Tuesday, October 13, 2009

DTN News: Kazakh Su-24 Attack Aircraft Drops A Bomb On Residential Area

DTN News: Kazakh Su-24 Attack Aircraft Drops A Bomb On Residential Area
*Source: DTN News / RIA Novosti
(NSI News Source Info) ASTANA, Kazakhstan - October 13, 2009: An Su-24 Fencer fighter-bomber has accidentally dropped a bomb on a house in southern Kazakhstan, which did not explode, Kazakh military prosecutors said. Designed from the outset as an all-weather, low-level attack aircraft, the Sukhoi Su-24 'Fencer' bears a resemblance to the American F-111, altough the Soviet jet is somewhat smaller. Entering service after the F-111, but before the Tornado, the 'Fencer is comparable in performance with the two premier Western interdictors, being somewhat faster and with better rough field capability, but having less advanced avionics and attack systems. The Su-24 Fencer has a combat radius only 300 km less than that of the F 111E/F and equal to the Mirage IV A, At least 500 attack 'Fencers' were built. The type is also used for maritime strike/reconnaissance and for electronic jamming/Sigint/reconnaissance. The eight weapons pylons beneath the Su-24's fuselage, wing gloves and outer wing panels can carry a wide variety of weaponry, ranging from tactical and defence-suppression bombs and missiles through to nuclear weapons. The wings are high-mounted, variable, swept-back, and tapered. There are twin turbofan engines. The air intakes are tapered away from the body, rectangular-shaped, and mounted on the body forward of the wings’ leading edges. There are twin exhausts. The fuselage is long, slender, with pointed, solid nose, and rectangular-shaped body from the air intakes to the exhausts. There are two belly fins and four pylons. There is a bubble canopy. The dorsal spine extends from the cockpit to the tail. The tail fin is swept-back and tapered with square tip. The flats are high-mounted on the fuselage, swept-back, and tapered with angular tips.The chief designer of the plane between 1965 and 1985 was Ye.S. Felsner, and then, from 1985, work was headed by L.A. Logvinov. The total production of the Su-24 type was about 1,400 planes. The Su-24/Su-24M was the only type of modern domestically-produced frontline bomber and forms the backbone of the strike capability of the frontal aviation of the Air Forces of the RF and Ukraine. The Design Bureau has been implementing a joint program with the Air Forces to upgrade combat aircraft since 1999.* The 120-mm high-explosive bomb fell off the plane during a training flight in the Almaty region at about 07.00 GMT on Monday. "The bomb fell on a house but did not explode. There were no casualties in the accident," Kazakhstan's main military prosecutor's office said in a statement. According to the prosecutors, who launched a probe in the accident, the sappers have already disarmed the bomb. Kazakhstan's Air and Air Defense Forces have at least 30 Su-24 attack aircraft in active service.
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