The Su-24 has a shoulder-mounted variable geometry wing outboard of a relatively small fixed wing glove, swept at 69°. The wing has four sweep settings: 16° for take-off and landing, 35° and 45° for cruise at different altitudes, and 69° for minimum aspect ratio and wing area in low-level dashes. The variable geometry wing provides excellent STOL performance, allowing a landing speed of 230 km/h (143 mph), even lower than the Sukhoi Su-17 despite substantially greater take-off weight. Its high wing loading provides a stable low-level ride and minimal gust response.
General characteristics
- Crew: Two (pilot and weapons system operator)
- Length: 22.53 m (73 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 17.64 m extended, 10.37 m maximum sweep (57 ft 10 in / 34 ft 0 in)
- Height: 6.19 m (20 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 55.2 m² (594 ft²)
- Empty weight: 22,300 kg (49,165 lb)
- Loaded weight: 38,040 kg (83,865 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 43,755 kg (96,505 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Saturn/Lyulka AL-21F-3A turbojets
- Dry thrust: 75 kN (16,860 lbf) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 109.8 kN (24,675 lbf) each
- Fuel capacity: 11,100 kg (24,470 lb)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 1,315 km/h (710 kn, 815 mph, Mach 1.08) at sea level; Mach 1.35 at high altitude
- Combat radius: 615 km in a low-flying (lo-lo-lo) attack mission with 3,000 kg (6,615 lb) ordnance and external tanks ()
- Ferry range: 2,775 km (1,500 nm, 1,725 mi)
- Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,090 ft)
- Rate of climb: 150 m/s (29,530 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 651 kg/m² (133 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.60
- G-force limit: 6 g
- Takeoff roll: 1,550 m (5,085 ft)
- Landing roll: 1,100 m (3,610 ft)
Armament
- 1 × GSh-6-23 cannon, 500 rounds of ammunition
- Up to 8,000 kg (17,640 lb) ordnance on 8 hardpoints, including up to 4 × Kh-23 radio-command missiles; up to 4 × Kh-25ML laser-guided missiles; up to 2 × Kh-28, Kh-58, or Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles; up to 3 × Kh-29L/T laser/TV-guided missiles; up to 2 × Kh-59 TV-command guided missiles, or KAB-500KR TV-guided and KAB-500L laser-guided bombs.
- Unguided rocket launchers with 55 mm S-5 rockets, 80 mm S-8 rockets, or 120 mm S-13 rockets
- Other weapon options include general-purpose bombs, external gun pods, and tactical nuclear bombs.
- 2 × R-60 air-to-air missiles are normally carried for self-defense; upgrade aircraft can carry R-73 as well.
The Su-24 had two Saturn/Lyulka AL-21F-3A afterburning turbojet engines with 109.8 kN (24,700 lbf) thrust each, fed with air from two rectangular side mounted intakes with splitter plates/boundary-layer diverters.
In early Su-24 ("Fencer A" according to NATO) aircraft these intakes had variable ramps, allowing a maximum speed of 2,320 km/h (1,440 mph), Mach 2.18, at altitude and a ceiling of some 17,500 m (57,400 ft). Because the Su-24 is used almost exclusively for low-level missions, the actuators for the variable intakes were deleted to reduce weight and maintenance. This has no effect on low-level performance, but absolute maximum speed and altitude are cut to Mach 1.35 and 11,000 m (36,100 ft). The earliest Su-24 had a box-like rear fuselage, which was shortly changed in production to a rear exhaust shroud more closely shaped around the engines in order to reduce drag. The revised aircraft also gained three side-by-side antenna fairings in the nose, a repositioned braking chute, and a new ram-air inlet at the base of the tailfin. The revised aircraft were dubbed "Fencer-B" by NATO, but did not merit a new Soviet designation.
The Su-24's fixed armament is a single fast-firing GSh-6-23 cannon with 500 rounds of ammunition, mounted in the fuselage underside. The gun is covered with an eyelid shutter when not in use. There are eight external hardpoints (two under the inner wing glove, two swiveling pylons under the outer wing, and four on the fuselage) for a maximum warload of 8,000 kg (17,600 lb), including various nuclear weapons. Two or four R-60 (NATO AA-8 'Aphid') infrared missiles are usually carried for self-defense.
Initial Su-24s had basic electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment, with many Su-24s limited to the old Sirena radar-warning receiver with no integral jamming system. Later-production Su-24s had more comprehensive radar warning, missile-launch warning, and active ECM equipment, with triangular antennas on the sides of the intakes and the tip of the vertical fin. This earned the NATO designation "Fencer-C", although again it did not have a separate Soviet designation. Some "Fencer-C" and later Su-24M ("Fencer-D" by NATO) have large wing fence/pylons on the wing glove portion with integral chaff/flare dispensers; others have such launchers scabbed onto either side of the tailfin.
