Russian Air Force News & Discussion

Haavarla said:
Quite aggresive time line here..
And it is quite interesting to read that "Some of the missiles intended for the fighters – such as Kh-31PD (AS-17 Mod 2) class missiles – have already been tested using Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback) fourth-generation strike aircraft and put into serial production, he added."
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I believe that these have been in development for quite a long time, so it's not surprising to see them nearing completion. At the same time it's likely that there will be an additional delay (this being Russia after all), and that the new missiles aren't particularly revolutionary. In other words they are definitely playing catch-up.

Haavarla said:
Tu-22M3 are to be upgraded to M3M standard.
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So they gave up on the M5 mod? Interesting. The numbers upgraded are also very modest. 30 birds. Finally his statement seems to imply that the PAK-DA is currently intended to replace the Tu-22M as well as the strategic bombers.
 
The latest AIR International includes an article by Pyotr Bukovski on the Su 34.
He writes that currently 3 are deployed to Lipetsk AB and 2 to Akhtubinsk (test aircraft 1-5). The latter are planned to continue carrying out live firing trials with new missiles and glide bombs. Ten more (frontline aircraft 1-10) are stationed at Voronezh AB and will be augmented by 14 additional aircraft this year.
At the moment the VVS still has 150 Su 24M/M2 bombers and 100 Su 24MR recce aircraft. All of them will be retired over the next years except from he M2-version.

Other news are that until now 13 Ansat-U have been handed over to the Russian Air Force and that the service as received a single Tu 204 in VIP configuration.
 
State trials for the An-70 are to begin next year, probably upon delivery of the An-70 the Russian MoD purchased from Aviant. Eventually production is to be localized in Russia, planned currently in 2014.

Lenta.ru:

Looks like the An-70 and Il-476 will serve side by side. I'm not sure this is a good thing.
 
Well it's expensive, and while the defense budget through 2020 is huge, it's not infinite. In my opinion it would be better to use the Il-476 alone, and use the money saved to invest more heavily into replacing the light and medium transport aircraft that are nearing the end of their service life. The An-140-100 seems to be the new medium transport, and purchasing it in more significant quantities would help a lot. There is no replacement for the An-2 or An-3, although the Rysachok is proposed, so they have yet to even select a suitable aircraft. I think two heavy transport aircraft side by side is a luxury the VVS should not opt for.
 
Feanor said:
Well it's expensive, and while the defense budget through 2020 is huge, it's not infinite. In my opinion it would be better to use the Il-476 alone, and use the money saved to invest more heavily into replacing the light and medium transport aircraft that are nearing the end of their service life. The An-140-100 seems to be the new medium transport, and purchasing it in more significant quantities would help a lot. There is no replacement for the An-2 or An-3, although the Rysachok is proposed, so they have yet to even select a suitable aircraft. I think two heavy transport aircraft side by side is a luxury the VVS should not opt for.
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I really dont even understand why they purchased the An-70.....

Correct me if im wrong but isn't it technically foreign since their made in Ukraine? I don't understand why Russia has lately been turning to foreign suppliers for some of their needs, I always thought that one of their biggest job markets was in the defense field......


But I still don't get why they even purchased the An-70....cant they just put more IL-76's on order? Or are they too heavy and the VVS needs a lighter transport?
 
Comrade69 said:
I really dont even understand why they purchased the An-70.....

Correct me if im wrong but isn't it technically foreign since their made in Ukraine? I don't understand why Russia has lately been turning to foreign suppliers for some of their needs, I always thought that one of their biggest job markets was in the defense field......


But I still don't get why they even purchased the An-70....cant they just put more IL-76's on order? Or are they too heavy and the VVS needs a lighter transport?
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It was a joint project with Ukraine, and the logic behind it is that it will replace the An-22 as the heavy turbo-prop transport. Technically it's currently being "produced" in Ukraine, but given the UkrMoDs finance issues, I don't see a major serial run for Aviant. Russian MoD required localization (presumably full localization) of production in Russia meaning that it will not be dependent on imported components.

The IL-76 is not currently in production as the Tashkent plant was in too poor of a state to resume production. Instead production has been moved to Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk, where the new IL-476 will be produced starting iirc 2014. Reportedly 100 aircraft will be purchased (not sure if delivered) before 2020.

Haavarla said:
What kind of engines will the An-70 get?
How are specs like speed and range vs the Il-476?
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I don't know the data for the 476 however the 76TD is very very similar to the An-70. Both are ~6500 km range, both cruise at 750km/h. They're clearly designed to fill the same niche. We can expect that the 476 will be better then the 76TD. The An-70 also reportedly has some capability for landing on dirt airstrips and unprepared airfields, I'm not sure if the same is true of the 476.
 
In fact there will be five transport aircraft in service, the An 140 as a light transport for up to 6 tons of cargo, the MTA for 15 to 20 tons, the An 70 which can carry 47 tons, the Il 476 (60 tons) and the An 124 (150 tons).
I think they chose the An 70 because of political reasons, some time ago the Russians tried to get influence in Ukraine by buying strategically important companies like Antonov or Naftogas. Although they failed they're still planning to buy lots of Ukrainian aircraft what I personally wouldn't do, but we'll see how that ends.

@Haavarla: the An 70's performance is in general worse than that of the Il 476. The
Antonov has a max speed of 750 km/h and a range of 1350 km with
max payload. The Il 76MF could already fly 850 km/h and more than
4000 km with a higher load and I think the Il 476 will not be inferior to
its predecessor.
 
That's right, sorry for the mistake. So the An 70 is not slower than the Ilyushin (at least not significantly as I don't know the Il 476's definitive characteristics)
 
Klaus said:
That's right, sorry for the mistake. So the An 70 is not slower than the Ilyushin (at least not significantly as I don't know the Il 476's definitive characteristics)
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I recall reading that Shamanov, head of the VDV, was pushing for the An-70 purchase. Currently the Il-76 is the VDV's main transport aircraft.
 
Do the paratroopers have so much influence on the Air Force?
The An 70 probably has the advantage of being cheaper, but
I don't think buying an aircraft from a country which could end up
as my opponent one day is a good decision.
 
The An 70 is a turboprop, and the Il is a jet plane. generally the jets is gonna be faster, though, i'm not sure regarding the performance of the props to the heavier Ilyushin.

And regarding the An70 pruchase, I belive its a political 1. Putin managed to merge Ukraine's Aerospace company with russia, and An 70 is part of the deal I belive. Antonov is not geting serious buyers, and they need to make their sales to keep it going.
Next on Russian sights are Naftogaz. I very much doubt Ukraine is gonna be on the opposing end. There would be war if Ukraine tries to join the opposing side. And no NATO country is gonna risk war with Russia trying to get Ukraine, its just too big a price to pay.Ukraine is too significant to Russia's Strategic survival.
 
You mean along the Wings, Verticals Stabz, Carnards edges.. I dunno.
Could be, cause it makes no sense to use RAM coating on the whole thing..
 
Klaus said:
Do the paratroopers have so much influence on the Air Force?
The An 70 probably has the advantage of being cheaper, but
I don't think buying an aircraft from a country which could end up
as my opponent one day is a good decision.
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There are plans underway to equip Para-Assault Brigades with their own helos, rather then VVS ones, and for the VDV in general to have their own air units back, but this isn't certain at this point.
 
Feanor said:
There are plans underway to equip Para-Assault Brigades with their own helos, rather then VVS ones, and for the VDV in general to have their own air units back, but this isn't certain at this point.
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Are the VDV currently a separate service or subordinate to the VVS?
 
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