Двигатель РД-33: разработка, модификации и применение.

Russian fighter aircraft engine

The Klimov RD 33 is a turbofan jet engine for a lightweight fighter jet and which is the primary engine for the Mikoyan MiG 29 and CAC/PAC JF 17 Thunder. It was developed in OKB 117 led by S. P. Izotov (now OAO Klimov) from 1968 with production starting in 1981. Previous generations of Russian supersonic fighters such as the MiG 21 and MiG 23 used turbojets, but western fighters such as the F 111 and F 4K introduced the use of afterburning turbofans in the 1960s which were more efficient. The RD 33 was the first afterburning turbofan engine produced by the Klimov company of Russia in the thrust class. It features a modular twin shaft design with individual parts that can be replaced separately.

In early 1970s the RD 33 was selected for new light fighter jet, later becoming Mikoyan MiG 29, the other option was Tumansky R 67 300. Years of development has built an extensive engine family. A newly designed thrust vectoring nozzle (TVN) is now available. New models of the RD 33 family include BARK digital monitoring and control systems. Repair and maintenance of RD 33 engines takes advantage of an information and diagnostics system (IDS).

Baseline model developed in 1976 to power the MiG 29. Development work started in 1968 at the Klimov Design Bureau, led by Sergey Isotov. The first few engines for the 9.01 MiG 29 prototype were equipped with a longer nozzle, without the double wall design, which is featured on the current RD 33 and RD 33MK models. This design had an extra controllable section after the critical cross section in the Laval type nozzle. The reason was the control of the jet blast contour at high altitude, low ambient air pressure, where the exhaust gases over expanding after the exhaust section. Right after the first few example and the first few MiG 29 prototype models, this difficult control system was removed, due to the operational altitude limit of the upcoming fighter. The first few series of the basic RD 33 version had some issue with the oil system, where a leakage caused a series of problems for the test pilots, because the oil leakage generated toxic particles in the air conditioning system. After the production line was going, these kinds of teething problems were solved. The only disadvantage was a low service life, and heavy smoke, which was fixed only in the later models.

A model without afterburner for various types of aircraft, such as the Il 102.

A model for upgrading international 2nd and 3rd generation jet fighters. The accessory gearbox is repositioned below the engine, length can be varied depending on the adopted aircraft fuselage. The engine passed bench tests and flight tests on the Super Mirage F 1 and Super Cheetah D 2 aircraft of the South African Air Force and had achieved an improvement in flight performance and combat efficiency by a factor ranging from 1.2 to 3.0.

A revised model with a longer service life used on later or upgraded old variants of the MiG 29 such as MiG 29M and MiG 29SMT. A pair of RD 33 series 3 engines equipped with thrust vectoring nozzles was used to power the MiG 29OVT jet fighter.

The RD 33MK "Morskaya Osa" (Russian: Морская Оса: "Sea Wasp") is the latest model developed in 2001. It is intended to power the MiG 29K and MiG 29KUB shipborne fighters, however it has also been adopted for the MiG 35. The RD 33MK develops 7% higher thrust, is digitally controlled FADEC and smokeless unlike earlier RD 33 engines, has increased afterburner thrust to and dry weight compared to the baseline model through modern materials used on the cooled blades, although it retains the same length and maximum diameter. Infrared and optical signature visibility reduction systems have been added. Service life has been increased to 4,000 hours. The RD 33MK ensures unassisted take off capability for ship borne fighters, retains its performance in hot climates, and thereby provides a boost in combat efficiency for the latest variant of the MiG 29 fighter. India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has obtained licensed production for RD 33MK variant in 2007 and so far has produced 140 engines till 2020.