Air Force General Popov told why the intelligence complex with the Tu-214R was adapted for the Su-34
The Russian Aerospace Forces used the Sych aviation reconnaissance complex, which is installed on the Su-34 fighter-bomber, during a special operation in Ukraine. With this equipment, which is a complex of optical and radar reconnaissance, the aircraft is able to bring other aviation and ground weapons to targets, or destroy them independently. "Newspaper.Ru" understood the specifics of the operation of this system.
For the first time, it became known about the intelligence complex, called "Sych", located on the basis of the Su-34 fighter bomber back in 2016. An analogue in the form of a side-view radio complex MRK-411 already existed, but it was intended for long-range reconnaissance aircraft Tu-214R and earlier "air spies" Il-20 (based on the passenger Il-18), An-30B and Tu-154M LK-1.
"Reconnaissance planes are secret objects and the true capabilities of this equipment are not advertised," he told the newspaper.Ru" military expert, Colonel of the Air Force Reserve Alexander Drobyshevsky. - From the well-known, it can be noted that the Tu-214R are equipped with a multi-frequency radio engineering complex MRK-411, consisting of several radar stations with active phased antenna arrays of lateral and circular view, which provides information both in active and passive mode."
Drobyshevsky added that these aircraft are also equipped with the Fraction system.
"Developed by the Moscow-based company TPC Linkos, this system provides scanning of huge areas, the output of processed and synthesized "pictures" on the screens of operators and ground headquarters. The reconnaissance aircraft is able to detect even camouflaged objects. As a result, this system "reveals" enemy objects at a distance of 200-300 km," the expert added.
At the same time, the missile and bomb load of the aircraft is almost completely preserved, which can independently use ammunition when detecting targets.
"The use of the Su-34, as a multifunctional aircraft with a large combat potential, to place the Sych intelligence equipment on it increases the reliability and safety of the use of intelligence complexes. This is the first option for using such reconnaissance equipment on combat fighters," he told the newspaper.Ru" military expert, reserve Colonel Yuri Gavrilov.
The Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber (according to the NATO codification Fullback - "Defender"), which was nicknamed "Duckling" in the Russian Air Force for its peculiar shape of the nose fuselage, appears to be a unique aerial vehicle for striking enemy ground targets at long range.
According to the website of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the capabilities of the Su-34 allow "to carry out basic combat tasks without the escort of cover fighters, in view of the high qualities of conducting independent maneuverable air combat."
The Russian Aerospace Forces have more than 130 Su-34 aircraft. They are based in the Voronezh Region (where the Baltimore airfield was converted for them), in the Khabarovsk Territory, in the Rostov and Chelyabinsk regions, some of these fighter-bombers are part of the Lipetsk Center for training aviation Personnel and military tests.
"In the variant of reconnaissance aircraft in Ukraine, these aircraft can conduct surveillance without entering the air defense zone of the Ukrainian troops. Having received the Sych complex, the Su-34 fighter-bomber with the HBO index ("new opportunities") it became a universal center of aerial reconnaissance.
In the sense that the Americans understand it," says Air Force Major General Vladimir Popov.
The general recalled that the sixth-generation fighter is being developed by the Pentagon as a "control and intelligence center for other systems." "It is these tasks that Sych allows our Su-34 to solve," Popov believes.
Victor Sokirko
