Sukhoi Su-17

what is it?

The Sukhoi Su-17 (Russian: Су-17; NATO reporting name: Fitter) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter Soviet service and featured updated avionics. The aircraft also has variants which were designed for export such as the Sukhoi Su-22 and the less popular Su-20.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 13.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,400 km/htop speed
• size 19.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 2,867made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 60 years ago, in 1966.
• 🏎️Top speed is 10.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.1 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 13.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🏔️Can fly 1.6× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1966-08-02

introduced

1970

status

still flying

number built

2,867

role

fighter-bomber

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Sukhoi

engines

1× Lyulka AL-21F-3 / Lyulka AL-21

crew

1

length

19 m

wingspan

13.7 m

height

5.1 m

max take-off weight

19.4 t

top speed

1,400 km/h

range

—

ceiling

14,200 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.