Su-57 Stealth Fighter: News #8

"Product 30": what is the uniqueness of the new engine for the Russian Su-57 aircraft, by Alexey Zakvasin for RT News in Russian. 11/11/2021.

On November 11, 2016, the first ground launch of the Product 30 demonstrator engine took place. The power plant is designed to equip the Russian fifth generation fighter Su-57. Now this aircraft flies on the AL-41F1 intermediate unit. According to the developers' estimates, the "Product 30" will significantly surpass modern engines in power and fuel efficiency. Experts believe that the carrier of the new power plant will be able to strike much faster and evade enemy attacks.

Five years ago, on the basis of the Lytkarinsky Machine-Building Plant (LM3), the first ground launch of the “Product 30” demonstrator engine, intended for the Russian fifth generation Su-57 fighter, took place .

On December 5, 2017, an aircraft with a new power plant made its debut flight, which lasted 17 minutes. It was run by the Hero of the Russian Federation, the chief pilot of the Sukhoi company, Sergei Bogdan.

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that the successful maiden flight of the Su-57 with the new engine would give an additional impetus to the fifth generation fighter program.

“This is proof of the high potential of the Russian aircraft industry, capable of creating highly intelligent advanced systems: a unique airframe, innovative digital filling, the latest engines,” Manturov emphasized.

LMZ is a subdivision of the A. Lyulka Experimental Design Bureau, which is part of the United Engine Corporation (UEC). The main task of LMZ is assembly, testing and fine-tuning of aircraft gas turbine engines and their units.

In non after-burning mode

"Product 30" is the designation of the so-called second stage engine of the fifth generation aircraft. Now the Su-57 flies on the AL-41F1 intermediate power unit ("Product 117"), which is also called the first stage engine. Its developer is the A. Lyulka Design Bureau.

Specialists of the enterprise attribute super-maneuverability, thrust-to-weight ratio, low visibility to enemy radars to the key characteristics of the AL-41F1.

The "Product 117" has an integrated oxygen-free plasma ignition system for the main and afterburner combustion chambers. It allows you to start the engine during flight without oxygen make-up. As experts interviewed by RT explained, providing an aircraft with oxygen requires the availability of appropriate infrastructure at the airfield and the placement of a certain set of equipment on board a combat vehicle.

In addition, the AL-41F1 became the first Russian aircraft engine to use a fully digital control system based on a domestic element base. The modification of the device will be integrated into the second stage engine as well.

“The AL-41F1 is the engine on which the Su-35S , the most modern Russian fourth-generation fighter jet, now flies . The power unit really has high performance, but it still belongs to the previous generation of aircraft engines, ”Dmitry Kornev, founder of the Military Russia portal, told RT.

As the expert explained, the AL-41F1, like other motors, “glows” quite strongly in the radar and infrared spectra. In addition, this engine is not able to provide cruising (normal) flight at supersonic speed in non-afterburner mode.

“Currently, supersonic flight leads to a significant increase in fuel consumption. As a rule, an aircraft is able to withstand supersonic sound for several minutes, and then, if it continues to fly at supersonic speed, it risks running into a fuel shortage. "Product 30" practically removes such a problem from the agenda, "Kornev emphasized.

According to the expert, cruising supersonic is becoming an important advantage in the modern theater of operations. In particular, it significantly improves the flight performance of the carrier.

“Such an aircraft is capable of avoiding enemy attacks much more rapidly, reaching the position of striking the enemy faster and safer, and intercepting and escorting foreign aircraft more quickly,” said Kornev.

According to the analyst's forecast, the second stage engine will increase the cruising speed of the Su-57 to about 1.5 Mach number. At the same time, in the RT commentary, Honored Pilot of Russia Major General Vladimir Popov estimated this figure at almost Mach 2.

"Special offer"

Little is known about the characteristics of Product 30. Earlier on the air of Sputnik radio, UEC representative Anton Chechukov said that in comparison with the AL-41F1, the thrust of the second stage engine would be increased to 17.5-19.5 tons. The engine would also be distinguished by increased fuel efficiency and a reduced life cycle cost.

