Saturn AL-41

AL-41F
AL-41F1S engine
Type Turbofan
National origin Russia
Manufacturer NPO Saturn

The AL-41F is a designation for two different Russian military turbofan engine variants. The NPO Saturn AL-41F is a Russian variable-bypass ratio turbofan engine, designed for supercruise flight for the MFI (Mnogofunktsionalni Frontovoy Istrebitel, "Multifunctional Frontline Fighter") program, which resulted in the Mikoyan Project 1.44. It is considered by Jane's as the Russian counterpart to the General Electric YF120 engine which lost to the more conventional fixed-bypass YF-119 in the Advanced Tactical Fighter engine program. Since the cancellation of the MFI program, the AL-41F1S and AL-41F1 designation was assigned to heavily upgraded AL-31F variants that powers the Su-35S and initial production Sukhoi Su-57 stealth aircraft.

Design and development

The AL-41F program was launched in 1982, and the first prototype engine flew in a MiG-25 Foxbat testbed. Originally developed for the Mikoyan Project 1.44,[1] 28 engines were built, however the engine did not advance beyond prototype stage when the MiG 1.44 was cancelled.

The AL-41 designation was reused for heavily upgraded variants of the Saturn AL-31 used to power the Sukhoi Su-35 (Izdeliye 117S/AL-41F1S) and initial production Sukhoi Su-57 (Izdeliye 117/AL-41F1) stealth aircraft. Some of the technologies of the original AL-41F were applied in the Izdeliye 117S, 117 and 30 engines.

Variants

A heavily upgraded version of the AL-31F was developed for the Sukhoi Su-35 and is being developed also for the Sukhoi Su-57. These engines has been named (Izdeliye 117S/AL-41F1S) and (Izdeliye 30). It is important to note that the AL-41F1S is not considered a part of the same AL-41 line as was planned for the Mikoyan Project 1.44 because it uses the core of the AL-31F, whereas the AL-41F utilizes an entirely different approach. The designation is present because the engine approaches the projected specifications of the AL-41F. It is also notable that the engine is capable of mounting 3D thrust vectoring nozzles for extra maneuverability.

Operators

Specifications

General characteristics

Components

Performance

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Butowski, Piotr. "Raptorski's Maiden Flight". Air International, Vol. 78, No 3, March 2010, pp. 30–37. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing.
  • Butowski, Piotr. "T-50 Turning and Burning over Moscow". Air International, Vol. 85, No 4, October 2013, pp. 79–82. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing.
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