F-22 Raptor and the real problems of the Russian Air Force
The legend of the daring flight design ideas, lost money and unfulfilled hopes. Hymn to the greatness of the human mind and the parable of the insane ways, which sometimes turns technical progress. The saga is about how the bumbling outlines of truth melt away in a haze of fog of human error. The parabola of greed and gullibility, which go hand in hand for centuries, fueled by the unattainable human dream of the "philosopher's stone" and "perpetual motion".
All this - story fighter "fifth generation". The myth of the fantastic winged ship, which will bring laurels of victories at the feet of those who can build such a machine.
No other aircraft in history yet aviation was not presented with such fanfare as the formidable Reptor fighter. The merciless fury of heaven. The absolute technical superiority of the US Air Force. A miraculous means to win any war. Invisible and destructive weapon, bringing death to everyone who dared to “raise a hand” on its creators.
The paradox is that, to date, none of the “fifth generation” 187 fighters have taken part in the hostilities. It would be normal if the wars stopped on Earth - but since 2003, when the first serial F-22 arrived at Nellis air base, the world was shaken by many conflicts - the US Air Force aircraft made tens of thousands of sorties, sweeping away from the Earth.
The excuses associated with the "excess power of the aircraft" and the "inconsistency of the conditions of local conflicts with the purpose of F-22" can only arouse the rage of the American taxpayers: the military spent 60 billions of dollars to create an aircraft for which there are no suitable tasks!
Comparison of F-22 with nuclear weapons does not work - “Raptor” does not have the share of the stopping effect of the Strategic Nuclear Forces. Unlike the Tridents and Minutemen, this is a purely tactical weapon designed to solve the pressing problems of our time. But alas ...
US Air Force pilots prefer to carry bombs and dominate the air using proven F-15 and F-16.
It turns out easier, cheaper, and most importantly - no worse than using a fifth-generation fighter.
Much more fun is another fact: F-22 will certainly be of little use in solving "serious problems." So far, disputes about the inconspicuousness of the aircraft have not abated - experts lament that “Raptor”, most likely, will not be able to work effectively in the zone of action of the C-300 anti-aircraft systems.
A simple survey should be asked here: What did you expect? Twelve channels of guidance. Six speeds of sound. Weight of warhead 150 kg. A solid set of radar and detection systems capable of detecting airborne targets at a distance of hundreds of kilometers.
Crawling through C-300 is pure suicide. And no "Raptor" is not a panacea here - the US Air Force pilots will refuse to sit in the cockpit, but the one who ordered the breakthrough of enemy air defenses with the help of "Raptors" is awaiting a tribunal.
What do we "Raptor"! Throw hats?
Not at all. The 300 anti-aircraft complex is really a serious weapon, even the venerable foreign experts admit it. Another thing is that for a breakthrough through the C-300 barrier, the “fifth generation” re-airplane is not necessary.
How is that?
Brute strength and nothing more. The detected positions of the air defense missile system are put under pressure in a simple way: a volley of HARM anti-radar missiles, aimed at the sources of radio emission. Missiles are launched along a ballistic trajectory, while homing — the aircraft themselves remain at the same time outside the zone of action of the air defense missile system, and the account of the released Kharma usually goes to thousands.
The dead-headed “Kharma” will kill all the microwaves and radio transmitters in the district, but several of them will surely explode near the radar of the anti-aircraft complex, removing it from the game. Even if the operator, having felt something was wrong, will have time to turn off the radar, Harm will remember the last coordinates of the radiation source and continue its sorrowful path in the direction of the intended target.
The explosive cocktail from Kharmov is abundantly flavored with Tomahawk cruise missiles, squalls of radio-electronic interference, UAVs and special forces sabotage groups.
Launch anti-radiation missile AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radar Missile (HARM)
Very rude, costly and dirty reception - but this is the only way to break through modern air defense. It is this scenario that we observed in all the conflicts of recent years - both the Gulf Wars, Yugoslavia, Libya.
Only when the command is convinced of the incapacity of the enemy air defense system — do the carriers of democracy invade the airspace — hundreds of combat aircraft of the NATO air forces. Conventional F-15 and F-16.
Uber-plane F-22 "Raptor" again remained without work. Like his colleague B-2 "Spirit." Super-capabilities of these machines are simply not in demand.
Who are you, fifth generation fighter?
Modern pilots have everything - supersonic airplanes capable of automatically breaking through to the target, almost tearing down the crowns of the trees with their wings. Fantastic sighting systems capable of distinguishing a woman from a man, an armed man from a peaceful man from the stratosphere, or see the thermal trail of a passing car - the sensitivity of these systems is amazing. Jet combat vehicles can fly over a continent in a matter of hours, and their combat load exceeds the performance of WWII strategic bombers. Incredible aerobatics, guided missile weapons, opto-electronic defense systems and jamming systems.
