Will we soon be able to marvel at the excellent creation of our designers, and will the promising long-range aviation complex acquire not real, but real outlines? His predecessors are already being demonstrated at MAKS 2017 in the city of Zhukovsky, although they were promised to be presented in 2018. Of course, this is not the expected aircraft by everyone, but the Tu-160M2 has already impressed the audience in full. The flight of the PAK DA in the form of the first test copy is expected only in 2020, but you can already admire the outlines of the "flying wing" now, having examined the model, at the same time you will also find out the opinion of experts on the quality of the recently approved 23 tf thrust engines for the new complex of engines.
Engine
The so-called "Product 80" was developed by an entire corporation, and now work with sketches is completed. This serialized product is an engine project that will carry a promising long-range aviation complex, a constant subject of discussion and discussion by the general public, for the most part from aviation and design developments far away. However, the excitement of the appearance of a new aircraft is literally for everyone. There are probably few people in Russia who would not wait impatiently for a promising long-range aviation complex to appear and would not follow the progress in this direction.
So, the United Engine Corporation informed the public that a preliminary design for this engine was adopted, and the design team began to develop detailed documentation for this wonderful aircraft. The deputy minister of defense, after the adoption of the preliminary design, informed the press that the deadlines for the full readiness of the PAK DA were slightly postponed. For the first time it is planned to take it into the air only after seven to eight years, and mass production will begin in 2029.
Description
The strategic missile carrier, which is being developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau to protect the future of our country, a promising long-range aviation complex will have many advantages over all existing models of military aviation. He will take as many weapons as possible, and at the same time remain invisible in the sky and be able to use absolutely any airdromes.
In terms of flight characteristics, the PAK DA is an aircraft that is significantly superior to any bombers that have ever been born. He will be able to barrage longer than others, on duty in the air, take off and land in any conditions, he has the best load capacity. But the Deputy Minister Yuri Borisov does not consider the requirements for flight speed even so important, since aviation weapons received new characteristics. This paragraph of his report literally excited the interested public.
About the features of the new bomber
The conversation took place at the Kazan Aviation Plant, where Yu. Borisov arrived on a working visit. The reason for this visit is wonderful - the first updated Tu-160M2 bomber began to be assembled in Kazan, which, according to experts, is an intermediate link between our long-range aviation and what will be a promising long-range aviation complex (PAK DA). It was at this meeting with plant workers that specific information was voiced regarding the creation of a new bomber.
Here again, the application of new technology will take place: our experts have learned to cook titanium, the material is ultra-strong and ultra-light. The fuselages of all Tu-160s were manufactured using this method, which is still being finalized. If we do not learn how to even better manage titanium, we will not see such a flying monster as the promising long-range aviation complex (PAK YES) is conceived.
Appearance
The very scheme of this aircraft - the flying wing - is not traditional for Russian aviation. Outwardly, our PAK DA is a double aircraft of the American Northrop B-2 Spirit, also a heavy and inconspicuous strategic bomber. The difference is that our “bat” will have a titanium fuselage and a huge number of plastic (composite) parts. So the passenger liner MS-21 was created, and it turned out very well. For the first time, the design of the aircraft provided for the creation of an elongated wing, which is made of plastic - also heavy-duty and ultra-light. Compared to Boeing or Airbus, ours is much more economical.
But back to PAK YES. The bomber has previously inaccessible aerodynamic capabilities due to the special fuselage. Yuri Borisov emphasized that in long-range aviation the requirements for aircraft change very quickly. No longer need supersonic speeds with access to the near space, because there is no need to break through the enemy’s layered defense. This is how the Tu-160 can do it and the Tu-160M2 will do just fine. But the strategic bomber PAK DA will be subsonic, it will not be able to reach a speed greater than the brainchild of the sixties - Tu-95.
"Heavenly slow-moving"
There is an explanation for this vision of the situation, and it is quite reasonable. Especially in terms of finance. And indeed: now rockets shoot faster, further, hypersound is about to be reached. Why force the plane to do what it basically does not have to do? Moreover, this optional is so expensive. The Russian PAK DA bomber in operation will be literally an order of magnitude cheaper than any supersonic machine. It is not intended to break through the defenses with fights, it is an air arsenal that slowly barrages in mid-air.
PAK YES (Tupolev) will carry long-range cruise missiles - their deadly supply. For example, the X-555 and X101, which fly from three to five thousand kilometers. And there is one more - the newest, as they say, surpassing everything that was before it, but about which the specifics are so far secret. In fighter aircraft, the same trend has appeared regarding speed characteristics. For example, the F-22 Raptor, the fifth generation fighter, it has exceptional maneuverability and supersonic speed, but neither of them is likely to be useful, since it is not assumed in modern military operations of close combat. Not guns will speak, but missiles, and entering the enemy’s air defense zone is not necessary.
