High Performance · ICAO SU7

Sukhoi Su-7

The Sukhoi Su-7 was a powerful Soviet fighter-bomber built for high-speed low-level strike missions. Its swept wings and large afterburning engine gave it impressive speed, but early versions needed long runways and had limited range. Later Su-7s served widely with Soviet allies, including India, where they flew ground-attack missions in the 1971 war. The type was an important predecessor to the variable-sweep Su-17 family.

Sukhoi Su-7, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Igor123121 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

Its thin, sharply-swept wing gave excellent speed but very high landing speeds, so Su-7 pilots relied on twin braking parachutes to stop in time.

Specifications

Length18 m (59 ft)
Wingspan9.3 m (31 ft)
Height5 m (16 ft)
Persons on board1
Crew1
Maximum take-off weight13.9 t
Range600 NM (1,111 km)
Maximum speed1,160 kt (2,148 km/h)
Service ceiling55,000 ft (16,764 m)
Rate of climb31,500 ft/min (160 m/s)
Take-off distance1,250 m (4,101 ft)
Fuel capacity2,350 l
Engines1x Lyulka AL-7F-1
Units built1,847

Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.

In CatchFlights

In CatchFlights the Sukhoi Su-7 starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.

A catch counts for the manufacturer Sukhoi, the Su-7 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.

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