The Russian Navy plans to modernize Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-based aircraft. The first improved version of Su-33 carrier-based fighter with “Gefest” SVP-24 targeting system was spotted at M. M. Gromov Flight Research Institute. That was reported by military-informant.com.
The upgraded Su-33 fighter is fitted the “Gefest” SVP-24 targeting system for employing non-guided munitions. The SVP-24 enables the Su-33 to use a panoply of weapons against ground targets with surgical accuracy under any weather and climatic conditions.
According to open sources, the rest of the Su-33, will be modernized directly in the places of permanent deployment.
The “Gefest” SVP-24 is a Russian advanced targeting system affords free-fall bombs the accuracy similar to that of smart bombs. The SVP-24 has now been confirmed to be mounted on the Russian SU-24s, SU-25s, Tu-22M3 “Backfires” and the Ka-52 helicopters. In other words, it can be deployed on practically *any* rotary or fixed wing aircraft, from big bombers to small trainers.
The Su-33 is a single-seat multirole carrier-based conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) fighter aircraft. It is manufactured by Sukhoi in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia. The aircraft has been principally designed and developed to meet the requirements of the Russian Navy.
The aircraft is derived from its predecessor, the Su-27, and its Nato reporting name is Flanker-D. It performed its maiden flight in May 1985 and entered into service in 1994.