Global InformationSupermaneuverability information
Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can involve controlled side-slipping or angles of attack beyond maximum lift.[1]
This capability was researched beginning in 1975 at the Langley Research Center in the United States, and eventually resulted in the development of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD as a proof of concept aircraft. The Saab 35 Draken was another early aircraft with limited supermaneuverable capabilities.
In 1983, the MiG-29 and in 1986, the Sukhoi Su-27 were deployed with this capability, which has since become standard in all of Russia's fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft. There has been some speculation, but the mechanism behind the supermaneuverability of the Russian-built aircraft has not been publicly disclosed. However, post-stall analyses have been increasingly used in recent years to advance maneuverability via the use of thrust vectoring engine nozzles.[2]
Russian emphasis on close-range slow-speed supermaneuverability runs counter to Western energy–maneuverability theory, which favors retaining kinetic energy to gain an increasingly better array of maneuvering options the longer an engagement endures.[3] The USAF abandoned the concept as counter-productive to BVR engagements as the Cobra maneuver leaves the aircraft in a state of near-zero energy, having bled off most of its speed without gaining any compensating altitude in the process. Except in one-on-one engagements, this leaves the aircraft very vulnerable to both missile and gun attack by a wingman or other hostile, even if the initial threat overshoots the supermaneuvered aircraft.
- ^ Gal-Or, Benjamin (2013). Vectored Propulsion, Supermaneuverability and Robot Aircraft. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 92. ISBN 9781461389613. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ Gal-Or, Benjamin (2001) [1990], Vectored Propulsion, Supermaneuverability, and Robot Aircraft, Springer, ISBN 0-387-97161-0, USAF & NATO Report RTO-TR-015 AC/323/(HFM-015)/TP-1,
alternate ISBN 3-540-97161-0
. - ^ Sweetman, Bill (June 24, 2013). "Sukhoi Test Pilot Explains 'Supermaneuverability'". Aviation week. Penton. Retrieved February 23, 2014.