The Zvezda K-36 is a series of

ejection seats In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket ...

made by

NPP Zvezda JSC Research & Development Production Enterprise Zvezda, or R&D PE Zvezda (, lit. "Star"), is a Russian manufacturer of life-support systems for high-altitude flight and human spaceflight. Its products include space suits, ejector seats, ai ...

. Variants of this ejection seat have been used on a variety of aircraft, including the

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The ...

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weath ...

and the

Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth aircraft, stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical comp ...

Design

The K-36 Ejection seat provides emergency escape for a crew member in a wide range of speeds and altitudes of aircraft flight, from zero altitude, zero speed ( zero-zero) upwards, and can be used in conjunction with protective equipment, such as

pressure suits A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even when breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either f ...

and anti-g garments. The seat consists of the ejection rocket firing mechanism, gear box, headrest rescue system with a dome stowed in the headrest, and other operating systems all of which are aimed at providing a safe bail-out.

Variants

* K-36D and K-36DM: Used on the

* K-36D-3.5: Improved variant providing accommodation for pilots with sitting heights from 810 to 980 mm * K-36D-5: Improved variant for the

Sukhoi Su-35 The Sukhoi Su-35 (-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E/M, occasionally nicknamed "Super Flanker") is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Sukhoi Su-27, Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, super ...

and

Sukhoi Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical complex of front-line aviation) programme, which was in ...

* K-36L-3.5Y: Lightweight version used on the

Yak-130 The Yakovlev Yak-130 (NATO reporting name: Mitten) is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi as the "Yak/AEM-130". It has also been marketed as a potential light attack ...

. * K-36LM: Used in the Tu-160 Blackjack * K-36RB: Variant used on

Buran programme The ''Buran'' programme (, , "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "VKK Space Orbiter programme" (), was a Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft project that began in 1974 at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Moscow and w ...

* K-36VM: Automatic ejection system (SKE) used successfully 20/20 times in the

Yak-38 The Yakovlev Yak-38 (; NATO reporting name: "Forger") was Soviet Naval Aviation's only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It was developed specifically for, and ...

Ejections

At the 1989 Paris Air Show when

Anatoly Kvochur Anatoly Nikolayevich Kvochur (; 16 April 1952 – 15 April 2024) was a Soviet and Russian test pilot. He was awarded the awards Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR (1990) and Hero of the Russian Federation (1992). Biography Anatoly Kvochur was bo ...

successfully completed a low-altitude ejection from a MiG-29 just prior to ground impact. Two more pilots survived when a pair of MiG-29s collided over Fairford, England, in 1993 at the

Royal International Air Tattoo The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military airshow, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a to ...

. On 27 July 2002, during an air show at Sknyliv Airfield, a

Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force (, PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Fo ...

Sukhoi Su-27UB collided with the ground during an aerobatics demonstration. The pilots Vladimir Toponar and Yuri Egorov were able to eject from the aircraft from close to ground level. The incident was the deadliest air show accident in history.

Applications

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. Th ...

Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet Union, Soviet-origin twinjet, twin-engine supersonic Supermaneuverability, supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the lar ...

Sukhoi Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weath ...

Sukhoi Su-34 The Sukhoi Su-34 (; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/ strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it enter ...

Sukhoi Su-37 The Sukhoi Su-37 (-37; NATO reporting name: Flanker-F; popularly nicknamed "Terminator") was a single-seat twin-engine aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau which served as a technology demonstrator. It met the need to enhance pilot c ...

Sukhoi Su-47 The Sukhoi Su-47 ''Berkut'' () (NATO reporting name Firkin), also designated S-32 and S-37 during initial development, was a Russian experimental supersonic fighter aircraft, jet fighter developed by the Sukhoi, JSC Sukhoi Company. A distingui ...

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Suk ...

Mikoyan MiG-29K The Mikoyan MiG-29K (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-D) is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau. The MiG-29K was developed in the late 1980s from the MiG-29M. Mikoyan describes ...

Mikoyan MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the Soviet Air Forces by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares de ...

Mikoyan MiG-35 The Mikoyan MiG-35 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) is a Russian multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter that is designed by Mikoyan, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Marketed as a Fourth-generation fighter, 4++ gener ...

* Mikoyan MiG 1.44 *

Yakovlev Yak-38 The Yakovlev Yak-38 (; NATO reporting name: "Forger") was Soviet Naval Aviation's only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It was developed specifically for, and ...

Yakovlev Yak-130 The Yakovlev Yak-130 (NATO reporting name: Mitten) is a Subsonic aircraft, subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi as the "Yak/AEM-130". It has also been marketed as a poten ...

Yakovlev Yak-141 The Yakovlev Yak-141 (; NATO reporting name "Freestyle"), also known as the Yak-41, is a Soviet supersonic VTOL, vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft designed by Yakovlev. Intended as a replacement for the Yak-38, it was designed as ...

Tupolev Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev, Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated ...

Tupolev Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing nuclear-capable heavy strategic bomber and airborne missile platform designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The aircra ...

Proposed

HAL Tejas The HAL Tejas () is an Indian single-engine, delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole Military aircraft, combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for t ...

* FMA IA-63 Pampa

References

External links

K-36
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417104741/http://777.zvezda-npp.ru/engl/k36-d.html , date=2016-04-17 Ejection seats