Russian Air Force News & Discussion

[Feanor]

Russia’s new hypersonic missile put through military tests (VIDEO)

It seems the Mig-31 is all of a sudden not the one way trick pony.. or a "useless" cold war relic Interceptor anymore.

I remember i had a heated debate with some of the senior folks on here about the Mig-31 years ago.

The Kinzhal and Mig-31 Combo is now a fact.
And i believe the Kinzhal will also come with Conventioal warhead.

To the best of my knowledge, there is some 130 Mig's still in service. Obviously some will have to be hauled back to the Factory and re-worked to carry the Kinzhal. So perhaps not all Mig-31 will have this capability, but hey! The future of the Beast just got a lot more interesting.

Some statements made indicate that work on the MiG-31BM program were begun at the same time as work on the RS-74 Kinzhal. Given that the MiG-31 in Soviet service was also used in ASAT testing, it's likely that they intend to retain the type for a number of reasons having to do with the unique abilities of the airframe.

 

[Haavarla]

Some statements made indicate that work on the MiG-31BM program were begun at the same time as work on the RS-74 Kinzhal. Given that the MiG-31 in Soviet service was also used in ASAT testing, it's likely that they intend to retain the type for a number of reasons having to do with the unique abilities of the airframe.

There is a new Mig-31 upgrade called Mig-31BM3. Unfortunately any info is hard to come by. The Bort nr 91, 92, 93 seen with the Kinshal is of the new BM3 variant.

 

[Feanor]

There is a new Mig-31 upgrade called Mig-31BM3. Unfortunately any info is hard to come by. The Bort nr 91, 92, 93 seen with the Kinshal is of the new BM3 variant.

No kidding. I've not come across this term. Do you have any sources on what this new variant entails?

 

[Haavarla]

No kidding. I've not come across this term. Do you have any sources on what this new variant entails?

This is what i got.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Just coincidently i 'discovered' the existence of the SAT SR-10 on youtube.

Looks quite good, some kind of a smaller and lighter version of the Yak-130, but than with forward swept wings.
The Russian Air force has rejected the SR-10 in favour of the Yakovlev Yak-152, but the problem is also that the engine is made by the Ukrainian Ivchenko-Progresss.

 

[Feanor]

Just coincidently i 'discovered' the existence of the SAT SR-10 on youtube.

Looks quite good, some kind of a smaller and lighter version of the Yak-130, but than with forward swept wings.
The Russian Air force has rejected the SR-10 in favour of the Yakovlev Yak-152, but the problem is also that the engine is made by the Ukrainian Ivchenko-Progresss.

It's not a Yak-130 derivative but an independent design by a small team of enthusiasts from iirc Dagestan. I hope the MoD has enough sense to stay away from this. The last thing Russia needs in its zoo of platforms is a second jet trainer that duplicates the Yak-130 in role.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

It's not a Yak-130 derivative but an independent design by a small team of enthusiasts from iirc Dagestan. I hope the MoD has enough sense to stay away from this. The last thing Russia needs in its zoo of platforms is a second jet trainer that duplicates the Yak-130 in role.

The SR-10 is perfect for export, on the other hand, the MiG-AT was also not very successful.

 

[Haavarla]

Guess i could also post this over at Russian Army Thread.

Lots of new hardware on Trials.
But what cought my eye was the BUK M3 with new TEL and Radar;

 

[Feanor]

Guess i could also post this over at Russian Army Thread.

Lots of new hardware on Trials.
But what cought my eye was the BUK M3 with new TEL and Radar;

Also the Pantsyr-SM, and a new mystery radar, maybe part of the S-500.

Опытный образец зенитного ракетно-пушечного комплекса "Панцирь-СМ" на шасси К-53958 "Торнадо"
Максим Петров on Twitter

 

[Feanor]

The SR-10 is perfect for export, on the other hand, the MiG-AT was also not very successful.

Where it will compete with the Yak-130? I wouldn't have a problem with this if it weren't for the nature of Russian defense export and the Algerian MiG-29SMT debacle illustrates the problem rather well. Rosoboroneksport pushed the Algerians to take both and it led to the planes getting returned.

 

[Haavarla]

Some more Kinshal news.
Turns out the connection between Kinshal and the mis-alligment of a functional ABM treaty is very much a Fact.


In the opinion of TASS military expert Viktor Litovkin, the deployment of MiG-31 fighters carrying the Kinzhal hypersonic missile systems in the Southern Military District can be most likely explained by the need “to keep under control the Black Sea area,” which US and NATO warships armed with Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles regularly enter, posing a threat to strategic missile systems in Russia’s European part.

“The Kinzhal system is precisely intended for their deterrence. Intruders must know about this,” the expert said.

Incidentally, the crews of Kinzhal airborne hypersonic missile systems in the Southern Military District have already performed about 250 flights day and night in various weather conditions since the beginning of 2018, according to the reports by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Besides, close to the Black Sea area is Syria where we have our interests, the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Hmeymim and Tartus military bases. It is not ruled out that the Kinzhal may also come in useful in this region, all the more so as the distance from the Krasnodar Region to Syria is not very large. It takes half an hour flight by a MiG-31 fighter jet Viktor Litovkin TASS military expert.

Russia picks MiG-31 fighter as a carrier for cutting-edge hypersonic weapon

Mig-31K anyone?

Also Russia are sniffing at the Tu-22M3 as a viable platform for Kinshal.

 

[Feanor]

Russian UAV development seems to be progressing. NIR Okhotnik is approaching completion, and likely to enter the OKR phase soon. A reminder, NIR Okhotnik is a project for a LO UAV, under the model name S-70 by Sukhoi. The Forpost-M2 is an upgraded Searcher variant with greater domestication and proposed strike capability is also nearing completion. In fact it appears that Israel is continuing defense cooperation with Russia at a high level, despite Russo-American tensions. Finally an unmanned variant of the Diamond DA42 turbo-prop plane has been rolled out with Ataka ATGMs, and an EW pod. Russia is not the only one, or even the first one, to go this route, though given the circumstances it makes perfect sense not to reinvent the bicycle.

В РФ понемногу вооружают БПЛА
БПЛА «Форпост-М2»
Выкатка демонстратора ударного беспилотного летательного аппарата С-70 по НИР "Охотник-Б"

EDIT: A closer reading of the article suggests that perhaps the project is already in OKR phase, without public announcement. The first prototype has begun ground trials, not something done without a full scale OKR.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Russian UAV development seems to be progressing. NIR Okhotnik is approaching completion, and likely to enter the OKR phase soon. A reminder, NIR Okhotnik is a project for a LO UAV, under the model name S-70 by Sukhoi. The Forpost-M2 is an upgraded Searcher variant with greater domestication and proposed strike capability is also nearing completion. In fact it appears that Israel is continuing defense cooperation with Russia at a high level, despite Russo-American tensions. Finally an unmanned variant of the Diamond DA42 turbo-prop plane has been rolled out with Ataka ATGMs, and an EW pod. Russia is not the only one, or even the first one, to go this route, though given the circumstances it makes perfect sense not to reinvent the bicycle.

В РФ понемногу вооружают БПЛА
БПЛА «Форпост-М2»
Выкатка демонстратора ударного беспилотного летательного аппарата С-70 по НИР "Охотник-Б"

EDIT: A closer reading of the article suggests that perhaps the project is already in OKR phase, without public announcement. The first prototype has begun ground trials, not something done without a full scale OKR.

Thank you for sharing.
Im sorry, but what does OKR stands for?

 

[Feanor]

Thank you for sharing.
Im sorry, but what does OKR stands for?

Opytno Konstruktorskaya Rabota. It means a project that's entered the prototype building phase rather then the research and development of components phase. NIR is the first half where you are mostly doing research and maybe putting together a few components, OKR is the second half where you're working on producing prototypes and LRIP vehicles/aircraft.

 

[SolarWind]

Russian heavy long range stealth UAV "Hunter" ("Okhotnik") to have first test flight before the end of 2018. It's purpose is to take out air defences, destroy command and communications centers. "Hunter" is of a flying wing design, its full weight is 20 tons. I assume it can be programmed for each mission and does not require manual piloting.

Тяжелый стелс-беспилотник РФ взлетит раньше срока

Russia seems to have become more secretive about its NIRs and OKRs, no longer using announcements as patriotic boosts.

 

[Feanor]

Russian heavy long range stealth UAV "Hunter" ("Okhotnik") to have first test flight before the end of 2018. It's purpose is to take out air defences, destroy command and communications centers. "Hunter" is of a flying wing design, its full weight is 20 tons. I assume it can be programmed for each mission and does not require manual piloting.

Тяжелый стелс-беспилотник РФ взлетит раньше срока

Russia seems to have become more secretive about its NIRs and OKRs, no longer using announcements as patriotic boosts.

Russian UAV programs aren't well publicized in general. Look at the Orion program. It's still not clear what the holdup there is, it should in theory be entering state trials or at least factory trials in preparation for state trials. Yet all is quiet. Look at the Forpost M2; one vague mention but no timetables, no program status, barely any information.

 

[Boagrius]

Various sources reporting the "cancellation" of mass production of the Su57.

Russia Will Not Mass-Produce 5th Generation Stealth Fighter Jet

Can anyone provide some clarification here? Is the Su57 in trouble as a concept?

 

[Todjaeger]

Various sources reporting the "cancellation" of mass production of the Su57.

Russia Will Not Mass-Produce 5th Generation Stealth Fighter Jet

Can anyone provide some clarification here? Is the Su57 in trouble as a concept?

Not sure how accurate that article itself is, since the writing on it was poor, like the following quote:

Another reason why the aircraft is expected to enter serial production soon are multiple technical difficulties that still need to be overcome.

Not to be difficult, but I would normally expect that if an aircraft has multiple technical difficulties to overcome, then it would NOT be expected to enter serial production soon.

I could readily believe though that the Russian armed forces have encountered some budget issues between the sanctions and cost of operations in both the Ukraine and Syria, it would not leave a significant amount of funding to complete R&D and then begin production of a new aircraft design, on top of everything else that needs to be worked on.

It is also distinctly possible that Russian authorities might feel the aircraft and associated battle systems need more development in order to have a peer-level capability with the US/NATO.

 

[John Fedup]

India's withdrawal from the Russia-India 5th Gen project might be a factor for SU-57 delays as well. Not hard to believe that some money from the joint project was partially subsidizing the SU-57.

 

[Boagrius]

Makes sense. I'm just trying to figure out whether this simply represents a delay to the fielding of the aircraft or if it is in fact dead in the water. Doesn't sound promising.