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Started this one for a Group Build on another Site so thought I'd post it here as well. Facilitated by the availability of the decals by 26 : which were reviewed here : Using the Airfix A300 kit : This particular example was missing a few parts (such as the cockpit windscreen transparency so some extra work to do along the way.

In 1972 the Sukhoi design bureau began work on another variant of the Su-17, it was known only by its in-house designation S-32MK "гибридный" or hybrid, this mated the wings of the Su-7BMK to the fuselage of the Su-17M. The aircraft first flew in February 1973 piloted by Vladimir Krechetov. The only known photo of the S-32MK to exist in the west, note the large bomb load able to be carried. Also note how the gun blast plates are still installed but the twin NR-30 cannons are not. The S-32MK's fuselage was taken from the new into production Su-17M, for the S-32MK the uprated AL-21F-3 engine was fitted which provided more thrust compared to the standard Fitters then in production. During tests the performance of the Hybrid was better than the Su-17 then in service, the S-32 reached a height of 1800M, 1500M higher than the standard Su-17M. The fitting of the Su-7BMK wing had positives and negatives, the removal of the complicated and heavy Su-17 swing wing system allowed for not only a lighter airframe but a Increase in the fuel capacity (400kg extra fuel) the removal of the swing wing also allowed for maintenance to be much easier. However a drawback of the wing was a return to the Su-7s high landing and takeoff speeds, poor agility at low speeds and a high stall speed, however the more powerful engine helped to improve the handling. The test machine also had a 100mph higher top speed compared to the Su-17M due to all the weight saving. A side view of the aircraft, again showing the large number of pylons, and highly swept wing. The aircraft was planned to be armed with the standard twin NR-30, 30mm cannons in the wing roots with 80 rounds per gun, the standard six Su-7 pylons (two under each wing and two under the fuselage) were joined by two inner pylons from the standard Su-17 creating a total of eight pylons, two more compared to standard Su-17s, the weight saving allowed for the increase in weapons. The soviet Airforce although interested in the design favoured the Mig-27 and Su-17M, therefore Sukhoi offered the jet on export. It was given the export name Su-20, Egypt was the first country to show interest in the new Sukhoi. However Egypt opted for the Su-17M, as it had bad past experiences with the Su-7 and saw the swept wing Su-20 as a throwback to past experiences, Syria also showed interest however they soon withdrew interest. With the lack of interest by both Soviet and overseas airforces finally meant to a scrapping of the project and in mid 1975 the aircraft was withdrawn from tests and sent to Tula and used as a mechanic practise aircraft until the 1990s, the airframes existence after 1990 is unknown however it is rumoured that it was more than likely scrapped. Artwork of the S-32MK during tests. The 17 red was only applied for later flights.