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The AL-41F is a designation for two different Russian military turbofan engine variants. The NPO Saturn AL-41F is a Russian variable-bypass ratio turbofan engine, designed for supercruise flight for the MFI (Mnogofunktsionalni Frontovoy Istrebitel, "Multifunctional Frontline Fighter") program, which resulted in the Mikoyan Project 1.44. It is considered by Jane's as the Russian counterpart to the General Electric YF120 engine which lost to the more conventional fixed-bypass YF-119 in the Advanced Tactical Fighter engine program. Since the cancellation of the MFI program, the AL-41F1S and AL-41F1 designation was assigned to heavily upgraded AL-31F variants that powers the Su-35S and initial production PAK FA stealth aircraft.
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Design and development
The AL-41F program was launched in 1982, and the first prototype engine flew in a MiG-25 Foxbat testbed. Originally developed for the Mikoyan Project 1.44, 28 engines were built, however the engine did not advance beyond prototype stage when the MiG 1.44 was cancelled.
The AL-41 designation was reused for heavily upgraded variants of the AL-31 used to power the Su-35S (Izdeliye 117S / AL-41F1A) and initial production PAK FA (Izdeliye 117 / AL-41F1) stealth aircraft. Some of the technologies of the original AL-41F were applied in the 117S and 117 engines.
Variants
A heavily upgraded version of the AL-31F is being developed for the Su-35BM and PAK FA. This engine has been named the AL-41F1S and AL-41F1. It is important to note that the AL-41F1S is not considered a part of the same AL-41 line as was planned for the Mikoyan Project 1.44 because it uses the core of the AL-31F, whereas the AL-41F utilizes an entirely different approach. The designation is present because the engine approaches the projected specifications of the AL-41F. It is also notable that the engine is capable of mounting 3D thrust vectoring nozzles for extra maneuverability.