Fighter Pilot Reacts to the Russian SU-37 Terminator

About this video

Max analyzes the Su-37 Terminator, a technology demonstrator aircraft built by Sukhoi in the 1990s to showcase thrust vectoring capabilities. He explains that the aircraft served primarily as a proof-of-concept for super maneuverability and post-stall maneuvering, demonstrating moves like Pugachev’s Cobra at airshows for six years before crashing in 2002 due to catastrophic failure during a high-G maneuver. Max argues that while the Su-37’s thrust vectoring was impressive, Western fighters focused on fundamentals and energy management would likely prevail in combat, and he contends that the F-22’s J-Turn is more effective than the Cobra maneuvers.

Key takeaways

• Max explains that the Su-37 was a single-seat technology demonstrator built to prove Soviet thrust vectoring capabilities to the world during the winding down of the Cold War, never entering production.
• According to Max, the aircraft crashed in 2002 during a high-G maneuver due to catastrophic failure of the horizontal tail and thrust vectoring system, after six years of airshow demonstrations.
• Max argues that Western pilots focusing on energy management and fundamentals would likely defeat thrust vectoring aircraft, since missing a shot after a thrust vectoring maneuver leaves the aircraft slow and vulnerable.
• Max contends that the F-22’s J-Turn is more effective than the Cobra or Super Cobra maneuvers because it better maintains visual contact with enemy aircraft throughout the maneuver.

Episode details: published August 6, 2023 · 32.5K views · 12:02 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The analysis and commentary described are Max Afterburner’s, attributed to him — his channel includes hypothetical-scenario and news-react content, which is presented as his analysis, not established fact.

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