Description:
AL-31 is a family of turbofan engines developed to power the Su-27/32 multi-role fighter aircraft family. They were developed by the former Soviet Union and currently are manufactured by NPO Saturn. They deliver between 27,000- and 32,000 pounds of thrust and are one of the keys for Su-27 outstanding performance. Besides growing in thrust, AL-31 have incorporated other advancements such as Thrust Vectoring Control (TVC) providing Super Maneuverability to Su-27/32 aircraft.
The NPO Saturn 117S engine, originally known as the AL-37FU, is the most sophisticated and powerful variant of the AL-31F produced to date. It features 14,500 kg of thrust at takeoff with afterburning, 8,800 kg of thrust maximum non-afterburning, and Thrust Vectoring Control (TVC) system for enhanced aircraft maneuverability similar to that of the AL-31FP engine. The 117S engine has been selected to power the Su-35 and Su-35UB 4+ generation fighter aircraft as well as the Su-37 demonstrator (AL-37FU).
The 117S turbofan engine introduces a wider fan (932mm compared with 905mm in AL-31F), advanced low- and high-pressure turbines, and all new digital control system (FADEC). The service life of 117S engine is 4,000 flight hours with time between overhauls (TBO) increasing by 2x to 1,000 flight hours compared with AL-31F service life of 1,500 flight hours and TBO of 500 hours. The new engine time for first overhaul is 1,500 flight hours.
NPO Saturn built five prototype engines with the first engine entering the test program in March 2004. The engine development was funded by Sukhoi (40%), NPO Saturn (30%) and UMPO (30%). NPO Saturn and UMPO will share the 117S production workload. The first production 117S engine was shipped to KnAAPO in early 2007 to undergo flight tests powering the first Su-35 prototype.
Specifications Dimensions: Fan Diameter 932 mm
Engine/s Performance: Max Thrust non-Afterburning 8,800 kg (19,400 lb), Max Thrust with Afterburning 14,500 kg (31,966 lb)
Performance: Service Life 4,000 hours, Time Between Overhaul 1,000 hours
Operators
Russia
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Notes (*) lead contractor
IOC: Initial Operating Capability
FOC: Full Operating Capability
CEP: Circular Error Probable
Comm: Commissioning Date
Meters (m) Kilometers (km) Nautic Miles (nm) Inch (in) Yard (yd) Foot (ft) Millimeter (mm)
Pound (lb) Kilogram (kg) kN (KiloNewton) Ton (t)
Meters per Second (mps) Kilometers per Hour (kph) Knot (kt) Miles per Hour (mph)
Liter (l) Galon (gl)
Year (yr) Minutes (min) Second (sec)
Shaft-Horse-Power (shp)
Russia