Sukhoi Su-35BM??

[TovarishSamsonShekovich]

I found this picture from http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Flanker.html
Is this the new Su-35 that Pogosyan was talking about?The aircraft seems very new,but with different rudders from the original Su-35 and canards are missing.Even if it is not the new Su-35,I am pretty sure it is not a normal Su-27 either,because it has two front landing gear wheels,and there is no antenna extended from the front end of the radome(which standard Su's have except for Su-35 and 37).Can any one tell me is this the Su-35BM as it is mentioned from the link above?

[osuorsa]

I found that pic too last summer...I'm not sure is it really the Su-35BM or an SU-35 demonstration and test bed for it...The source I found said the BM stands for Big Morernization (Can't be sure about it). It was then said to have AL-41F1A engines and fully class-cockpit...

Anothe pic...

[Carlo]

According to what Sergey Kuznetsov told us, the new Su-35 is still being built, and will first fly by the time of MAKS 2007. So I don't think this is the new Su-35.
And according to what says in the site where you found this pic, this is an upgraded Su-35. So it is not the new Su-35, we will have to wait some months more to see it.
Anyway, I was having a look at that web page, seems that Australians are pretty much worried about Chineses, Indian and Indonesian Flankers...

[osuorsa]

Yeah....as I supposed. Really looking forward to see it on MAKS 2007

[Carlo]

Anyway, this doesn't seem to be a Su-35. Apart from the missing canard, the tail fin are shorter, and the nose is like that of a Su-27, not the thicker one of Su-35. The only thing it has of a Su-35 is the double wheel in the front gear, as Tovarish noticed. Apart from this, it looks more like a Su-27SM.

[Carlo]

And another thing that it has like the Su-35: no pitot tube on the nose, like Tovarish also noticed.
So what is this aircraft? A mix of Su-35 and Su-27SM?

[TovarishSamsonShekovich]

Yeah,and it looks extremely new..

[TovarishSamsonShekovich]

oh yea,one more thing differs from the traditional Su-27s,there are 3 weapon loading hangers below the wing on each side.

[osuorsa]

Sukhoi has had many testbed fighters modified from its older planes to test and demonstrate new systems for new planes...So, I still think that this '-BM' (Big Modernization if its correct) could be a testbed for the actual new Sukhoi Su-35.

On some forum it's said that the Su-35BM is just a model (demo plane) for the new Su-35 and if I remember right the new su-35 wont have canards...The same forum also said it to have Irbis radar...

It ultimately seems to be a bit confusing because it seems for me that the -BM is not even an official name for the plane. It's more like a marketing name etc...

[osuorsa]

Yes! Here you are guys!

Su-35BM

In December 2003, after the Su-27SM modernization program had been deemed a success, Russia announced that it would proceed with the so-called "big modernization" program. The modernized aircraft is called the Su-35BM (also T-10BM) by Sukhoi, but it is not yet known what name will be adopted by the Russian Air Force. The Su-35BM program is to be a deep modernization of existing airframes, not newly produced aircraft.

The main new feature of the aircraft is to be a new radar. It has not yet been decided whether it will be the Phazotron-NIIR N031 Sokol or the Tikhomirov NIIP Irbis. The first is actually the well-known Zhuk radar with a passively scanned phased array, while the Irbis is a version of the N011M Bars-M, also with a passively scanned phased array. In 2003 a new phased-array antenna was tested for Indian Su-30MKI aircraft, but it achieved only +/-45 degrees of horizontal field of view, instead of the planned +/-70 degrees. The remaining angle of 25 degrees was achieved mechanically via a hydraulic servo, which was an unsatisfactory solution. The Irbis is to differ from the Bars-M by having quick servos that are tightly synchronized with the radar electronics to achieve the 70 degrees of scan on either side of the fighter's axis. Sources says that NIIP's solution is preferred by the Russian Air Force, since NIIP radar sets were all proven in service. The radar is to have similar capabilities to the N011M Bars-M. The detection range of a fighter airplane (170 km) and a destroyer-sized naval target (300 km) more or less matches the N011M's performance.

The Su-35BM is also to receive a small radar in a tail "stinger" to monitor the rear hemisphere. It is to be a NIIR N012 Kopyo-DL with a passively scanned phased-array antenna with a range of about 50-70 km. The unique arrangement indicates that Russia does not plan to rely as heavily on data exchange networks to maintain situational awareness, although the Aist data-exchange system for the Air Force is under development.

The weapons set for the Su-35BM is to be the same as the Su-27SM. Among the new weapons in development is a long-range air-to-air missile with required range of 300 km. Since the range is beyond radar range, external information is required to prepare the missile for launch. Two or four such missiles are to be carried. The missile is to be developed from either the Novator KS-172 technology demonstrator or the Vympel R-37M missile, also proposed for the MiG-31. Sukhoi prefers the first solution, and one can say that it is part of Sukhoi's long-standing strategy to prompt the Air Force to "kill" the MiG-31s and replace them with the Su-27 family of aircraft.

The Su-35BM is also to receive a totally new self-protection system. It was developed by KNIRTI (Zhukov near Kaluga, Russia) and is designated the L-175M Khibiny-M. It has an integrated electronic-support-measures system of high accuracy, a separate display in the cockpit, a digital processor, and an integrated active radio-frequency jammer with pods on the wingtips. Probably in the future, the aircraft will also receive a missile-approach-warning system and a towed decoy (for example, the Lobushka). The aircraft will have RAM coatings and some internal changes to increase stealth features, such as a new windshield and canopy of slightly different shape covered with radar-absorbent material.

The modernized Su-27SM, together with the modernized Su-25SM and Su-24M, will form the core of the Russian Air Force for the next two decades, and this could lead to the complete withdrawal of MiG-29 aircraft, which are not going to be modernized. While the MiG-29SMT represents the ultimate modernization variant for this undervalued aircraft, without dividing the upgrade into phases, it could not be presently afforded by Russia. The Sukhoi approach, with "small" and "big" modernizations, was much more realistic and ultimately triumphant.