How did the Su-30 fighter pilot escape?

97% of pilots who used the K-36 ejection seat to escape in an emergency situation were able to return to normal flight.

A Russian Air Force Su-30 fighter jet. Photo: Sputnik

The Su-30 is a modern multi-role fighter, capable of long-range operations and performing many flexible flight maneuvers. However, this 4th generation fighter has encountered many incidents during flights, and at that time, the pilot can only rely on one "treasure" to save his life, which is the K-36 ejection seat.

The K-36 ejection seat system began to be researched and produced by Russia's NPP Zvezda corporation in the early 1980s to be installed on many types of this country's fighter aircraft, from Su-25, Su-27, Su-30, Mig-29 to the 5th generation fighter Sukhoi T-50, according to DefenseNews.

To date, Zvezda has produced a total of more than 12,000 K-36 ejection seats, and about 97% of pilots who have had to use this system in an emergency situation have been able to continue their flying careers, one of the highest rates in the world aviation industry.

Zvezda has continuously improved its ejection seat system to meet the escape needs of pilots on increasingly faster and higher flying fighter jets, and the K-36DM ejection seat version equipped on the Su-30 fighter is considered one of the best escape systems in the world today for military pilots.

The K-36DM ejection seat system is an emergency escape method for pilots at various speeds and altitudes during flight, and is used in conjunction with other protective equipment such as anti-pressure suits to save the pilot's life.

A Russian K-36 ejection seat system. Photo: Aviationist

The K-35DM ejection seat consists of a launch rocket, gearbox, life-saving headrest system, and many other necessary equipment to ensure that the pilot can safely eject from the cockpit in the shortest time when the aircraft encounters an accident.

With its compact design, the K-36DM ejection seat can fit into most fighter aircraft in the world, meeting international standards for any pilot, from female pilots weighing only 44 kg to male pilots weighing up to 111 kg. The pilot's weight will be calculated by the computer and necessary adjustments will be made to the firing equipment and jet rocket engine to be able to safely eject the pilot from the cockpit.

The K-36DM ejection seat also allows the pilot to move more comfortably than previous versions, while the pilot's vision above and behind is also significantly improved thanks to the reduced size of the headrest.

This seat can ensure the pilot's safe escape when the plane reaches a speed of 0 to 1,400 km/h, at an altitude of 0 to 24,000 meters. At high altitudes, where the air is very thin, the KKO-15 protective and oxygen supply device attached to the seat will provide enough oxygen for the pilot. Together with the parachute system, survival kit, emergency oxygen system and flares, the entire ejection seat weighs about 103 kg.

In an emergency, such as a loss of control of the aircraft, the pilot will activate the emergency ejection system. Immediately the cockpit cover will be pushed out by the propellant charges, the jet propellant is activated, pushing the entire pilot's seat out of the falling aircraft.

The moment the pilot's ejection seat flew out of the cockpit when the plane crashed. Photo: Aviationist

The K-36DM ejection seat is equipped with a multi-program electronic control system, which is connected to the aircraft's data exchange system. This system calculates factors such as the aircraft's speed, altitude, tilt and descent velocity to optimize the seat's ejection trajectory, minimizing the risk of injury to the pilot.

To reduce the altitude required for successful seat ejection, NPP Zvezda also optimized the launch time by increasing the parachute deployment speed, and the rocket engine separated immediately after the seat successfully ejected from the aircraft at a high angle.

The effectiveness of the K-36 ejection seat system has been demonstrated in many events, typically the incident that occurred at the Paris Air Show in 1989, when pilot Anatoly Kvochur successfully ejected from his Mig-29 fighter jet when the aircraft was only a few meters away from crashing to the ground. In 1993, two pilots also escaped death using this ejection seat system after two Mig-29s collided in the sky over Fairford, England.

According to VNE