Sukhoi Su-34

what is it?

The Sukhoi Su-34 (Russian: Сухой Су-34; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entered service in 2014 with the Russian Air Force. Based on the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighter, the Su-34 has a wider, armoured cockpit with side-by-side seating for its two pilots.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 14.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,900 km/htop speed
• size 45.1 tmax take-off weight
• built 143made 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 36 years ago, in 1990.
• 🏎️Top speed is 14.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.5 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 14.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 8 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🏔️Can fly 1.9× 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

1990-04-13

introduced

2014

status

still flying

number built

143

role

fighter-bomber/strike fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Russia

makers

Sukhoi, Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association

engines

2× Saturn AL-31FM1 / Saturn AL-31

crew

2

length

23.3 m

wingspan

14.7 m

height

6.1 m

max take-off weight

45.1 t

top speed

1,900 km/h

cruise speed

1,300 km/h

range

—

ceiling

17,000 m

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

family