Despite the huge amount of speculation that surrounds the Sukhoi T-50 fighter, something can be said with certainty. This plane is guaranteed to cost more, it will appear in the troops late and will initially have more ambitious capabilities than originally planned. This is typical for all projects of the fourth and fifth generations of fighters, believes the Air Forces Monthly.
According to the former Air Force commander A. Zelin (currently advisor to the Minister of Defense), another 11 pre-production aircraft should join the tests before 2015. The fourth prototype should be completed by the end of 2012. 2), and state trials are scheduled to begin in 2013. Eight of the 14 aircraft will be pre-production variants, not prototypes.
Although the estimated date of entry into service is 2016-2017, this period is likely to "go right", given the recent Russian experience in the development of military aircraft. It remains unknown to what extent the Russian Air Force plans to use the Su-35S as a response to the delay in the development of the T-50, but almost 90 Su-35S should be purchased in 2012-2020. Although this aircraft was originally intended solely for export, the decision of the Air Force to purchase this aircraft will give them the opportunity to receive the urgently needed multi-functional fighter - provided that there are no more delays in this program. That is, it is not clear how much more the Air Force will keep in service with the "classic" Su-27 fighter. It is logical to assume that in the medium term, the Air Force plans in the field of fighter aviation will include T-50 (Su-XX), Su-35S, Su-27SM, Su-30SM, MiG-29SMT and MiG-31BM fighters, while the rates of cancellation of early modifications of the MiG-29 and Su-27 will be accelerated.
Similar to their American counterparts, albeit under more harsh conditions, the plans of the Russian Air Forces of the Soviet model for the transition to fifth-generation aviation turned out to be unrealizable from an economic point of view. Even though the United States Air Force initially planned to purchase 750 units of a promising tactical fighter (Advanced Tactical Fighter, F-22), and then this number was reduced to 195 units, the aircraft nevertheless went into series and entered service for combatant units.
History technical specifications
Attempts by the Sukhoi Design Bureau to make a PAK FA in accordance with the requirements of the Air Force are often dismissed by supporters of the “copying” theory - a term of the Russian expert community regarding similarities with the F-22 Raptor. When the general scheme of the aircraft was declassified, the PAK FA in some circles began to be called “raptorsky”, but “quiet Su-27” would have sounded better. The T-50 is the second, if not the third, attempt by the Russian Air Force to solve the problem of creating a fifth-generation fighter. If the terms of the TK F-22 are designated as the main likely opponent, he is still not alone, and this in turn does not mean that the task was to reproduce the Raptor. The F-35, like the Chinese J-20, was also taken into account in the Russian plan, along with fourth-generation European fighter jets.
The F-22 project is ten years older than the T-50. The United States Air Force technical assignment, which stated requirements for the replacement of the F-15 fighter, appeared at the end of 1981. The YF-22A was first introduced in 1990. Russia seems to be seeking to take into account various requirements for increasing survivability, but with less emphasis on the decline in ESR.
Moscow’s first response to Washington’s TK to the successor to the F-15 in terms of winning air supremacy can now be observed on the territory of the LII. Gromov. The development of Mikoyan's design bureau "1.44 product" is located at the design bureau of the design bureau, and the prototype was lifted into the air twice. The first flight was made in February 2000, almost ten years later than the originally scheduled dates. Developed at the beginning of the 1980's. in accordance with the requirements for the MFI (multifunctional fighter), this project was frozen due to the fall of the Berlin Wall (for example, note P. 2). Although Mikoyan Design Bureau continued to fight for the project during the 1990s, there was no necessary funding to complete the first stage of development at the level of the demonstrator, not to mention the creation of the aircraft in the serial "face".
