The Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau (Sukhoi Design Bureau) is one of the leading Russian enterprises for the development of aviation equipment. It is part of the structure of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation).
The history of the company originates from the brigade No. 4 AGOS ("Aviation, hydroaviation, pilot construction") The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), which in October 1930 was headed by design engineer Pavel Sukhoi (1895-1975). It is from this moment that the formation of the design team of the future Design Bureau begins.
In 1936, a competition was announced in the USSR to create a bomber under the conditional name "Ivanov" or "Stalin's Task" (SZ). The project of aircraft designer Pavel Sukhoi was recognized as the winner. Work on the Ivanov ended with the appearance of the first aircraft with the initials "Su" – the combat multipurpose bomber Su-2 (originally BB-1, "short-range bomber"). The aircraft was built in a large series in 1940-1942, in total about 900 cars were produced.
The day of formation of the Sukhoi Design Bureau is considered to be July 29, 1939. On this day, a resolution was issued by the Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the USSR, by which Pavel Sukhoi was appointed chief designer of plant No. 135 in Kharkov (now Ukraine). A part of his design team was also transferred there. The main task of the new bureau was the launch of serial production of the SZ under the designation BB-1 and the development of its modifications. In addition, the company had to carry out work on a single-seat I-135 cannon fighter and a single-seat single-engine armored attack aircraft (development of BB-1).
In December 1940, all Sukhoi Design Bureau aircraft received new designations by the name of the chief designer: BB-1 – Su-2, I-135 – Su-1, and OBSH – Su-6. For the creation of the latter in 1943, Sukhoi was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree.
In the first ten years of its operation, the bureau often changed its location. Established in 1939 in Kharkov, in 1940 it moved to Kaliningrad near Moscow (now Korolev) to plant No. 289. In 1941 it was evacuated to the city of Molotov (now Perm), where it merged with plant No. 135 evacuated there. In 1942, the Sukhoi Design Bureau regained the status of a separate production and number 289, and in 1943 it was evacuated to Tushino, near Moscow, to the site of the former plant No. 464. In 1945, plant No. 289 merged with Moscow plant No. 134 under the general number 134.
In 1944-1949, the Su-9, Su-11, Su-15, Su-17 jet fighters and the Su-10 bomber were created.
On November 14, 1949, by a decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Sukhoi Design Bureau was closed.
In May 1953, his work was restored, and in October he was allocated a production base – a branch of plant No. 155 on the territory of the former plant No. 51.
On January 15, 1954, the bureau received its official name – "State Union Experimental Plant No. 51".
The revival of the organization coincided with the advent of supersonic jet aircraft and the development of second-generation machines. The government commissioned the Sukhoi Design Bureau to create two types of fighters: a front-line and an interceptor. The team began work on two variants at once, assigning ciphers to the products: T – triangular wing, C – swept. Supersonic S-1 and T-3 fighters have become the main areas of work for the next ten years.
In September 1955, the C-1 front-line fighter took to the air for the first time, and in 1957 its serial production began under the name Su-7. Over the course of 15 years, more than 1,800 Su-7 aircraft have been produced. Deliveries of the fighter were made to nine countries around the world. Then the T-3 interceptor fighter was designed, which became the prototype of the Su-9 and Su-11 interceptors. Aircraft of this type throughout the 1960s remained the fastest in Soviet military aviation and were in service with the USSR Air Force until the 1980s.
In 1965, plant No. 51 was renamed the Moscow Machine-Building Plant (MMZ) "Kulon". And since 1975 – MMZ named after P.O. Sukhoi.
In the 1960s, serial production of the Su-17, developed back in the late 1940s, began. Its peculiarity was that it was equipped with a wing with a variable geometry. This aircraft has been used in many international conflicts.
On August 24, 1965, the USSR government issued a decree on the development of the Su-24 front-line bomber. It was adopted in 1975. The main advantage of these machines is the ability to maneuver at low and ultra–low altitudes, maintaining supersonic speed. Today, the Su-24 is equipped with the Hephaestus complex, which provides high accuracy of destruction even with free-falling ammunition.
In the 1970s, the Su-25 maneuverable armored subsonic attack aircraft was developed. It is designed to support ground forces over the battlefield day and night with visual visibility of the target, the destruction of objects with specified coordinates around the clock in any weather conditions. It was adopted by the end of the 1980s.
In May 1977, the first prototype of the Su-27 took to the sky. It was developed as a fourth-generation fighter to replace the Su-24. The machine became the first domestic fighter with an electric control system. The Su-27 is rightfully recognized as one of the main symbols of Russian military aviation in the second half of the 20th century. Its creation became the largest defense project of the country in the 1970s and 1980s with the participation of hundreds of enterprises of the USSR. 59 world records were set on the modifications of the aircraft, its maneuverability and stability were confirmed by performing the most difficult aerobatics. Su-27UB, Su-30, Su-32, Su-33 were created on the basis of the Su-27.
The Su-30 two-seat fighter became a further development of the twenty-seventh family and belongs to the 4+ generation. He made his first test flight in 1988, in the 1990s, an export version was created on its basis - the Su–30MK, which was launched into the series in two main modifications.
Since 1986, the Su-34 fighter-bomber of the 4++ generation has also begun to be developed. It is capable of performing combat missions in operational and tactical depth without the support of cover fighters.
In the 2000s, the Su-35 was developed - the youngest of the "heirs" of the basic Su-27. Its deep modernization, in terms of its characteristics, except for its low visibility, corresponds to fifth-generation fighters. Today it is the most modern fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The experience gained by the Sukhoi Design Bureau team over many decades has also made it possible to create a family of aerobatic sports aircraft Su-26, Su-29, Su-31. Their acrobatic models are still considered one of the best in the world. On these machines, the USSR and Russian national aerobatics team won 330 medals at the World and European championships, including 156 gold.
In the early 1990s, the bureau launched work on civil issues.
In 2001, the Su-80GP cargo and passenger aircraft and the Su-38L agricultural aircraft made their first flights. In recent years, the Sukhoi Design Bureau has often been involved in work in the interests of its subsidiary, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. One of them was assistance in the development of the Superjet SSJ-100 aircraft.
Since 2006, Sukhoi Design Bureau has been a part of the United Aircraft Corporation.
In the period from 2011 to 2020, the bureau carried out a comprehensive technical re-equipment, the purpose of which was to move to a new level of design and testing of aviation equipment through the development of breakthrough technologies of aviation complexes with a competitive advantage over foreign analogues by 30-50%.
In June 2022, PJSC UAC announced a merger with Sukhoi and MiG enterprises. The reorganization completed one of the important stages of the UAC's corporate transformation, which includes, among other things, the transition from a three-tier to a two-tier management structure.
In total, during its history, the company has developed more than 150 aircraft designs for various purposes and mass-produced more than ten thousand aircraft units, two thousand of them were delivered to 30 countries around the world.
More than 50 world records have been set on Su aircraft.
Currently, Sukhoi provides a full cycle of work in the aircraft industry – from design to maintenance – and implements programs for the production of military aircraft: Su-27SMZ, Su-30MK2, Su-33, Su-34, Su-35.
One of the latest developments of the Sukhoi Design Bureau is the newest fifth–generation fighter Su-57 (a promising aviation complex of front-line aviation, T-50), combining the functions of an attack aircraft and a fighter. One of the significant features is its low visibility.
In 2019, serial production of the Su-57 began.
PJSC Sukhoi Company includes a corporate center, a design bureau with offices in Moscow, Zhukovsky, Akhtubinsk, Taganrog, Novosibirsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Irkutsk, and serial aircraft factories – Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yu.A. Gagarin and Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
