Russian Su-35 fighter makes it impossible for American fighters to become invisible thanks to being equipped with a very special weapon.
Since entering service in 2014, the Russian Su-35 has built a reputation as a 4++ generation fighter, optimized for defeating US stealth aircraft and NATO.
The above comment was made by Military Watch magazine, American analysts have described in detail the sensor and radar system integrated into the Russian fighter.
The American publication notes that the N035 Irbis radar for the Su-35 fighter can track sophisticated targets at a distance of up to 90 km. The fighter also has dual AESA radars on the wings that operate in the X-band.
“The fourth sensor, which has a lower profile and is less widely discussed, but has the decisive ability to identify enemy stealth fighters, is the OLS-35 optical reconnaissance station.”, Military Watch reported.
The Soviet Union was the first country to widely use OLS systems of this type on its MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters since the 1980s. Meanwhile, Su-35 – an improved version of the Su -27, inherits this ability, but in a deeply improved form”.
The Su-27’s OLS-27 system has a range of object detection at a distance of 50 km, while the OLS-35 extends to 90 km, which is 80% farther. At the same time, the Irbis radar identifies a common target with a reflection area of 3 m2 from 400 km away, much more than the 80 km figure for the Su-27’s N001 radar.
“The infrared search and tracking system offers the fighter a number of advantages, including the ability to maintain situational awareness without the use of any radar, thus operating with high visibility market zero”.
“The OLS system is also immune to electronic interference and is optimized to track stealth targets, although it is difficult when the enemy is equipped with thermal signal reduction technology, OLS still recognizes the enemy. The enemy is better placed next to the radar,” the American newspaper clarified.
The Military Watch publication emphasizes that the OLS-35 infrared search and track system on the Su-35 can simultaneously detect and track up to four air targets.
The system is equipped with a laser rangefinder capable of operating against both air and ground targets, and can also be used to indicate targets for laser-guided weapons.
“This system has been repeatedly tested against Western fifth-generation fighters, mainly the US F-22 Raptor stealth fighter on Syrian soil, where the Su-35 has been tested. deployed”.
“The Su-35 used the OLS-35 to clearly identify the F-22 fighter, this is one of the many ways that US Air Force General VeraLinn Jamieson is concerned that the Russian Aerospace Forces will build an ‘information warehouse’. news’ about how American planes operate”.
“It is expected that optical reconnaissance systems such as OLS-35 will remain an indispensable weapon of all future Russian-made fighters, and the Su-57 will use them as sensors. Saturday with 6 AESA radars,” Military Watch clearly stated.
However, the above weapon also has the disadvantage that it greatly increases the radar reflection area of the Russian fighter, which is already very large when placed next to Western fighters.