Modern Russian Air Forces emerged in 1992 on the wreckage of Soviet aviation. To a large extent, they inherited the problems of their predecessor, and all of the 1990s. they were allocated insufficient funds for the cardinal solution of those issues that were undermining their combat capabilities. Russian aviation, both military and civil, all 1990-ies. was dying. Colonel-General Abrek Ayupov, who at that time held the post of deputy commander-in-chief of the Air Force for armaments, and is currently an advisor to the Sukhoi company, believes that this was a "period of stagnation." Rough numbers only mask the real situation in the Air Force in the first post-Soviet decade. When the total number of aircraft began to fall, and the first modifications of the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters became obsolete, there was nothing in nature that would even remotely resemble an acceptable and coherent program for the practical purchase of new or upgraded types of aircraft.
During the 1990-ies. You can count many points of the greatest fall of the Russian Air Force, but 1998 was the year, perhaps, the year when the bottom was reached - then the Air Force did not receive a single aircraft. In 1980-s. deliveries of new technology were calculated in hundreds of aircraft. And although throughout the 1990's. residual ambitions for the purchase of the fifth-generation fighter remained, and even some work was done, but insufficient funding was allocated for this.
In 2002, the Sukhoi Design Bureau of the T-50 won the proposals of the Mikoyan and Yakovlev Design Bureau in the competition of the Russian Air Force for a multi-role fighter, designed to change the Su-27. It is believed that the State Armaments Program for the period to 2020 provides for the purchase of 60 fighters. The technology demonstrator from Sukhoi Design Bureau with a backward-swept wing, which is known as C.37 and Su-47 “Berkut”, most likely began as a TsAGI research project, which in 1980's. was known as C.32. In some key areas, such as the increased use of composite materials and the internal suspension of weapons (a concession to reduce EPR), the demonstrator brought significant benefits, although he could hardly claim to be a replacement for the Su-27. The conceptual work on the next generation fighter project was also carried out in various Air Force laboratories, including the 2 Central Research Institute of Defense and GosNIIAS. 2-th Central Research Institute of Defense is one of the leading centers of competence in the field of EPR assessment and its reduction. In 2000-s. He was engaged in research on passive and active approaches to stealth technology applicable to combat aircraft.
Reduced visibility
The Sukhoi design bureau is notable for an attempt to significantly reduce the visibility of the aircraft in the radar range, which is characterized by various characteristics related to the second generation of low-incantation technology. The extent to which the aircraft will be equipped with passive and active systems reduce visibility, time will tell. However, in Russia, for a long time, there has been an interest in research in the field of a plasma cloud that absorbs radio signals. The project called "Marabou" is associated with a closed program to create a cruise missile 3-25 / X-80 "Meteorite". As part of this project, it was intended to use plasma to conceal the ventral air intake, which is a large reflector of radar radiation. The frontal and nasal sector of the T-50 airframe is clearly designed to significantly reduce the EPR. However, the same can not be said about the back of the prototype fighter. The design of the rear fuselage and engine nacelles seems to have less designer attention to reducing visibility in the radar range. However, it should be borne in mind that the T-50 is a prototype, and in the past, the Sukhoi Design Bureau, if necessary, did not stop in front of significant rework of the project. The most striking example is the almost completely redesigned T-10 (Su-27) fighter, when serious (and in fact - fatal) flaws were discovered during the initial phase of flight tests. As a result of redesign, controllability and flight characteristics improved significantly and led to the first production fighter, and ultimately to the Su-35C. Although it is difficult to assume that in the case of the T-50 there will be a similar radical reworking of the project, it is not possible to exclude certain improvements to the project.
The third prototype of the T-50-3 is already distinguished by separate airframe improvements, although the basic elements of the avionics are still to be established. The fourth prototype should join the tests at the end of 2012. It is said that the aircraft will have serious changes in the glider in order to correct the deficiencies found on the first prototype of the T-50-1. The first prototype was not observed from the time of flight tests in August 2011.
