It's basically a mud deflector. Prevents or reduces rocks, mud, or other FOD that nose wheel kicks up from getting airborne and either smashing into the airframe or ingested by the engine. You will notice that most Russian fighters have this feature per their philosophy of war and the substandard conditions found at Russian airbases.

It's basically a mud deflector. Prevents or reduces rocks, mud, or other FOD that the nose wheel kicks up from getting airborne and either smashing into the airframe or being ingested by the engine. You will notice that most Russian fighters have this feature on the nose landing gear per their philosophy of war and the substandard conditions found at Russian airbases.