Su-33: Russia's Carrier-Borne Strike Fighter

Book excerpt: The intent of this volume is to detail the Sukhoi Su-33 (Su-27K) fourth generation naval strike fighter aircraft design procured for service aboard the Soviet Union (later Russian Federation) Project 1143.5 Aircraft Carrying Heavy Cruiser, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, Kuznetsov. The volume covers the evolution of the T-10K, which was developed for service as the Su-33, and the limited updates introduced. All technical information regarding the aircraft, systems and weapons have been provided by the respective designers/developers, as has most of the graphic material, with technical and graphic input from other entities such as the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Certain elements of text, where pertinent, are taken from the volume 'Sukhoi Su-27SM(3)/SKM' (Harkins, 2016) and 'Russian/Soviet Aircraft Carrier & Carrier Aviation Design & Evolution Volume 2' (Harkins, 2017). No attempt is made to detail the Su-27KUB experimental design or the Chinese Su-33 copy, the Shenyang J-15, which are outside the scope of the volume, although both are referred to in the addendum.