PAK-DA: News

GarryB wrote:Well I guess that comes from the fact that the American company is trying to sell stealth as the game changer that will give you a generation level advantage over your enemies and your allies... so it has to be amazing... and the more expensive it is well... new stuff is always expensive but this is eye watering expensive so it must be really really good...

For the Russians it is just an extra piece of the whole puzzle of defending themselves...

You have to pick a level of stealth... you can go for 0.5 sq metre or you can go for 0.01 sq metre or you can go for 0.00001 sq metre.

All will reduce the distance at which the enemy will reliably detect your aircraft and over time radars are going to get better and better at detecting small targets, so it is a question of time frame... it might cost 10 billion to get 0.5sq m RCS... it will cost a trillion to get 0.01m because it is not just a case of going from half mm precision in design to micromilimetres precision... you also have to have materials you can make to that level of precision that will retain shape and not  warp or bend even after years of use... so it is not just design but manufacturing you have to get right... when you fix something you have to cut open the panel to access the internal components and then you need to replace the panel and cover the edges in tape and paint the RAM back over the whole panel and wait for it to cure before you can fly again.

Going for 0.00001 sq m would cost trillions of trillions of dollars with no guarantee that in 5 years time there wont be radar of new types that can detect you at enormous range....

Russia is treating stealth the same way it treats ERA on tanks... on its own it has lots of strengths and weaknesses, together it makes the whole package better as long as it is not too expensive...

LMFS wrote:
Regarding PAK-DA, all aspect broadband stealth based on a very big flying wing is the best approach to keep benefits of stealth design for the future. Against low-level militaries it will have the full advantage of allowing low operational risk and against advanced adversaries the plane will have advanced avionics and defensive means, long persistence and long range missiles. Added to the new manufacturing of Tu-160, Russia will have the whole range of needed solutions covered for the next decades. What I don't see Russian military renouncing to is the ability of withstanding harsh deployment conditions and reduced maintenance, they are pressed enough for the defence of the country to deploy weapons which are non-capable under real world conditions.

Hole wrote:The difference is that for the guys at the Potomac stealth is the No. 1 criteria. For the russians it is incorporated as much into the design as possible without hampering all other capabilities.

william.boutros wrote:

It looks like advanced stealth technology requires niche high tech and expensive technologies. The Russians are budget and technologically conscious of their situation.  They are likely hedging on Tu-160 load, speed and maturity to throw hypersonic missiles to penetrate defenses.
Their plan to continue work on a subsonic PAK-DA for 2030s is still in the early stages. I am not sure how relevant a PAK-DA would be in the 2050s. I think the Russians are simply keeping options on the table.

Austin wrote:Okhotnik    Air International/ Piotr Butwoski

Russian Military Developing Long-Range Supersonic Missile-Lobbing Drone

Sputnik / Vladimir Fedorenko
MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE
14:12 26.02.2018(updated 14:43 26.02.2018) Get short URL3813

Designed to infiltrate far into an enemy's territory, the new system will carry both guided and unguided munitions.

Russia is working on a long-range unmanned strike system, Zvezda, the official television channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense, has learned.

Speaking to the television channel, Alexander Nemov, deputy chief of the research department at the 30th Central Scientific Research Institute outside Moscow, confirmed that the large unmanned aircraft would appear sometime in the next few years.

"Development work is currently underway on a long-range unmanned system capable of carrying out unmanned low-altitude supersonic flights, and striking both stationary and mobile targets at operational-strategic depth," the officer explained.

Zvezda clarified that the aircraft will, on the one hand, be capable of performing low-altitude flights, much like a cruise missile, and will fly faster than the speed of sound, providing the Russian military with fundamentally new strategic capabilities not currently enjoyed by any other military in the world.

Asked about the prospective aircraft's onboard weapons, Nemov was able to divulge only that the system "will have the ability to carry both guided and unguided air-launched weapons."

SPUTNIK / SERGEY MAMONTOV

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The 30th Central Scientific Research Institute's other projects include plans to create a new strike chopper, combining the capabilities of the Kamov Ka-52 and the Mil Mi-28. The new chopper will feature an additional wing, and be capable of flying over 400 km per hour. The Institute is also working on unmanned helicopter systems, which will interact with conventional rotary-winged aircraft on the battlefield. Researchers are also engaged in an evaluation of the ergonomics of the new Sukhoi Su-57 multi-role fighter's control systems.
In November, the Kalashnikov Concern reported that it would start production of heavy unmanned aerial vehicles capable of carrying up to several tons of cargo and operating for several days at a time without needing to recharge. The system is expected to be introduced this summer. The UAVs will work in a fleet consisting of heavy and light drones. In addition to cargo delivery, the remote-controlled aircraft are expected to engage in aerial photography, cartography, telecommunications, monitoring of viral diseases, protection of forests and property, weather conditions, and more.