The question is: Guys, what else do you need? Immortality and infinite ammo?
Of course, progress does not stand still - the fifth generation must replace the fourth generation of fighters. But what exactly is the "fifth generation" different in? And here, even among the most courageous theorists, a collapse of consciousness occurs.
- Stealth!
Nobody managed to make the plane completely invisible - the techniques of the “stealth” technology are in clear contradiction with the laws of aerodynamics. Work on partial reduction of visibility is not critical - the risk of being detected is still high.
Paradoxically, measures to drastically reduce visibility can be implemented on previous-generation aircraft — the practice is confirmed: Super Hornet production fighters, Silent Eagle and Silent Hornet advanced F-15SE aircraft.
F-15SE Silent Eagle.
"Floods" on the engine nacelles - internal compartments for weapons. Changed tail - Keels deflected to the sides for better dispersion of radio waves
- Super maneuverability! Tell about it Su-27 and its modifications Su-35.
- Multifunctional! Tell the creators of the Strike Eagle F-15E about this.
- Supersonic cruising speed without the use of afterburner!
Can. It will take "only" super-power (and voracious) engines. In principle, the only significant difference of the "fifth generation". Another question - how big is the need for such abilities? And the price paid is not too high?
Analyzing the requirements for the "fifth generation", it becomes obvious - they are literally "taken from the ceiling." What could really come in handy: unmanned aerial combat, absolute invisibility for any means of detecting the enemy - are still attributes of science fiction. What the modern industry offers under the guise of a “fighter of the new generation” is nothing more than an extremely complex and extremely expensive machine, whose tasks are duplicated by conventional planes with much greater efficiency (cost / effect).
Here it was possible to put an end, if not for one important circumstance:
Fighters "fifth generation" really exist! But this has nothing to do with the F-22 "Raptor".
Who are these mysterious machines? "Dry" PAK FA? Chinese prototype J-20?
No, a new generation of fighters appeared long before the creation of the PAK FA. It was a lengthy systemic process that took on the final form of the order of 20 years ago.
The aircraft itself has not undergone changes - the engines, the glider - everything has remained the same. Maybe the whole thing in avionics - high-tech "stuffing" of the aircraft? And again, by. Radar stations, INS, fly-by-wire (electrical remote control system) - there were no major changes noted. The increase in the performance of on-board computers and the appearance of "glass cabins" did not lead to a revolution in the aircraft industry. Which generation is the aircraft - 4 + or 4 ++ does not have as much value as is commonly believed.
The changes affected, first of all, organizational issues - the new tactics and special techniques made it possible to dramatically increase the power of modern aviation.
What does all this mean, comrades? Meet our first guest:
KC-10 Extender (extension) is an air tanker based on the DC-10 passenger airliner. 11 fuel tanks, 90 tons of aviation fuel. The tanker is designed to interact with tactical aviation: a telescopic filling bar and a hose-cone system allow you to transfer fuel to any of the military aircraft of the NATO countries. The capacity of the filling system is 5678 l / min (boom) and 1590 l / min (hose-cone). The tanker is capable of simultaneously transmitting fuel to three aircraft. In the upper part of the fuselage has a neck for refueling the tanker.
240 air tankers (500 with the National Guard and Air Force reserve) is where the source of US Air Force power is hiding.
"Elephant Parade". Tankers KC-135 at Mildenhall (UK)
To hell with the Raptor fighters! Refueling systems open up absolutely fantastic prospects for tactical aviation: an armada of tankers allows you to quickly group forces and deliver a massive strike at any point on the planet. Patrolling over any region of the Earth or an “air bridge” for an emergency transfer of troops to another hemisphere ... Refueling systems are installed on almost all American aircraft - combat fighters and bombers, early warning aircraft, transport vehicles, helicopters. Experiments are underway with drones.
Today, the Russian Air Force has 19 air tankers Il-78 (based on the Il-76 military transport aircraft). Also, Su-24 front-line bombers can be used as air tankers (the Sakhalin UPAZ-1A suspended refueling unit).
Pilots of the bomber aviation squadron of the air base of the Western Military District (ZVO) after the 18-year break performed flights with refueling in the air
- Head of the Information Support Department, Press Service of the Western Military District in the Baltic the fleet Vladimir Matveev, December 2012
Let us be objective: are there many pilots of the Russian Air Force capable of refueling in the air at night? In full radio silence mode? After all, these are standard tricks of American pilots.
Russian media and official sources regularly publish sensational comparisons between the Raptor and the Russian PAK FA. It is simply amazing how scandalous the fighters of the “fifth generation” have acquired - planes that have not made a single combat departure and have a dubious value in the realities of modern conflicts. At the same time, the air refueling systems - one of the pillars on which the modern air force keeps - are given very little attention.
