Su-17M4

This page is about the Soviet strike aircraft Su-17M4. For other versions, see Su-17/22 (Family).

Su-17M4

Su-17M2

Su-27

Su-17M4

Su-17M2

Su-27

USSR

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	11.3	11.0

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:300 000

Purchase:830 000

Show in game

Description

The Su-17M4 is a rank VII Soviet strike aircraft with a battle rating of 11.7 (AB), 11.3 (RB), and 11.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".

The Su-17M4 is a later model of the swing-wing "Fitter" attacker family. Compared to the previous Su-17M2, it uses a revised airframe shared by the Su-22M3 with a drooping forward fuselage and a noticeable hump behind the cockpit. The flight performance remains practically unchanged, still enjoying good speed and the versatility afforded by its swing wings. In-game, its most notable improvements over other models are the ability to use all-aspect R-60M infrared missiles for air combat and a large supply of 268 countermeasures for self defense. It also enjoys the widest suite of ground attack weapons, featuring the S-25 heavy rocket seen on the Su-22M3 and the Kh-29T TV-guided missile seen on the MiG-27M/K. Although the Su-17M4 is more primitive than the MiG-27K and cannot fulfill the same long-range CAS role afforded by the Flogger's advanced targeting systems, this Sukhoi is still a robust strike platform with plenty of hardpoints and a large arsenal.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 11 000 m2 052 km/h

Turn time27 s

Max altitude19 500 m

EngineSaturn AL-21F-3

Type

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight19 t

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 11,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	2,028	2,011	19500	27.3	27.5	167.9	161.2	850
Upgraded	___	___		__._	__._	__._	__._

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits	Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
			Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
Min sweep	1,050	630	N/A	476	473	~10	~3
Max sweep	1,417		N/A	N/A	N/A	~11	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 740	< 650	< 650	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Saturn AL-21F-3		1	11,245 kg		391 - 436 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		12m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	40m fuel
1,800 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		12,385 kg	13,103 kg	14,031 kg	15,045 kg	19,367 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	12m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	40m fuel	MGW
Stationary	6,400 kgf	9,039 kgf	0.73	0.69	0.64	0.60	0.47
Optimal	7,232 kgf (1,200 km/h)	13,188 kgf (1,417 km/h)	1.06	1.01	0.94	0.88	0.68

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear630 km/h

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 925 → 4 285

RB7 922 → 11 605

SB10 043 → 14 712

Total cost of modifications262 300

409 000

Talisman cost2 900

Crew training240 000

Experts830 000

Aces3 000

Research Aces1 140 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 320 / 600 %

238 / 238 / 238 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 New boosters Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 Wings repair Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 490 Engine Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 620	Fuselage repair Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 Airframe Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 G-suit Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 490 Cover Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 620	NR_30_belt_pack Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 ZB-500 Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 S-8KO Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 Flares/Chaff Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 NR_30_new_gun Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 FAB-250 Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 S-24 Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 Kh-25 Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 R-60M Research: 8 500 Cost: 13 000 380 Gun pod SPPU-22-01 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 490 FAB-500 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 490 S-25 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 490 40px Kh-29L Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 490 ns23_belt_pack Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 620 B-13L Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 620 40px Kh-29T Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 620 EFS Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 620

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)

Offensive armament

The Su-17M4 is armed with:

• A choice between two presets:
  • 2 x 30 mm NR-30 cannons, wing-mounted (80 rpg = 160 total)
  • 2 x 30 mm NR-30 cannons + 12 x large calibre countermeasures + 256 x countermeasures

Suspended armament

The Su-17M4 can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

• Without load
• 2 x R-60M missiles
• 6 x R-60M missiles
• 28 x S-3K rockets
• 128 x S-5K rockets
• 6 x S-24B rockets
• 80 x S-8KO rockets
• 20 x S-13OF rockets
• 2 x S-25O rockets
• 20 x 100 kg OFAB-100 bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 10 x 250 kg OFAB-250sv bombs (2,500 kg total)
• 8 x 500 kg FAB-500M-62 bombs (4,000 kg total)
• 4 x ZB-500 incendiary bombs
• 2 x S-25L missiles
• 4 x Kh-25ML missiles
• 2 x Kh-29L missiles
• 2 x Kh-29T missiles
• 4 x 23 mm GSh-23L cannons (250 rpg = 1,000 total)

