Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut: The USSR’s Strangest Aircraft
Throughout the Cold War, the concept of swept wings became widespread. However, nearing the end of the Cold War, the USSR developed the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut to look at the potential of forward-swept wing designs.
Sukhoi designed the Berkut to match the US's Grumman X-29 program. The design of both aircraft are eerily similar as well!
However, just like the X-29, the Su-47 was a complete failure. But why was this? And what exactly did the USSR, and later the Russian Air Forces' get out of the Berkut program?
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Pre-Berkut
Prior to the X-29 and the Berkut, the concept of forward-swept wings was not a new one. Indeed, the earliest designs date back to the late 1800's and early 1900's, with early aviators trying to cr...