Although the Russian military and the aircraft developer remain silent even with respect to the basic characteristics of the T-50, the project clearly belongs to the same class as the Su-27. Interestingly, initially the program to develop the heir to the MFI from the Mikoyan design bureau at the end of the 1990s. some authoritative experts associated with the TTZ to the Light Front-line Fighter (LFI). A hot debate broke out among the Russian expert community as to which category the new aircraft would be in, and those who were in favor of a heavy fighter came out victorious. But both of the leading fighter developers are likely to continue to consider the possibility of a intermediate-class fighter between light and medium. Representatives of the Russian industry have recently admitted that this direction is of interest, although the amount of funds and production capabilities have left it in the field of good intentions.
The third prototype of the T-50-3 was the first on which the on-board equipment was tested. It is equipped with a radar with AFAR developed by JSC "Research Institute of Instrument", and the rest of the radar have a different aperture. In addition to the main X-band H-036 radar, it is planned to install two additional X-band radars on the aircraft (front and two side-mounted radars, that is, a circuit originally developed for MFIs (and F-22)). The MFI should also have been equipped with a smaller rear-view radar, although it is not currently possible that a similar scheme will be used on the PAK FA. L-band radars are also likely to be installed in the slat.
In addition to the radar, the aircraft will be equipped with an optical-location system. On the T-50-2, an infrared optical-location system was installed at a traditional location, and what was designated by some experts as a system to counter and direct infrared interference was behind the pilot's cabin. Additional electro-optical devices, including at least two ultraviolet "windows", are considered as equipment of a production aircraft. A complete optical-electronic complex can be tested on T-50-3.
Along with gaining experience in the use of composite materials in a glider, the C.32 / C.37 "Berkut" gave the Sukhoi Design Bureau the first experience in the design of internal weapon compartments. Although the internal suspension of weapons provides obvious advantages in terms of reducing EPR, it also creates many problems. Among them are the interaction with the environment and temperature, installation and removal of weapons, as well as the issues of cleaning these volumes. Most likely, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and the Air Force research organizations investigated the internal suspension of the weapon and its use using C.37.
Used weapons
Scheme T-50 includes two compartments of the armament of tandem layout in the space formed by the engines, as well as compartments for one type weaponsthat are behind the inner edge of the front horizontal tail. Photographs of the T-50 weapons bays can be made during the tests, but it is unlikely that they will appear in the West.
A wide range of modernized and new air-to-air missiles is being developed for arming the aircraft, and in some cases the work has been re-initiated. In Soviet times, the development of a new aircraft was often accompanied by simultaneous work on new air-to-air missiles. Many of the systems that could potentially be used with T-50, have been developed for MFIs.
Being a reflection of the problems faced by the aircraft designers, the development of new aviation weapons in the 1990s. practically ceased - work on the armament complex for the MFIs was put on the shelf, and programs for upgrading existing systems included missiles with active homing P-77, with IR-GOS P-73, and also upgrading the long-range missile P-33 (P- 37) were almost suspended. In the middle of 2000's. increased activity was observed. The long-established rocket modernization program P-77 (“the 170-1 product”) was finally approved by the government, or even re-initiated in 2003.
At least ten prototypes of the upgraded version of the P-77 were released, and the practical tests were started several years late, as it is believed, due to the lack of the required platform. The 170-1 product is currently in production for the Russian Air Force and is analogous to the RVV-SD export version. But in its current form, 170-1 is currently not planned to arm the PAK FA.
The best insight into the weapons planned for the PAK FA is an article by Gennady Sokolovsky, former CEO of Vympel and one of the leading developers of Russian aircraft weapons for a whole generation, published in 2006. A number of programs are mentioned, including , medium, long and ultra-range, which is planned to adopt the Russian Air Force.
Further upgrading of the P-77 family of missiles may be intended for the PAK FA: the 180 / K-77М and 180PD products. Official representatives of Vympel confirm the existence of developments for the further modernization of the rocket, not counting the 170-1 product, but are reluctant to talk about details. Both of these versions of the P-77 rocket will presumably be equipped with lattice rudders instead of the usual cruciform vertical shortened rudders.
