Sukhoi (Сухой) is a major Russian manufacturer famous for its fighters. Founded by Pavel Sukhoi in 1939 as the Sukhoi Design Bureau (OKB-51, design office prefix Su), it is currently known as Sukhoi Corporation. It is comprised of the JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau located in Moscow, the Novosibirsk Aviation Production Association (NAPO), the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Production Association (KnAAPO) and Irkutsk Aviation. Sukhoi is headquartered in Moscow. Finmeccanica owns 25% + 1 share of Sukhoi's civil division. The Russian government is planning to merge Sukhoi with Mikoyan, Ilyushin, Irkut, Tupolev, and Yakovlev as a new company named United Aircraft Building Corporation.

Currently the Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, Su-30, and shipborne Su-33, Su-34, and Su-35 aircraft are in service of the Russian Air Force and Navy. Sukhoi attack or fighter aircraft were supplied to Armenia, India, China, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, Germany, Syria, Algeria, North Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Angola, Ethiopia, Peru, Eritrea, and Indonesia. Venezuela signed contracts for the purchase of 30 Su-30 fighter jets in July 2006. A total of more than 2000 Sukhoi aircraft were supplied to foreign countries on export contracts. With its Su-26, Su-29 and Su-31 models Sukhoi is also one of the leading manufacturers of aerobatic aircraft.

On August 4, 2006 the US State Department imposed sanctions on Sukhoi for allegedly supplying Iran in violation of the United States Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000. Sukhoi was prohibited from doing business with the United States Federal Government. The sanctions were felt by those within Sukhoi to be in response to Sukhoi's dealings with Venezuela for fighter aircraft. In November of 2006, the US State Department reversed its sanctions against Sukhoi.

Russia launched on September 26, 2007, its first modern commercial regional airliner -- the Superjet, a 78 to 98 seater, built by Sukhoi. It was unveiled at Komsomolsk-on-Amur.. The Maiden flight was made on May 19 2008.

Production aircraft

• Su-2 - light bomber
• Su-7 - attack plane
• Su-9 - interceptor fighter
• Su-11 - interceptor fighter
• Su-15 - 1967, interceptor fighter
• Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 - attack plane
• Su-24 - 1974, jet bomber
• Su-25 - ground attack aircraft
• Su-26 - single seat aerobatic aircraft (civil)
• Su-27 - 1984
• Su-28/Su-25UB - Trainer and Demonstrator
• Su-29 - double seat aerobatic aircraft (civil)
• Su-30 - 1996
• Su-31 - single seat aerobatic aircraft (civil)
• Su-33 - 1994, carrier-based aircraft
• Su-34/Su-32 - 2006, "Platypus"
• Su-27M/Su-35 - 1995
• Su-25TM/Su-39 - ground attack aircraft, optimised for anti-tank use
• Su-80 - a twin-turboprop STOL transport
• KR-860 - Jumbo jet
• Superjet 100 - regional jet

Experimental aircraft

• Su-1 - high-altitude fighter
• Su-5 - jet-propeller fighter
• Su-6 - ground attack aircraft
• Su-8 - ground attack aircraft
• Su-9 - jet fighter
• Su-10 - jet bomber
• Su-12 - observation plane (1947)
• Su-15 - interceptor fighter
• Su-17 - fighter
• Sukhoi-Gulfstream S-21 - a supersonic business jet design.
• Su-37 ("Terminator"), an improved Su-35
• Su-38 light agricultural aircraft
• S-32/37 - multirole fighter (was marketed for a time under the designation Su-47)
• P-1 - interceptor fighter
• T-3 - fighter
• T-4 - supersonic bomber, quite similar in concept to XB-70 Valkyrie, which was developed by Sukhoi during the 60's and 70's.
• Sukhoi PAK FA/T-50 - 5th generation fighter. Future basic aircraft of Russian Frontline Aviation. Maiden flight is planned for 2008.

Note: The Sukhoi OKB has reused aircraft designations on occasion, for example: the Su-9 from 1946 and the later Su-9 from 1956, the former was not produced in quantity. Sukhoi prototype designations are based on wing layout planform. Straight and swept wings are assigned the "S" prefix, while delta winged designs(including tailed-delta) have "T" for a designation prefix.

Example: S-37 and T-10.

See also: List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS

References

External links

• Company web site: http://www.sukhoi.org/
• Other sources: http://www.sukhoi.ru/
• Russian Aviation Museum Sukhoi Pages : http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/misc/ram/sukhoj.html
• Painting: http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/alvmaia/Sukhoi/
• Good article on OKB history @biograph.ru
• Russian plane firm challenges West - By Jorn Madslien, BBC News