Star cluster
Our next guest, although not related to the fighter aviation cohort, demonstrates the real priorities of the US air force. This plane has never been shown on TV, the Discovery and Impact Force programs are not filmed about it. In contrast to the advertised "Raptors", it always remains in the shadow. While the F-22 and the PAK FA pose at air shows, this machine quietly performs its demanding work: the demilitarized zone along the 38 parallel on the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East, border areas of Iran, and North Africa are its responsibilities.
Usual transport board of the USAF? No, this is an E-8 Joint STARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) - an aeronautical long-range surveillance and targeting system designed to recognize and classify ground targets at any time of day under any weather conditions, as well as to coordinate fighting and two-way exchange of information with ground forces in real time. Scout and air command post all in one.
In the case of a real armed conflict, it is necessary to “bring down” it in the first place - otherwise this gadёnysh will calculate and hand over all. Ji Stars patrols several dozen kilometers away from the battlefield, scanning the terrain with AN / APY-3 side-view radar, thermal imagers and high-resolution cameras — dozens of operators aboard the Ji Stars monitor the enemy’s movements quickly warning their own troops about possible ambushes, evacuation directions and about any changes in the situation. There is an assumption that it was “Ji Stars” who calculated the tuple of Colonel Gaddafi.
Detection, control of ground units, multichannel satellite communications, signal relaying and drone control - there are no analogues of this aircraft in the world.
Today, the US Air Force has a dozen E-8 "Ji Stars". And it has much more value than the notorious Raptor fighters. Alas, no work on creating analogs of the American "Ji Stars" is being conducted - everyone is busy discussing the "fifth generation" fighter.
Game set "Young Scout"
Versatility is an indispensable quality of modern combat aviation.
But to those who are preparing for an air battle, there is no need to carry with them a ballast in the form of an aiming complex for work on ground targets (for example, the LANTIRN system weighs half a ton)!
On the other hand, it is impossible to do without LANTIRN during a departure to attack - the complex allows you to make supersonic throws at extremely low altitude, pinpoint and identify point ground targets. At any time of the day, in difficult weather conditions.
How to solve a difficult dilemma?
The solution was the ingenious concept of quick-detachable suspension kits. Aiming navigation containers, reconnaissance equipment, conformal fuel tanks, electronic warfare modules, towed trap systems, fasteners, locks and a wide range of outboard weapons for all occasions. All systems are mounted on standard external suspension components and do not require changes in the design. *
* except for conformal fuel tanks
My name is Quasimodo!
Ugly humps on the back of the F-16 - conformal fuel tanks that turn the aircraft into a strategic bomber
Ugly humps on the back of the F-16 - conformal fuel tanks that turn the aircraft into a strategic bomber
Such an approach provides the aircraft with exceptional versatility and helps to improve precisely those abilities that are required to accomplish each specific mission. Removable modules can be combined in any order, hang the same blocks on different types of aircraft (standardization and savings!), And if necessary, easily replace a damaged or faulty unit with a new one (simplicity, ease of use). At the same time, after installing the sighting and navigation container, any F-16 acquires detection capabilities comparable to the F-22 and F-35 super-aircraft.
As a result, we get a relatively simple platform aircraft and a removable set of equipment. This concept has brilliantly established itself in all the wars of recent years. Suspended containers LITENING, LANTIRN and SNIPER XR are successfully used on all types of fighters, attack aircraft and strategic bombers of NATO countries.
Navigation AN / AAQ-13 and sighting AN / AAQ-14 containers of the LANTIRN system (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night).
Combines radar and front-view thermal imagers, a laser rangefinder, optical tracking sensors and a missile line-of-sight correlator.
Combines radar and front-view thermal imagers, a laser rangefinder, optical tracking sensors and a missile line-of-sight correlator.
For example, the already mentioned LITENING is used in the USAF to equip F-15E, F-16, A-10, B-52 ... If necessary, the container can be hung under the wing of any Harrier or F / A-18 deck aircraft. The allies are interested in the system - LITENING is compatible with the on-board electronics of the Panavia Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon, Grippen aircraft ...
The creators of the "fifth generation" fighters do the same, but in a much more complicated and costly way. They propose to initially equip the aircraft with super-electronica, mounting the blocks inside the fuselage. As a result, the price of the aircraft takes off to the skies, and half of the installed systems are usually used as ballast.
Surprisingly, such important systems were left out of the midst of violent disputes about the capabilities of Raptor and the PAK FA. Instead of discussing truly meaningful things, senseless debates around the “fifth generation” of fighters continue from year to year, which, in fact, does not solve anything in modern warfare.
The sighting container of the SNIPER XR system under the fuselage of the strategic bomber B-1B Lancer
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