The Yakovlev Yak-43 was a Soviet VTOL (
vertical takeoff and landing
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
) fighter designed as the ground-based version of the ill-fated
Yakovlev Yak-141
The Yakovlev Yak-141 (russian: Яковлев Як-141; NATO reporting name "Freestyle"), also known as the Yak-41, is a Soviet supersonic vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft designed by Yakovlev. It was used for testing.
Design ...
, which failed to reach production. Like the Yak-141, the Yak-43 did not reach production.
[Gunston, 1997] The Yak-43 would have been the third-generation VTOL/
STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
fighter, to follow and eventually replace the Yak-141.
[Gunston, 1997]
Design and development
Like the Yak-141, the Yak-43 would have had only a single main engine, as well as two dedicated vertical-lift engines. The main engine would have been based on the Samara
NK-321
The Kuznetsov NK-32 is an afterburning three-spool low bypass turbofan jet engine which powers the Tupolev Tu-160 supersonic bomber, and was fitted to the later model Tupolev Tu-144LL supersonic transport. It produces of thrust in afterburner ...
three-shaft augmented turbofan with a takeoff rating of . This same engine is used to power the
Tupolev Tu-160
The Tupolev Tu-160 (russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, translit=Belyj Lebeď, translation= White Swan; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Des ...
Blackjack bomber. The engine would have had a large air bleed leading to an auxiliary
combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process.
Interna ...
located in the nose, though a separate lift jet would have been retained.
[Gunston, 1997] A new integral layout use stealth technology which is a single whole of the fuselage with the wing. After the Yak-43 project was unsuccessful, another attempt was made for a supersonic VTOL aircraft. But also the successor, the
Yak-201
The Yakovlev Yak-201 was a planned Russian vertical takeoff and landing stealth fighter/interceptor aircraft for the Russian Navy, as a follow up to the Yak-141 and Yak-43 aircraft. The design was carried out in the mid-1990s Yakovlev Design ...
never left the drawing board.
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Gunston, Bill. ''Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924''. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1997. .
External links
* Hayles, John
"Yakovlev Yak-41 'Freestyle'".''Aeroflight'', 28 March 2005. Retrieved: 3 July 2008.
{{Stealth aircraft
Stealth aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Abandoned military aircraft projects of the Soviet Union
Lift jet
Yak-043