Su-34 — Attack Duck

The Su-34 is the main supersonic strike aircraft in the USSR tech tree. It features a very wide and varied payload of both air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, allowing it to fill a wide variety of roles, from dedicated CAP to dedicated CAS.

Air-to-Air Capabilities

The Su-34 has access to a wide variety of very powerful air-to-air guided missiles, ranging from the super maneuverable R-73 dogfighting missile to the long-range R-27ER and the very well-balanced R-77 missile with an active radar seeker.

• R-73 — Close-range self-defense IR AAM — It features an IR seeker with IRCCM and a thrust-vectoring rocket motor, a combination that makes this missile excel at close-range launches.
• R-77 — Medium to close-range ARH AAM — It features excellent maneuverability at all ranges but has a lower maximum range than other ARH missiles due to high aerodynamic drag and a rather weak rocket motor. This missile can be used in a dogfighting situation as a desperate last measure but it is advised that there is at least a kilometer of separation between you and the enemy before launch.
• R-27ET — Long-range IR AAM — It has a very powerful rocket motor that provides the missile with a very high maximum speed of over 10 km, even in rear-aspect with high enough speed at the correct altitude. The seeker of the missile also features IRCCM which makes it very difficult to flare, even at long ranges.
• R-27ER — Long-range SARH AAM — Just like the R-27ET, it has the same powerful rocket motor but even higher speed and range because of the more aerodynamic nose design. It is equipped with a Datalink system that allows the missile to re-acquire targets if the original radar lock is lost, as well as guide on targets the seeker of the missile cannot see but the launching aircraft can with some accuracy.

Air-to-Ground Capabilities

Despite the very impressive air-to-air capabilities of this aircraft, ground attack is where it shines. Having access to various long-range air-to-ground weapons not only allows for various playstyles but also lets you remain safe from enemy SAMs and AAA since your most advanced munitions easily outrange anything you can come up against.

While there is a wide variety of “smart” and “dumb” weapons, the aircraft excels at utilizing “smart” weapons. The following are the best “smart” weapons to use in both air and ground battles:

• Kh-29TD — Medium-range TV-guided AGM. Features a very powerful warhead, even bigger than a 250kg bomb, and a maximum range of over 10km at higher speeds.
• Kh-29L — Medium-range SALH AGM. This is the SALH variant of the Kh-29TD, featuring identical performance but equipped with a laser seeker instead of a TV seeker.
• Kh-38MT — Long-range supersonic IR-guided AGM. With a range of over 20km, a high resolution, high zoom infrared imaging seeker, and a very powerful rocket motor as well as a powerful warhead, comparable to the Kh-29, it can take care of any target it is fired at (and that can even include enemy aircraft).
• Kh-38ML — Long-range supersonic SALH AGM. While it is quite similar to the Kh-38MT, it has more drag due to bigger wings and is a lot more limited in how it can be utilized due to how poor the optics of the Su-34 are.
• FAB-3000 UMPK — Medium-range GPS (aka GNSS) guided glide bomb. While it essentially is a “dumb” 3000kg bomb with wings strapped onto it, it features an impressive glide range and a gigantic payload of over 2200kg of TNT that will destroy any vehicle within a decently large radius of where it impacts the ground.

Flight Performance

While this aircraft may look like a fighter, it does not fly like one. Despite its two really powerful engines that produce over 12,500 kgf each, large wings, and moving canards, it cannot compete in a dogfight even with very heavy aircraft. Each turn will result in a massive loss in airspeed since the entire aircraft essentially turns into an airbrake. While this can be done on purpose, it is recommended to avoid doing so because recovering from such a maneuver can be very difficult, even with a few kilometers of altitude. The Su-34 does however have pretty impressive acceleration and top speed for its type, making it one of the fastest strike aircraft in the USSR tech tree. Overall, it features similarities to the Su-27, being able to pull high AoA however every turn will result in a massive loss of speed.

Survivability

Despite it being a strike aircraft, it does not have access to a huge amount of countermeasures. While 98 individually firing large-caliber countermeasures will be enough for long-range engagements, when coming in close for rocket or bombing runs, it will be a common occurrence that you are returning to the airfield having depleted all your countermeasures. Despite that, the aircraft comes equipped with the SPO-150-30M.1 Digital RWR with directional threat identification that can also display approximate range which will help you identify and avoid any threat you might find on the battlefield.

Conclusion

The Su-34 is a very potent strike aircraft that can compete with lighter aircraft in long-range engagements utilizing the R-27E family of missiles while also being able to defend itself in an emergency in close-range engagements using the R-73 and R-77 missiles.

For air-to-air, it is advised to utilize your high-top speed and long-range missiles to your advantage and avoid close-range fights or any unnecessary maneuvering. You can effectively use your RWR to detect any threats and respond to them accordingly while defending against enemy missiles is quite easy because of how powerful large-caliber countermeasures are.

For air-to-ground, you can either use your long-range guided munitions from long ranges or go close up and use unguided munitions. Both types have different levels of risk, with long-range engagements you are relatively safe from enemy AAA and SAM systems however you are more vulnerable against enemy aircraft, while the opposite is true when utilizing your short-range unguided munitions.