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-30MKI and the Su-57.

K-36
A K-36DM Ejection seat

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.

Operational ejections

Notable ejections using the K-36 include one in 1975, when a Russian Air Force Su-24 from the 63rd Bomber Regiment suffered an accidental ejection when the navigator's control stick snagged the ejection handle of his ejection seat. This was the first ever successful ejection from an aircraft in zero-zero conditions outside of a testing environment.^[1] 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. A first person view video of a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 pilot ejecting during the Russian invasion of Ukraine was posted to the Internet on October 22, 2022.^[2]

Variants

• K-36D and K-36DM: Used on the MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30^[3][4][5]
• 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-57^[6]
• K-36LM: Used in the Tu-160 Blackjack^[7]
• K-36RB: Variant used on Buran programme
• K-36VM: Automatic ejection system (SKE) used successfully 20/20 times in the Yak-38^[8]