Hugh Harkins

Su-34 Hugh Harkins

Su-34The Sukhoi Su-34 'Fullback' strike fighter was developed from the Sukhoi Su-27 'Flanker' air superiority fighter as a 4th+ generation stike aircraft for service with the VKS - Russian Federation Air Force - from the second decade of the twenty first century. The Su-34 was designed to replace the Russian Federations aging fleet of Sukhoi Su-24M/2 variable-geometry strike aircraft and possibly the Su-24MR in the tactical reconnaissance role. Conceived under the T-10V program in the twilight years of the Soviet Union - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - the design weathered the financial crisis that gripped Russia following the break-up of that union on 25 December 1991. The T-10V matured into an advanced strike aircraft, deliveries to the Russian Federation Air Force commencing in second half of the first decade of the twenty first century. This volume covers the program from conception to operational service with chapters describing the aircraft design, development, production, systems, weapons complexes and strike operations flown by the Russian Aerospace Group supporting the Syrian Arab Republic in the civil war that gripped that nation in the 2010's.