Zveda ejection seat considerable improvement on its predessor the K-36D

Published: 11/15/1999

The Zvezda Scientific Production Association has designed a new generation basic ejection seat for combat aircraft, the K-36D-3, 5, which is in the final stages of trials at a flying laboratory and at the ground test beds. According to a report by Gai Severin, General Designer, General Director of Zvezda Scientific-Production Association in Aviapanorama, a broad range of tests have shown that the new seat possesses substantially better characteristics than its K-36D predecessor of which 12,000 were manufactured. This latest version of the ejection seat has won praise from Russia's leading design bureaux, has been chosen for mounting on Su-30MK, Su-27KUB, Yak-130 and MiG AT. Its modular construction and the reduction of the seat's weight by 25 kilograms and dimensions by 15-20 mm, according to Zvezda, means it can be adapted for various aircraft types and the broad range of weights required to cover male and female pilots. One of its key characteristics is the use of an electronic control system, integrating separate systems and the trajectory of the seat during ejection with the aircraft's information system. By analysing the parameters of the aircraft's movement at the moment of ejection, the computer governing the seat ejection, adapts to the particular circumstances of the aircraft in order to provide the safest ejection. During ejection from an aircraft flying with a roll, the trajectory control is activated giving sufficient altitude to deploy the parachute. At ground level in a roll of 75%-80, the main engine of the seat is not activated, and the parachute is deployed immediately after the seat's separation from the aircraft allowing a significant reduction in the minimum safe ejection altitude. A function demonstrated to spectacular effect during the recent Su-30MK crash at the Paris Air Show, where a low altitude ejection in a very unfavourable aircraft position, saw the crew walk away from a potentially fatal situation. The new seat has also been made more comfortable. To increase the pilot's ability to bear the overloads that occur during aerial combat, the bearing surfaces of the seat have been improved. Upper hemisphere visibility has also been improved through the reduction of the head cushion. The seat can be adjusted to meet the requirements of foreign customers, such as accommodating foreign manufactured oxygen equipment, and integration with the pilot's protective suit. Maintenance costs have also been reduced. In particular, the powder charges used in the seat have a 20-25 year life span. The technical development of the seat is such that ejection safety has been significantly increased within a broad range of flight altitude and speed (0-25km/1,400km/h, Mach 3). The Zvezda Scientific Production Association has been one of the few success stories of contemporary aerospace in Russia, with it products held in such high regard by the global industry. It has been reported that even the US Air Force have considered and evaluated the use of Zvezda's products in fighter aircraft including the F-22 Raptor.

Article ID: 1077