Sukhoi T-4

T-4 at Monino museum

Sukhoi T-4, or "Aircraft 100", or "Project 100", or "Sotka" was a Soviet high speed reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes incorrectly named Su-100.

Development

Despite design similarities the Sukhoi T-4 was not intended as a Soviet equivalent of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber, but was rather intended to take advantage of many of the XB-70's aeronautic innovations to develop a smaller reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft capable of reaching Mach 3. In this respect the T-4 is more closely a Soviet attempt to develop an aircraft comparable to the proposed North American XF-108 Rapier.

The T-4 was made largely from titanium and stainless steel, and featured a primitive fly-by-wire control system but also employed a mechanical system as a backup. The aircraft's nose lowered to provide visibility during takeoff and landing. A periscope was used for forward viewing when the nose was retracted, and could be employed at speeds of up to 373 mph (600 km/h). Braking parachutes were used in addition to conventional wheel brakes.

Testing

The first T-4, designated "101," first flew on August 22, 1972. The test pilot was Vladimir Ilyushin, son of famed aircraft designer, Sergei Ilyushin. It has flown only ten times for a total of less than eleven hours. It is believed to have reached at least Mach 1.3 using four Kolesov RD36-41 engines. These engines each produced 16,000 kgf (35,300 lbf or 157 kN) thrust with afterburners. The aircraft was designed to achieve speeds of up to Mach 3.0, but the program was canceled before the full performance of the aircraft could be reached. The T-4 is also believed to be the "aircraft 101" that set a 2000 km circuit speed record of mach 1.89. This would seem to indicate that it couldn't cruise at it's designed speed of almost Mach 3 and could be a reason the program was canceled.

Survivors

One T-4 survives today. Aircraft "101" is on display at the Monino Museum near Moscow. At least two additional prototypes ("102" and "103") were under construction, but only aircraft "101" was completed and flown before the project was canceled in 1974 or 1975. The other two prototypes were scrapped.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2

Performance

External links

• Sukhoi T-4 "Sotka" at the Russian Air Force Museum

Related content

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Avro 730
• XB-70 Valkyrie

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS