Russian Air Force News & Discussion

[nevidimka]

An interesting angle of the Pak FA that shows that something is happening with the way the engine inlets are designed.

 

[Feanor]

You can tell that a company is in a very bad state when despite selling almost as many warbirds as Dassault in the last decade, customers are vary of long term support. Present users of MiG-29 do no even want to evaluate MiG-35 (Malaysia) and are replacing 29's after just a decade and half of service, despite Mikoyan promising a load carrying capability of Rafale or SH, the speed and acceleration of Typhoon and a flyaway cost of Gripen.

Probably more birds then Dassault, given that they sold 45 MiG-29K to India, 24 MiG-29s to Burma, 24 MiG-29M2 to Syria, 24 MiG-29S to Sudan, and 34 MiG-29SMT to the VVS. These are not small sale numbers. But they have yet to figure out how to work with customers.

 

[Haavarla]

Havaarla you were wondering about Flankers in service. I addition to the squadron at Khotilovo, it appears there are two squadrons in Petrozavodsk. There are also at least two squadrons maybe three at airbase 6972. One of them is the SM3 unit. There may be a number of them in Center MD, but I'm not sure.

Over all this accounts for 5 regiments out of the 7 that existed pre-reform.

2 regiments of SMs, 1-1.5 regiments in South MD, and 1.5 regiments in West MD.

Thx for the update.

Take a look at this:

bmpd -

The upgrade and repairs senter at Krasnodar are going strong.
Seems it will get additional infrastructure to cope with the remaining but ever more complex VVS fleet.

Guess, the oldest Su-27S and Mig-31 are slated for overhauls.

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/30689602.jpg

 

[Comrade69]

MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti)

The Russian Defense Ministry is planning to buy at least 45 light multipurpose helicopters from a foreign manufacturer, Vedomosti daily said on Wednesday.

The paper cited a defense industry source as saying that a contract worth over 6 billion rubles ($201 mln) for the purchase of fifteen AS350 and thirty AS355 Ecureil helicopters made by Eurocopter is in the works.

The Defense Ministry may order a total of 100 helicopters of this type mainly for training purposes.
A joint venture with Eurocopter could be set up for the assembly of AS350/355 in Russia, the source said.

The purchase of light helicopters abroad shows the urgent need for light helicopters by the Russian military, as domestic Ansats and Ka-226s are just entering the market while the Mi-34 is still under testing.

The Eurocopter AS350 is a single-engined light helicopter while the AS355 is a twin-engine variant. Both versions have been produced since the mid-1970s and sales remain strong.

Russian Military Plans to Buy Foreign Helicopters – Media | Defense | RIA Novosti

I just have to ask....why..........?

 

[Klaus]

In the new issue of AIR International there are several articles concerning the Russian Air Force.

The most interesting of these by Pyotr Bukovski examines the MiG 31BM upgrade programme. He states that until 2020 the VVS will receive a total of 60 MiG 31BM, a part of these will be "new" aircraft, which were destined for China and Syria, but never delivered. The improvements include extending the range of the Zaslon radar to 240 km and modification of several of the aircraft's systems to allow the use of three new missiles (R 37, R 73, R 77). Unlike previously planned, the MiG 31BM will carry no air-to-ground weapons. 24 upgraded aircraft have already been handed over, a part of these will probably be upgraded once again, as they did not receive some of the improvements mentioned above. 108 older MiG 31Bs and Ms also remain in
service today.

Furthermore, the VVS together with the Kubinka repair plant intend to speed up the overhaul and upgrade of t he Su 25-fleet from 2013 onwards.

 

[Haavarla]

It starting to look like China actually did request some Su-35S last year after all..
If true, so much for China not interesting in the Su-35S

China requests Su-35 fighter buy

I'm sure China are willing to pay copious amount of funding here..
Cause those units will not come cheap, at all.
Ofcourse the next issue now is; are Russia interesting in ToT much of their hard earned High-tech radar and engines to China?

And if this indeed is a large order, what does this tell us about the current status of PLAAF deveopment and proccurment capability?

Edit:
It looks like the 4th Serial Su-35S been delivered too.

 

[Feanor]

An Su-30 crashed near Komsomolsk-na-Amure. The Russian MoD claims that this is an export aircraft, but this could be one of the Su-30M2s deployed as combat-trainers to the SM units in East MD. Both pilots catapulted out safely.

ÀÐÌÑ-ÒÀÑÑ

A number of Ka-226 helicopters were delivered to the Syzran Helicopter Pilot School. Over 10 aircraft were delivered (probably 12). Supposedly 40 are to be delivered by 2020 to the school.

Вертолеты Ка-226 поÑтупили в СызранÑкий филиал ВУÐЦ ВВС «ВВл — ÐžÐ Ð£Ð–ИЕ РОССИИ, Информационное агентÑтво

These would be the first notable deliveries of Ka-226 to the VVS. This should also go a long way towards promoting the aircraft for export given their participation in the Indian light helicopter tender.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

An interesting angle of the Pak FA that shows that something is happening with the way the engine inlets are designed.

Wauw...nice picture, thanks for posting!....

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

It starting to look like China actually did request some Su-35S last year after all..
If true, so much for China not interesting in the Su-35S

China requests Su-35 fighter buy

I'm sure China are willing to pay copious amount of funding here..
Cause those units will not come cheap, at all.
Ofcourse the next issue now is; are Russia interesting in ToT much of their hard earned High-tech radar and engines to China?

And if this indeed is a large order, what does this tell us about the current status of PLAAF deveopment and proccurment capability?

Edit:
It looks like the 4th Serial Su-35S been delivered too.

Maybe Sukhoi will get a lot of money for it, but as we all know the Chinese are masters of copy-paste....

 

[Comrade69]

Maybe Sukhoi will get a lot of money for it, but as we all know the Chinese are masters of copy-paste....

Ya I would not give it them

they would just make the J-12B out of it powered by the WS-12 engine(AL-41 future copy)

 

[Klaus]

@Feanor: As I understood it, only 5 Ka 226 were delivered, the rest will be handed
over over the course of this year.
If the Ka 226 is already in service, what would the Air Force need the Eurocopter Fennec for?

 

[Haavarla]

The Russian Defense Ministry has signed a contract with aircraft maker MiG for the delivery of 20 MiG-29K and four MiG-29KUB carrier-based fighter aircraft, MiG said on Wednesday.

Russia Signs Contract for Navy MiG-29K Fighter | Defense | RIA Novosti

I must say.. VVS are in a state of mass ordering and proccurment phase that has no historical equall sinse SU times..

When VVS and Navy finely bags(signing) that Su-30SM deal, they will get new fighters and upgrades which is only compairable to US and then some.
Until the F-35 finnish all the LIRP production that is..

So whats next for VVS after those Su-30SM, some follow ups on those Su-35S and Su-34 deals i guess..

 

[Feanor]

The Russian Defense Ministry has signed a contract with aircraft maker MiG for the delivery of 20 MiG-29K and four MiG-29KUB carrier-based fighter aircraft, MiG said on Wednesday.

Russia Signs Contract for Navy MiG-29K Fighter | Defense | RIA Novosti

I must say.. VVS are in a state of mass ordering and proccurment phase that has no historical equall sine SU times..

When VVS and Navy finely bags(signing) that Su-30SM deal, they will get new fighters and upgrades which is only compairable to US and then some.
Until the F-35 finnish all the LIRP production that is..

So whats next for VVS after those Su-30SM, some follow ups on those Su-35S and Su-34 deals i guess..

Su-34 follow-on contracts should be next, but I don't think there will be more Su-35S purchases. Most likely they will focus on the PAK-FA. As is they will operate ~80-100 MiG-31BMs post 2020. They will also operate at least 12 Su-27SM3, 48 Su-35S, 4 Su-30M2, and 28 Su-30SM. That's another 92 advanced Flankers. They also won't be retiring the MiG-29SMT after only 10 years in service, so that's another 34 planes, making for a total of 200+ 4th gen fighters that will serve side by side with the PAK-FA, rather then being phased out. I don't see why they would continue purchasing them.

@Feanor: As I understood it, only 5 Ka 226 were delivered, the rest will be handed
over over the course of this year.
If the Ka 226 is already in service, what would the Air Force need the Eurocopter Fennec for?

Supposedly for military mail service. To be honest, I don't know. I suspect there may be private interests at work. Though it's a fairly small purchase.

EDIT: The PAK-FA 052 from behind. It's still carrying the fins of 051.

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/171872.html

I wonder if they will do anything about those nozzles to reduce RCS and IR signatures.

 

[Klaus]

I repeatedly read that the Air Force intends to acquire another 48 Su 35S after 2015. A VVS general some months ago declared that 8 squadrons would be equipped with Su 35 and Su 30 fighters. (This would make up 112 aircraft)

And there were also talks being held about an order for the MiG 35, but afaik no decision has yet been made whether any order will be placed. If the MiG 29Ks will be delivered until 2015, then MiG would be left without orders quite soon if nobody buys the MiG 35.

I'm not sure whether there will be more than the planned 124 Su 34. Annual production rate is still low and only 15 have been handed over yet. Besides that, an unmanned tactical bomber is already being developed. And Tupolev is working on an unmanned recon aircraft to replace the Su 24MR.

 

[Haavarla]

I'm confused here:

Lenta.ru:

Is this the very same original Su-34 contract, or a new contract replacing the old one.
Or is this an follow up on the original Su-34 contract...?

 

[Klaus]

It's a follow-on contract, now 124 are on order. They are going to be delivered until 2020 and will replace the largest part of the VVS's current inventory of Su 24s (220 or so).
Afaik 15 have already been delivered, with 10 more planned for this year. So another 99 would have to be built within the next seven years.

 

[Haavarla]

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and General Director of the Sukhoi Company Igor Ozar signed a state contract for delivery of 92 Su-34 frontline bombers till the year 2020

March 1, 2012, Moscow — The series production of the aircraft takes place in the Sukhoi holding’s Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association (NAPO) in the framework of the five-year state contract signed in 2008 to supply 32 Su-34 frontline bombers. 10 aircraft have already been delivered to the troops.

According to Anatoly Serdyukov, this is one of the largest contracts for the supply of combat aircraft, under the State Armament Program for 2011-2020. Implementation of the program will allow soon largely replacing Su-24 front bombers currently in service.

The President of the United Aircraft Corporation and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sukhoi Company Mikhail Pogosyan stressed at the ceremony that the state contract guarantees the Sukhoi Company and allied enterprises a high production load, giving a new impetus to their development in the long term.


Sukhoi Company (JSC) - News - News

Wow!
Feanor, u nailed this one nicly.

I guess a congratulation is in order.
Well done Sukhoi.

 

[Feanor]

It's a follow-on contract, now 124 are on order. They are going to be delivered until 2020 and will replace the largest part of the VVS's current inventory of Su 24s (220 or so).
Afaik 15 have already been delivered, with 10 more planned for this year. So another 99 would have to be built within the next seven years.

5 were delivered as not part of any multi-year buy. So the total would be 129 aircraft by 2020.

Wow!
Feanor, u nailed this one nicly.

I guess a congratulation is in order.
Well done Sukhoi.

It was kind of obvious... they couldn't exactly stop buying after a total of 37 aircraft... The real question is whether they will keep buying past 2020. They've made statements that seemed to imply that they intend to operate 6 units of 24 aircraft, and that might be it. Honestly though I hope they continue purchases. They need far more aircraft to maintain op-tempo and capability.

 

[Haavarla]

Yeah i know, you'll have to excuse my entusiasm on the matter though.

Ok, the nearest country that are in a position to sign a Su-34 export deal would be India.
Isn't those new Super MKI configurated to carry brahmos etc. It sounds to me it is indeed planned for a strike and NC role.

That would imply an conciderable weight increase for those MKI..
And No doubt they will be the most expensive Flankers ever exported.

Now that Russia has sign a long term Su-34 contract, which should help reducing the fly away cost to some degree.
The way i see it, IAF should instead opt for 2-3 Sqads of Su-34 instead.
And the shared chain of supply & logistic parts from MKI to Su-34 should not have any negative impact.

Anyway, the next contract should be those IRKUT produced Su-30SM.
Remins to see if a contract will come this year, IAPO are currently engaged in the Yak-130 production and MS-21 re-tooling phase.
Do Su-30SM deliveries are still some year ahead.

 

[Feanor]

Yeah i know, you'll have to excuse my entusiasm on the matter though.

Ok, the nearest country that are in a position to sign a Su-34 export deal would be India.
Isn't those new Super MKI configurated to carry brahmos etc. It sounds to me it is indeed planned for a strike and NC role.

That would imply an conciderable weight increase for those MKI..
And No doubt they will be the most expensive Flankers ever exported.

Which would mean they hardly need the Su-34.

Now that Russia has sign a long term Su-34 contract, which should help reducing the fly away cost to some degree.
The way i see it, IAF should instead opt for 2-3 Sqads of Su-34 instead.
And the shared chain of supply & logistic parts from MKI to Su-34 should not have any negative impact.

Perhaps as EW birds they could have a niche. However the MKIs are more then capable of filling the strike role.

Anyway, the next contract should be those IRKUT produced Su-30SM.
Remins to see if a contract will come this year, IAPO are currently engaged in the Yak-130 production and MS-21 re-tooling phase.
Do Su-30SM deliveries are still some year ahead.

I hope that the Su-30SM contract gets cancelled, either in favor of more Su-35S, or more PAK-FAs. However most likely the buy will go ahead. Industry-owned MK prototypes performed well in the Georgian war, and impressed higher ups. And IAPO has serious political leverage. Given that interest in the Su-30 series is likely to decrease in the coming years, a solid buy from the VVS would help keep the production lines open for the smaller Su-30MK orders to remain profitable, as well as giving the factory extra work. Perhaps it would be better if the AVMF replaced their Flankers and Fencers with Su-30SMs, while the VVS stuck to Su-35S. Though with the MiG-29K buy it would make more sense to opt for those. Unless they're hoping to have some domestic variant of the Brahmos available.