Spanish Eurofighter versus Russian Su-34, the fighter-bomber feared by NATO and Ukraine

Spain will deploy a detachment of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters in Bulgaria at the end of next February due to the existing conflict between Russia and Ukraine that could lead to an impending war in Europe.

It is an air deployment that is part of NATO’s Reinforced Air Police, whose main mission is to monitor allied airspace in the face of the constant presence of Russian aircraft that fly unidentified.

This movement occurs at a time when the Eurofighter of the Spanish Army, also known as C16, has started operating with Meteor air-to-air missiles, medium range (more than 100 km) and developed by MBDA.

Among the main features of the Meteor missile is capability against targets beyond visual range, the range of between 20 and 80 nm, a launch height between 500 and 40,000 feet and a maximum speed greater than Mach 4 and capable of traveling 100 kilometers in just a minute and a half, among other functions.

The Eurofighter, in service since 2004, is the most modern combat aircraft operated by the Spanish Air Force. It arose from the close collaboration between European countries: Spain, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The Spanish Air Force currently has some 70 units in service of this fighter.

With almost 16 meters in length and a takeoff weight of almost 23,000 kilos, the Eurofighter is a twin-engine, delta-wing, air-superiority ground-attack fighter-bomber designed and built by a group of European companies.

It is normally armed with a 27mm Mauser autocannon and 13 external hardpoints that can carry air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles of various types, as well as bombs, electronic warfare or target designation pods, and ejectable fuel tanks.

Its two Eurojet EJ2000 engines allow the Eurofighter reach a top speed of Mach 2 at high altitude and maintain what is called ‘supercruise’: supersonic speed without the use of afterburners. It can reach up to 19,800 meters in height and its combat radius ranges between 185 and 750 km depending on the weaponry; exceeds 3,790 km in repositioning flight.

In addition, the Eurofighter has highly advanced avionics that includes the possibility of giving verbal commands, and with a sophisticated mechanical scanning radar that could be replaced by an electronic scanning one in the future. It also has a modern infrared passive tracking system IRST.

The cost of each Eurofighter fighter would be between 90 and 120 million euros. The price varies and sometimes skyrockets depending on the equipment with which each plane is equipped, and to this must also be added its maintenance, which is above 15 million euros per plane per year and its use would be around 44,000 euros per Flight time.

Su-34, among the best fighters

Although the Air Force’s Eurofighters have proven to be tough enemies in joint maneuvers, Russia’s Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber is a different beast (and superior in military technology). Such is the great potential of these planes that it is not surprising that they scare NATO and Ukraine, especially after Moscow deployed more than a dozen of these fighters in recent weeks.

The Su-34 is a large and heavy advanced fourth-generation aircraft. (4.5 or 4++) that replaces other fighter-bombers such as the Su-24 -with more than 30 years in service-, and for some functions of the Tupolev Tu-22M fighter, which entered service in 1969 and is reaching the limit of its operational life.

In a possible attack with Su-34 fighters, Russia could completely crush the Ukrainian armed forces: it would destroy their airports, their defense systems and their command posts. And the air defense of Ukraine? It would not last more than a day against Su-34 fighter-bombers if a war breaks out, according to expert Luke Coffey.

And it is that the Russian army has modernized its artillery in recent years, especially with the use unmanned aircraft (Orlan-10 drone) that can help detect targets for weapons, while Ukrainian warfare systems are outdated and could be easily destroyed by Russia’s highly maneuverable, high-strike Su-34 fighter jets.

we are before a unique fighter that can turn into three aircraft at once: fighter, attack aircraft and a front-line bomber. It can successfully fight against any air targets, effectively destroy land and sea targets. What’s more, it can stay in the air permanently, the only limitation in this regard is only the physical capabilities of the pilots.

Until now, the Su-34s have been supplied only to the Russian air force. It is an aircraft that can provide up to eight tons of payload on 12 external suspension points and, in addition to bombs and ground-attack missiles, it has a wide arsenal for aerial combat.

Its navigation is carried out using the GLONASS global positioning satellite system. and employs its oval-shaped PESA radar to detect targets and launch its combat payload, both guided and unguided by satellite or laser.

More advantages of the Russian fighter jet

1. Excellent aerodynamics, the large capacity of internal fuel tanks, high-efficiency twin-circuit turbojet engines, mid-air refueling system, as well as the possibility of suspension of additional fuel tanks, together with a comfortable cockpit, which They provide you with a non-stop flight capacity of up to ten hours.
2. Possibility to fly in autopilot mode at extremely low altitudes, avoiding a collision with the terrain. According to experts, not a single fighter in the world, including the American F-22 and F-35, has such capabilities.
3. Unlike other fighter-bombers, the crew is not placed in the cockpit one behind the other, but are seated together in an armored cabin, which can be accessed via steps in the lower hatch. “Between them there is a space where a mattress can be spread out so that one of the crew can rest during the flight,” says Viktor Litovkin, military correspondent for the TASS agency.