NPP Zvezda K-36


The Zvezda K-36 is a series of ejection seats made by NPP Zvezda. Variants of this ejection seat have been used on a variety of aircraft, including the Su-25, Su-27, MiG-29, and the Su-57.

Design

The K-36 Ejection seat provides emergency escape for a crew member in a wide range of speeds and altitudes of aircraft flight, from zero altitude, zero speed upwards, and can be used in conjunction with protective equipment, such as pressure suits and anti-g garments. The seat consists of the ejection rocket firing mechanism, gear box, headrest rescue system with a dome stowed in the headrest, and other operating systems all of which are aimed at providing a safe bail-out. The ejection seat ensures safe emergency escape of a pilot within the range of velocities from 0 to to , altitudes from 0 to and Mach numbers up to 2.5.
The ejection seat is used in combination KKO-15 protective and oxygen equipment and the installation weight of the seat is less than .

Operational ejections

Notable ejections using the K-36 occurred at the 1989 Paris Air Show when Anatoly Kvochur successfully completed a low-altitude ejection from a MiG-29 just prior to ground impact. Two more pilots survived when a pair of MiG-29s collided over Fairford, England, in 1993 at the Royal International Air Tattoo.

Variants

Players of the video game Hitman and Hitman 2 receive an achievement for assassinating the character Jasper Knight using a sabotaged ejection seat. The achievement is named after the K-36D variant.