Yakovlev Yak-33

The Yakovlev Yak-33 was a vertical takeoff and landing supersonic multi-purpose aircraft family, studied in the early 1960s, with variants of a basic design used to fulfill different roles, in a similar fashion to the Yak-25, Yak-27, Yak-28 family.

Yak-33
Role	VTOL fighter/bomber/reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer	Yakovlev
Status	Project only

Several configurations were studied including canard and tailless deltas, however matching supersonic performance with VTOL ability seriously compromised the design's ability to carry out its primary missions.

Specifications (Yak-33 estimated)

Data from OKB Yakovlev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft,

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 27 m (88 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
• Gross weight: 32,000 kg (70,548 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 40,000 kg (88,185 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Kolesov RD-36-41 vectored thrust afterburning turbojets, 68.67 kN (15,440 lbf) thrust each dry, 156.96 kN (35,290 lbf) with afterburner
• Powerplant: 6 or 8 × lift engines turbojets, 29.43 kN (6,620 lbf) thrust each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 3
• Cruise speed: M2M2
• Range: 4,000 km (2,500 mi, 2,200 nmi)

Armament

• Bombs: Tactical nuclear weapons or conventional bombs

Further reading

• Gordon, Yefim; Gunston, Bill (1997). Yakovlev aircraft since 1924 (1st ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0851778720.