NPP Zvezda K-36

The Zvezda K-36 is a series of ejection seats made by NPP Zvezda. Variants of this ejection seat have been used on a variety of aircraft, including the Su-25, Su-27, MiG-29, Su-30 and the Su-57.

K-36
A contemporary variant of the K-36DM ejection seat for modern Russian fighter aircraft.

Design

The K-36 Ejection seat provides emergency escape for a crew member in a wide range of speeds and altitudes of aircraft flight, from zero altitude, zero speed (zero-zero) upwards, and can be used in conjunction with protective equipment, such as pressure suits and anti-g garments. The seat consists of the ejection rocket firing mechanism, gear box, headrest rescue system with a dome stowed in the headrest, and other operating systems all of which are aimed at providing a safe bail-out.

Variants

• K-36D and K-36DM: Used on the MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30^[1][2][3]
• K-36D-3.5: Improved variant providing accommodation for pilots with sitting heights from 810 to 980 mm
• K-36D-5: Improved variant for the Sukhoi Su-35 and Sukhoi Su-57^[4]
• K-36L-3.5Y: Lightweight version used on the Yak-130.
• K-36LM: Used in the Tu-160 Blackjack^[5]
• K-36RB: Variant used on Buran programme
• K-36VM: Automatic ejection system (SKE) used successfully 20/20 times in the Yak-38^[6]

Ejections

The K-36D-5 is used on the Sukhoi Su-35 and Sukhoi Su-57.

At the 1989 Paris Air Show when Anatoly Kvochur successfully completed a low-altitude ejection from a MiG-29 just prior to ground impact. Two more pilots survived when a pair of MiG-29s collided over Fairford, England, in 1993 at the Royal International Air Tattoo.^[7]

On 27 July 2002, during an air show at Sknyliv Airfield, a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27UB collided with the ground during an aerobatics demonstration. The pilots Vladimir Toponar and Yuri Egorov were able to eject from the aircraft from close to ground level. The incident was the deadliest air show accident in history.

Sakówko Ejection Failure accident

On 5 July 2018, a Polish Air Force MiG-29 of the 41st Aviation Squadron crashed in the vicinity of Sakówko, Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship.^[8] The body of the pilot, Porucznik Krzysztof Sobański, a 33 year old pilot with extensive flight experience in the MiG-29, was found still attached to his K-36 ejector seat. it was evident that while the ejector seat had catapulted itself away from the aircraft, its parachute had failed to deploy, and its seat failed to separate from the pilot. As a result, the Polish Air Force additionally suspended operations of all Soviet era aircraft, leaving the American origin F-16 Fighting Falcon as the only operational combat aircraft in its inventory.

Polish news outlet Onet reported that a primary contributing factor to the crash had been a result of insufficient maintenance performed at the Military Aviation Works No. 2 repair plant in Bydgoszcz. Following the breakdown of political relations between Russia and Poland, the factory had attempted to acquire third-party spare parts from Belarus, Ukraine and India. Several parts were replaced, including the seats ejection rings. However, these rings were not original parts acquired or in specification with those from NPP Zvezda. During ejection , an explosion breaks the ring, causing the parachute to deploy and jettisoning the seat. If the ring strength was too high, it could cause the explosion to be unable to break the ring, thus not deploying the parachute.

In 2019, the Polish Armaments Group released the following statement, acknowledging the :

Today we know that in 2011 an error was made at the stage of detail design, which was not detected in the process of checking and implementing parts for production. After the MIG-29 plane crash in which the pilot died, WZL-2 carried out an internal audit to examine the circumstances of entering the ring in 2011. The material was handed over to the prosecutor's office. The employment relationship was terminated with people directly involved in the design process of this ring.

Applications

• Sukhoi Su-24
• Sukhoi Su-25
• Sukhoi Su-27
• Sukhoi Su-30
• Sukhoi Su-34
• Sukhoi Su-35
• Sukhoi Su-37
• Sukhoi Su-47
• Sukhoi Su-57
• Mikoyan MiG-29
• Mikoyan MiG-29K
• Mikoyan MiG-31
• Mikoyan MiG-35
• Mikoyan MiG 1.44
• Yakovlev Yak-38
• Yakovlev Yak-130
• Yakovlev Yak-141
• Tupolev Tu-22M
• Tupolev Tu-160

Proposed

• HAL Tejas
• FMA IA-63 Pampa

See also

• NPP Zvezda SKS-94