In general terms, the Sokolovsky article talks about a new medium-range missile, and it may be related to the “270 product” index. This designation appears in the document relating to the e-T-50 ejection seat system. The document also mentions the “810 product,” the extended-range missile for the PAK FA.
During Soviet times, the task of super-long interception was assigned to a MiG-31 fighter armed with P-33 missiles, and then developed by Su-27М / MFIs. These aircraft also had the ability to use ultra-long air-to-air missiles, and the PAK FA follows this trend. It seems likely that before the “810 product” the aircraft was equipped with a “610M product”. This rocket is supposedly a kind of RVV-BD rocket, shown at the MAKS-2011 cabin.
Russia continues to lag behind in the field of infrared vision technology, and what specific type of short-range missile will be used with the PAK FA remains unknown. Today, Vympel representatives assume that the company will focus on further refinement of the P-73 rocket design, which means that the K-30 maneuvering melee combat project related to 1980 has been closed. The “760 product”, which is a variant of the P-73, can become a short-range “first stage” missile for the PAK FA.
The development of air-to-ground weapons is also underway. The X-38 modular missile, the supposed heir to the X-25 family, is in development. The tail and main rudders of the rocket are made folding for the possibility of internal suspension, in addition there are several targeting options. In addition to optical guidance, it is proposed to install a semi-active laser seeker, radar seeker, as well as a version with guidance using the GLONASS system. The successful separation of mass-dimensional missile models was reportedly carried out from the Su-34 fighter-bomber.
The PAK FA also gave a new life to the relatively outdated X-58 rocket in the form of the X-XNUMHUSHK. This modernized version of the X-58 is distinguished by a passive high-frequency homing system and, apparently, is intended to add a long-range anti-radar weapons (PRR) to the arsenal of the aircraft. The choice in favor of the X-58, and not a rocket with a ramjet X-58, can be explained by the size of the weapon compartment. The X-31PM rocket is an upgrade of the basic X-31 with a passive gos extended by the fuselage due to the presence of an additional solid propellant accelerator and fuselage-insert compartment. The length of X-31P is 31 m (X-4,7PM-31 m). X-XNUMHUSHK has a length of 5,3 m. Smaller PI X-58P can also be used from an aircraft, although the status of its development has not been explicitly voiced. A wide range of guided bombs will also become part of the arsenal of the new fighter.
Program risks
The program to create a PAK FA fighter has made much greater progress compared with its predecessor, which led the Mikoyan Design Bureau. She also has financial support from India, which also strengthens her position. Sustainable and sufficient funding for T-50 should remain a priority if the program claims high chances for its implementation. Until now, the Ministry of Defense and the government have failed to fully finance arms purchases, but there is reason to believe that the situation with the LG-2020 will be different, although it is still too early to give any definitive answers.
Being a very ambitious program, T-50 is still not at all what was planned in 1980. in the form of MFIs, but at the same time it has the advantages of significant developments that were used in the implementation of the program. Engine development can be a significant technical risk.
The requirements for the development and integration of radar and avionics are very high, and in the past this area has caused considerable trouble. The integration of avionics in the cockpit of the Su-27M fighter (Su-35 first with that name) was criticized by test pilots, who believed that it only left the choice between controlling the aircraft and conducting combat, but making it impossible to combine both of these functions.
Apparently, the production of T-50 will be carried out at KnAAPO, in the same place where Su-35С is produced. Serial production has already become difficult for other enterprises of the Sukhoi holding, especially NAPO, where the Su-27 shock version is produced in the form of the Su-34 front-line bomber.
T-50 has the potential to become a worthy successor to the Su-27, provided that the development program will have the necessary funding, along with the creation of weapons and avionics systems. But the T-50 already carries the features of a very advanced combat aircraft, which will allow Russia, India and other export customers to get into service a very advanced fighter over the coming decades.
Original publication: Air Forces Monthly, August 2012 - Douglas Barrie