The Sukhoi Su-22 is an export version of the Su-17, this in turn was developed from the Su-7 with the intention of improving their performance, and was provided with variable geometry wings which reduced the takeoff and landing distances while doubling its capacity. The first flight of this model was conducted in 1966 and named S-22I or Su-71G by the Soviets and Fitter B by NATO. The aircraft first came to the attention of the Western allies in 1971 and began to appear in the Soviet units within two years and many countries of the Soviet block and numerous Arab countries deployed squadrons equipped with this model. The Fitter has performed in various wars and skirmishes, has saw action in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. Syria used them during the Yom Kippur war, some were shot down during the Gulf War, but perhaps the most striking was the downing of two Libyan Fitters by two Tomcats from VF-41 Black Aces in 1981 in the Gulf of Sidra incident. The model I have chosen is the latest production version of Su-22m4 with advanced avionics including inertial navigation laser rangefinder, more powerful ability to carry TV guided missiles, containers, ECM and radar warning system SPO-15LE.
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