When?
When will our new sixth generation PAK DA aircraft go into industrial production? The military department is confident that it will not be so soon, since first the restored Tu-160 in its new appearance will be delivered to the stream. This is the Tu-160M2, and the aviation industry is faced with the task of reusing in the future both technological approaches and equipment so as not to pay twice for development and production. And information about the Tu-160M2 has already been officially given at MAKS-2017: production has begun, and it will go into service in the Russian Armed Forces in 2021. The on-board electronic equipment planned for Tu-160M2 will need to be transferred as far as possible to the PAK DA strategic bomber. Only the hull and engines will be different. The project is therefore cheapened as much as possible.
The Americans, developing their Next Generation Bomber bomber in the nineties, call the final production date 2035. PAK DA began to be developed in 2008, and the Stakhanov pace of its creation will obviously not be. Firstly, because there is no war so far where it would be an urgent need, and secondly, the price of this project is truly gigantic. So far, it is estimated at thirty-five billion dollars. In the United States, only ten were spent on design work, and they do not even know how much they will have to invest in general. Therefore, they are not in a hurry either with us or with them. And the military is confident that the Next Generation Bomber will not take off, and our PAK YES will hold off with the appearance.
Specifications
The dimensions of the new bomber will be impressive: take-off weight at a maximum of 110 tons. For example, the Tu-160 has 275 tons of this parameter, of which only fuel weighs 148. The range of the PAK DA, indicated in the terms of reference, is twelve and a half thousand kilometers, and the payload is thirty tons. It is not enough. Tu-160 raises forty-one tons of missiles and bombs, but the B-2 Spirit - only twenty-two.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces explained that in this complex the main thing is not the plane, but its equipment. The complex will carry missiles with a range of up to seven thousand kilometers, which they decide where, when, at what altitude and at what speed to fly. Aircraft is only a means of delivery to the area where the launch will take place. In addition, the PAK DA will carry not only strategic missiles, but also other high-precision weapons, and details regarding its characteristics have not been disclosed.
Familiar and new
The engines for the new bomber were developed in Samara by the Kuznetsov company. The NK-32 engine, the same one that was installed on our Tu-160 strategic bombers, served as the base. KRET enterprises are already developing avionics for PAK DA. By general agreement with aircraft manufacturers a unified board is created. KRET also participates in the design work.
As already mentioned, the technologies will be applied both tested and completely new. Some devices and systems are borrowed from the latest developments that have shown the highest efficiency and reliability. Aiming navigation in the whole complex, communications, intelligence, and electronic warfare equipment will be completely new.
Experts say
American experts are convinced that the new in Russian military aviation is necessary in order to maintain nuclear dominance. Nineteen invisible B-2 Spirit bombers are already in service in the United States. And now the word belongs to Russia - will the twelve PAK YES of the first squadron be commissioned in 2025? Valentin Vasilescu, a military expert from Romania, is sure that they will, but it is quite possible that before.
Further, NATO experts discussed the technical characteristics of the future Russian bomber. They know that, most likely, Russia will make the new bomber look like the American B-2 Spirit, invisible to radar. Hypersonic airplanes have a much smaller maneuver and have greater inertia, and therefore the PAK DA engines will most likely have more thrust, also in the same way as was done on American bombers.
Assumptions
The design of PAK DA was discussed by experts in sufficient detail and, perhaps, too verbose. The main idea was that in this respect Russia borrowed the concept from its fifth generation fighter, the T-50, and the cockpit will be made in the style of a “human-computer interface” (MMI concept). This will allow you to lift the plane without crew intervention - automatically.
In the cockpit there should be a digital display Electronic System Flight Instrument with a liquid crystal color screen for each of the two pilots, which will ensure the functioning of the electronic interface in flight control. The use of stealth technology introduces some limitations to the design of the aircraft. PAK YES will fly at night, which means that the role of airborne sensors increases significantly, and manual control eliminates the hypersonic speed. Conclusion: the bomber might be good, but in Russia it won’t work out well (they really don’t know that PAK YES will not have hypersonic speed).
Will PAK YES have advantages?
Experts are not sure what they will be. A specially coated aircraft body will require literally ten times as much maintenance time as conventional bombers. And most importantly - PAK DA will not be able to get advantages over the aviation complex of radio detection and guidance (AWACS).
However, such benefits will be. PAK YES does not have a single attachment point or place for bombs and missiles under the wings, and this negates all the effects of radar. The full arsenal of weapons is hermetically hidden. And on the whole case - a special coating. They will not see his radars.
In addition, even our fifth-generation bombers have a so-called maritime regime, and here Russian pilots have an advantage, since their experience in flying in the Arctic is huge. And NATO experts thought this and agreed, recalling how two Tu-160s (strategic bombers) flew thirteen hours without refueling from the Russian city of Engels to Venezuela.