Custom loadout options

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
23 mm GSh-23L cannons (250 rpg)	1		1			1		1
100 kg OFAB-100 bombs	5		1	4	4	1		5
250 kg OFAB-250sv bombs	1		1	3	3	1		1
500 kg FAB-500M-62 bombs	1		1	2	2	1		1
ZB-500 incendiary bombs	1			1	1			1
S-3K rockets	7			7	7			7
S-5K rockets	32		32			32		32
S-8KO rockets	20		20			20		20
S-13OF rockets	5		5			5		5
S-24B rockets	1		1	1	1	1		1
S-25O rockets	1							1
Kh-25ML missiles	1*			1*	1*			1*
Kh-29L missiles				1*	1*
Kh-29T missiles				1*	1*
R-60M missiles		1	2			2	1
S-25L missiles	1*							1*
Maximum permissible loadout weight: 4,160 kg Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 700 kg
* Kh-29T missiles cannot be mixed with the marked options

Usage in battles

In air battles, the Su-17M4 will suffer against most targets it comes across as the plane itself is an attacker. You are not manoeuvrable and engaging in dogfights is strongly discouraged. Due to the presence of radar missiles, the best way to play the plane in RB is to be a support fighter, trying to stay away from the action before coming in either from the side or on top of a furball/enemy while everyone is distracted, using your R-60Ms to your advantage. Your RWR will be useful and if you do receive a radar lock, it is best to notch and/or try to run away from the enemy, hoping to deter him from attacking you. Head-on attacks are usually not advised as while the R-60Ms are all aspect, they can be easily flared, and it's better to keep them for a more useful situation, unless it's a last ditch effort. Bombing bases can be done but flying directly straight in to the map is risky. On bigger maps such as EC matches, it may be a good idea to take some ground ordnance, and hit ground targets to bleed the enemy tickets, as being a pure "fighter" will usually end in a bad situation.

Radars

SRD-5 - Rangefinding radar
Maximum Tracking Range	Minimum Tracking Range	Azimuth Tracking Angle	Elevation Tracking Angle
3,000 m	300 m	±9°	±9°

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good overall turn rate and energy retention, can hold 800-1,000 km/h in turns with wings fully un-swept and afterburner deployed
• Strong elevator authority, can pull out of low-skimming attack runs with no problem
• Very large amount of countermeasures: 256 x small and 12 x large countermeasures is more than enough to keep missiles off of you
• NR-30 cannons are very powerful, can also mount up to 4 x GSh-23L gunpods for extra burst mass
• Excellent loadout options for both AAMs and ground ordnance alike
• Can act as a very strong supporting fighter with 6 x R-60M AAMs and sweep wing

Cons:

• Roll rate and overall manoeuvrability are poor at speeds below 500 km/h
• With wings fully swept-forward, the maximum speed is limited to approximately Mach 0.8 at sea level otherwise the wings will rip
• No semi-automatic option for managing wing-sweep, only full-manual or automatic wing-sweep settings
• Gigantic target when wings are unswept
• Payload is somewhat low, at only 4,000 kg of bombs
• Cannot carry GBUs or R-13 AAMs like the MiG-27s

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Su-17M4 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #311 - Metal Beasts section at 00:27 discusses the Su-17M4.

See also

Related development

• Su-17M2

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Sukhoi Design Bureau (Сухого Опытное конструкторское бюро)
Jet fighters	Su-9 · Su-11
Su-27	Su-27 · Su-27SM
Strike aircraft
Su-2	BB-1 · Su-2 (M-82) · Su-2 MV-5 · Su-2 TSS-1
Su-6	Su-6 · Su-6 (AM-42) · Su-6 (M-71F)
Su-7	Su-7B · Su-7BKL · Su-7BMK
Su-8	Su-8
Su-17	Su-17M2 · Su-17M4 · Su-22M3
Su-24	Su-24M
Su-25	Su-25 · Su-25BM · Su-25K · Su-25T · Su-25SM3 · Su-39
Su-34	Su-34
Export	◊Su-22UM3K · ◔Su-22M3 · ◊Su-22M4 · ◄Su-22M4 WTD61
	J-11*
	*CKD and SKD kits assembled by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation