| The Sukhoi Su-34 (export designation Su-32, NATO reporting name Fullback) is an advanced Russian 2-seat fighter-bomber and strike aircraft. It is intended to eventually replace the Sukhoi Su-24. A dedicated fighter bomber version of the Su-27 'Flanker' was developed from the early 1980s, with the Sukhoi bureau designation T-10V, making its first flight on 13 April 1990. Its official designation originally was Su-27IB (IB: Istrebitel Bombardirovshchik / Fighter Bomber). It was developed in parallel with the two-seat naval trainer, the Su-27KUB (KUB: Korabelnyy Uchebno-Boyevoy, shipboard combat trainer), although, contrary to earlier reports, the two aircraft are not directly related.
Budget restrictions led the program to stall repeatedly, and led to the prototype aircraft being displayed publicly under a variety of roles and designations. When first described in the official Russian press in 1994 it was described as the Su-34. The third pre-production aircraft was shown at a Paris air show in 1995 as the Su-34FN (FN for 'Fighter, Navy'), described as a shore-based naval aircraft, and it was displayed as the Su-34MF (MF for MnogoFunksionalniy, multi-function) at the MAKS air show in 1999. The Russian Air Force has apparently recently adopted the designation Su-34. The aircraft shares most of its wing structure, tail, and engine nacelles with the Su-27/Su-30 'Flanker', with canards like the Su-30/Su-33 'Flanker-D'/Su-35 'Flanker-F' to increase static instability (higher maneuverability) and to reduce trim drag. The aircraft has an entirely new nose and forward fuselage with a cockpit providing side-by-side seating for a crew of two. The Su-34 retains the Su-27's engines, but with fixed intakes, limiting its maximum speed to Mach 1.8+. | 
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