Sukhoi Su-37 - Operational History

Operational History

Painted in a disruptive sand and brown scheme, the aircraft was given the code 711 Blue, later changed to 711 White. Its maiden flight occurred at Zhukovsky on 2 April 1996, with Yevgeni Frolov at the controls. The nozzle was locked fully aft throughout the flight, and it was not until the sixth flight that tests on the thrust-vector nozzles commenced. Frolov was joined by Igor Votintsev, and for the next twelve days, the two had amassed twelve flights between them.

The 711 Blue was demonstrated to the press at Zhukovsky in spring 1996, by which time it was re-designated Su-37. Its debut to the general public came in September that year at the Farnborough Airshow, piloted by Sukhoi test pilot Yevgeny Frolov. A big talking point of the show was its performance of the "Super Cobra", when the aircraft pitched up to 180°, literally flying tail first, albeit for only a few seconds; this maneuver evolved into the 360° "Frolov Chakra" somersault. The following year, the aircraft arrived on the fifth and last day of the Paris Air Show to perform five aerial displays, the fourth of which was marred by a minor incident when the emergency undercarriage extension handle was moved, preventing gear retraction. It appeared at that year's MAKS Airshow and Dubai International Defence Exhibition, as well as the 1998 FIDAE air show in Chile; for the latter two the Su-37 appeared under the enigmatic designation, "Su-37MR".

In 1998, a second Su-37 (T10M-12) was similarly converted before making its first flight on 23 March the same year. Flight tests and demonstrations at air shows continued until 2000. In 2001, 711 was outfitted with AL-31F engines and updated fly-by-wire flight control system and avionics. In December 2002, 711 crashed during a ferry flight, effectively bringing an end to the programme; the fault was later traced to a software malfunction. The Su-37 did not reach the production stage, although by mid-2000, Sukhoi introduced several modernizations of Su-27, such as Su-30MKI and second generation Su-35, the Su-35BM, which feature similar improvements such as improved avionics and radar systems, and thrust vectoring engines.