In 2018, in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel, General Designer - Director of the A. Lyulka Design Bureau Evgeny Marchukov said that in terms of specific thrust, the Product 30 would surpass all foreign analogues. As a result, the carrier will be able to take off faster, gain altitude, and perform maneuvers with a large overload during air combat.

In March 2020, an article was published on the website of the Science and Technology journal with an analysis of the technical solutions implemented in Product 30. It reported that the oxygen-free ignition system is installed on modernized nozzles, which ensure the ignition of the fuel immediately after it enters the combustion chamber.

Thanks to this approach, the optimal combustion mode is maintained and the so-called torching is excluded - the ejection of a column of fire from the nozzle due to excess fuel in the combustion chamber. Also, the second stage engine is equipped with a new nozzle with thrust vector control function.

The article noted that the electronic-digital control system "Product 30" significantly simplifies the work of the pilot and facilitates the process of tuning the engine. She receives a command from the pilot, and then executes it "taking into account the current parameters and various factors."

Vladimir Popov stated that Russian designers have significantly changed the thermodynamic process used in previous generations of jet engines.

“This is due to the special ionization of the air flow, the air-fuel mixture. The afterburner is located in a traditional combustion chamber. In "Product 30" there will be no afterburner as such. Instead, a ring system appeared, which will create the combustion of fuel without its additional supply through pumping systems, which will be more economical. It is planned to increase the efficiency from fuel combustion by 1.2—1.5 times, ”the expert said.

Also, as Popov noted, the engine of the second stage provides for a complex of new fuel automation, which will regulate the flight mode due to thrust. According to him, in the non-afterburning mode, the thrust of the "Product 30" will be 1.5 times more than that of today's engines.

“In addition, technological and operational characteristics have been improved in the new engine. Now the testing process is underway. Upon their completion, I think, our industry will cope with setting up the production of the unit. The design office and manufacturing plants work simultaneously, so there should be no problems with production, ”Popov explained.

Answering a question from RT about the prospects for exporting "Product 30", the major general said that with the deployment of serial production, it is reasonable to focus on equipping the second stage of the Russian aircraft fleet with engines. In the future, as Popov argues, Russia can export the power unit to China, India, Turkey, Argentina and Brazil.

“There are too many technological positions that are inappropriate to give abroad. For now, it is in the interests of the Russian Federation to use "Product 30" to ensure our defense capability and combat readiness of the Aerospace Forces. Export is possible in five years after the start of production of this unit. Now we will continue to offer other countries deeply modernized samples of the previous generation, ”Popov said.

Dmitry Kornev adheres to a different point of view. In his opinion, Moscow can start exporting "Product 30" and aircraft with it to the most reliable partners in the area of ​​military-technical cooperation. The expert is confident that such products will be very popular in the global arms market.

The interlocutor of RT recalled that Russia is actively promoting its fighters on the international market, so the aircraft flying on the "Product 30" will definitely become a "unique offer." According to Kornev, the new unit can be installed not only on the Su-57. With minor modifications, the second stage engine will most likely be mounted on the Su-35 and Su-34 as part of their modernization programs.

“Creation of jet engines for combat aviation is a most difficult technological task for any state. In my opinion, testing and work on the "Product 30" will continue for several more years. All these gains are not in vain. Our country is close to getting the first power unit since the 1990s, practically devoid of Soviet ancestry. "Product 30" will serve for at least 40 years and will certainly become a platform for the development of various modifications, "summed up Kornev.

https://russian.rt.com/russia/article/926444-su-57-dvigatel-izdelie-30

Serial production has started.

Use of VR assembly aids is now part of the assembly line and will keep on expanding in scope.

It is an obvious photoshop. The shadows on the mountains in the background are not consistent with the shadow beneath the jet
which is also way too dark. Russia has not sold a single copy of the Su-57 to other countries. So no reason for such a paint job.

But it looks nice with this paint job.