bombs and a gun mount.
Photo: A visitor wearing a fighter pilot helmet at a military aircraft exhibition at the Baltic Fleet's Chkalovsk military airfield outside Kaliningrad, Russia.
Photo: A visitor wearing a fighter pilot helmet at a military aircraft exhibition at the Baltic Fleet's Chkalovsk military airfield outside Kaliningrad, Russia.
The Design Bureau started development work to upgrade the baseline plane as early as at the beginning of the '70s, with a pilot project to retrofit it with flight refueling capability developed in 1971. The full-scale production of the modified aircraft, the Su-24M, started in 1979.
Photo: A Su-24 Fencer memorial warplane parked on the territory of the Sukhoi Design Bureau in Moscow, Russia.
Photo: A Su-24 Fencer memorial warplane parked on the territory of the Sukhoi Design Bureau in Moscow, Russia.
Depending on the mission, speed and payload, the effective range of the Su-24M is 600 to 1,200 km. According to experts, the combat effectiveness of the Su-24M was 1.5-2x than that of the Su-24.
Photo: A Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber at the No. 322 Aircraft Repair Plant in Primorye Territory, Russia.
Photo: A Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber at the No. 322 Aircraft Repair Plant in Primorye Territory, Russia.
The last Su-24 was produced in 1993. In 2016, operation of the original version of the aircraft ceased in Russia, but its modifications (the 100 Su-24M/M2 and the 79 Su-24MR) are still in service with Russian Air Force.
Photo: A Su-24 jet during Russian Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol, Russia.
Photo: A Su-24 jet during Russian Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol, Russia.
The Su-24 and modified versions of it are still in service in the militaries of Algeria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine and have been operated in Angola, Belarus, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya and Uzbekistan.
Photo: A Su-24 jet during a drill of the Pacific Fleet's Marine brigades and units of a Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 5th Combined-Arms Army of the Eastern Military District at Klerk base, Primorye Territory, Russia.
Photo: A Su-24 jet during a drill of the Pacific Fleet's Marine brigades and units of a Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 5th Combined-Arms Army of the Eastern Military District at Klerk base, Primorye Territory, Russia.
The modernized Su-24s is the main strike aircraft of Russian Air Force in Syria. There are 11 Su-24M/М2 jets currently based at the Russia-operated Hmeymim air base.
Photo: Russian Aerospace Forces Su-24 bombers at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria.
Photo: Russian Aerospace Forces Su-24 bombers at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria.
The Su-24 and subsequent versions of the aircraft were used during the Afghan war, the Persian Gulf War, the Chechen conflict and military operations in Syria.
Photo: A Russian Su-24 front-line bomber jet takes off at Latakia airport, Syria.
Photo: A Russian Su-24 front-line bomber jet takes off at Latakia airport, Syria.
