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Post by TsarSamuil on Nov 29, 2013 13:11:14 GMT -5
Russia Speeds Up Development of New Strategic Bomber.
SOCHI, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will begin the full-scale R&D work on its future strategic bomber in 2014, a senior aircraft-manufacturing industry official said Thursday.
The project, known as PAK-DA (an acronym meaning “future long-range aircraft”), has been in the works for several years but was given the formal go-ahead by the Russian leadership last year.
“A decision was made this year to expedite the development of the PAK-DA aircraft,” Mikhail Pogosyan, head of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, said at a meeting on the future of the Russian air force chaired by President Vladimir Putin.
“We finished coordinating the project with the Defense Ministry in September and at present we are getting ready to start full-scale work on research and development of these aircraft next year,” Pogosyan said.
According to Russian media reports citing defense ministry sources, the Tupolev design bureau has won the PAK-DA development tender with its concept for a subsonic aircraft with a “flying wing” shape that provides superior “stealth capabilities.”
The Defense Ministry insisted that the PAK-DA should be equipped with advanced electronic warfare systems and armed with new nuclear-capable long-range cruise missiles in addition to a variety of high-precision conventional weapons.
The new bomber is expected to go into production by 2020 and will most likely be built at a new aircraft assembly line at Russia's Kazan plant (KAPO), according to defense ministry officials.
The PAK-DA is due to replace Russia’s aging fleet of 63 Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear and 13 Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers in the next decade.
Pogosyan said Thursday that the preliminary tests of the modernized Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers have been completed and they will now undergo a series of inspections by a state acceptance commission.
He did not specify the number of modernized aircraft to be inspected.
According to aircraft industry officials, the modernized bombers feature new weaponry, improved electronics and avionics that double their combat effectiveness.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 5, 2014 7:55:17 GMT -5
Russian Pilots to Train in Enhanced Il-38N Aircraft in 2014. MOSCOW, January 5 (RIA Novosti) – Pilots from Russia’s Northern Fleet will undergo retraining in 2014 to master the modernized Ilyushin Il-38N anti-submarine aircraft, a military official told journalists Sunday. The first crew has already completed the theoretical part of the program and has begun the practical flight training, said Captain First Rank Vadim Serga, a representative of the Northern Fleet. “The plane has been enhanced with new-generation detachable hydroacoustic and magnetic beacons that surpass their Western counterparts in a range of ways,” he said. The Il-38N can act as a maritime patrol aircraft capable of performing electronic reconnaissance, Serga said. The new aircraft is equipped with the Novella system that allows it to detect targets from up to 320 kilometers away, including radar-equipped submarines, ships and aircraft. The Novella system comprises a high-resolution thermal imager and sensors for detecting magnetic anomalies, along with other sensors that allow it to locate submarines and surface targets, as well as to carry out scientific research, Serga said. The Novella is a variation of the Sea Dragon system that was installed on five Il-38s serving with the Indian navy during the last decade. The new Il-38N could be used to map magnetic and gravitational charts of the Arctic Ocean.  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 6, 2014 6:01:11 GMT -5
PAK DA design sneak peek - Russian next-generation strategic bomber. PowerRossiya Jan 5, 2014 www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJmsAlUPOM4The PAK DA is a Russian next-generation strategic bomber, under development by the Tupolev Design Bureau. The PAK DA will be a new stealthy strategic bomber capable of hypersonic speed and is expected to enter service in 2025 - 2030 with the first aircraft delivered in 2020. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 25, 2014 15:36:11 GMT -5
Russian’s Air Force to Receive New Generation Long-Range Bomber in 2023.
VORONEZH, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Air Force will start receiving its first PAK DA next generation long-range bomber in 2023, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Thursday.
Earlier reports said PAK DA bombers could be supplied to the Russian Air Force approximately by 2020.
“The maiden flight should be performed in 2019. State tests and supplies will be completed in 2023,” Bondarev said.
The head of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Mikhail Pogosyan, told reporters earlier that the full-fledged construction work would start already this year.
Russia’s strategic Air Force operates a total of 32 Tu-95MC6, 31 Tu-95MC16 and 13 Tu-160 bombers. Altogether, they are capable of carrying 850 long-range cruise missiles.
It is expected that the new bomber will be able to penetrate through modern air defenses and suppress them. PAK DA will be equipped with the newest complex of the radio electronic combat and high-precision weaponry.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 7, 2014 17:30:29 GMT -5
rt.com/usa/178820-russia-military-flights-us-airspace/Russian nuclear-capable bombers 'tested' US air defences 16 times in last 10 days. RT.com August 07, 2014 20:58 Russian strategic nuclear bombers and other military aircraft entered US air defense identification zones (ADIZs) at least 16 times over the past ten days, American defense officials confirmed on Thursday. “Over the past week, NORAD has visually identified Russian aircraft operating in and around the US air defense identification zones,” said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Smith sought to downplay the incursions that she called “a spike in activity,” telling the Washington Free Beacon’s Bill Gertz that the flights were assessed as routine training missions and exercises. But an unnamed defense official familiar with the incursion reports disagreed with Smith’s assessment. “These are not just training missions,” the official told Gertz, saying that Russian strategic nuclear forces appear to be “trying to test our air defense reactions, or our command and control systems.” NORAD scrambled fighter jets several times when Russian strategic aircraft flew along US ADIZs. The planes included a mix of Tu-95 Bear H heavy bombers and Tu-142 Bear F maritime reconnaissance aircraft, as well as one IL-20 intelligence collection aircraft, Smith said. The bomber flights took place mainly along the Alaskan air defense identification zone that covers the Aleutian Islands and the continental part of the state, and one incursion involved entry into Canada’s air defense zone, she added.  United States ADIZ boundaries, 11 Feb 2010 (Department of Defense/National Geospatial Intelligence Agency) “Such aerial bravado has been rare since the fall of the Soviet Union,” News.com.au wrote. “Until now.” “And it all appears to be a direct result of the cooling of relations between the West and Russia over the invasion of Crimea and the shooting-down of MH17,” the Australian News Corp site added. During the Cold War, Soviet bombers sought to trigger US air defenses as preparation for a potential nuclear conflict. The recent spike in activity after a surface-to-air missile brought down the Malaysia Airlines plane is not the first time Russian military planes were detected in US ADIZs this summer. On June 9, a pair of Tu-95 Bear H aircraft maintained by Russia came close to US airspace during practice bombing while four of the planes were conducting bombing runs near Alaska, a NORAD spokesman told Gertz. “After tracking the bombers as they flew eastward, two of the four Bears turned around and headed west toward the Russian Far East,” he wrote of the June incident. “The remaining two nuclear-capable bombers then flew southeast and around 9:30 P.M. entered the US northern air defense zone off the coast of Northern California.” Those two aircraft, Gertz added, made it within 50 miles of the coast before turning around after a US F-15 intercepted them. Russian aircraft have also made incursions into other countries’ airspace this year. In June, the UK’s Royal Air Force scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to intercept four flights of aircraft in the airspace around the Baltic states. The planes included advanced Tu-22M Backfire bombers, Su-27 Flanker interceptors, an A-50 Mainstay radar aircraft and a transport aircraft, News.com.au wrote. Russian-owned Tu-95 bombers skirted UK airspace and have come close to US property in both Guam and California, The Aviationist reported in May. In an April incident in international airspace between Russia and Japan, two Russian Su-27 Flanker interceptors flew beneath a US Air Force reconnaissance plane, then “popped up” ahead of the jet, which was forced to take evasive maneuvers, according to News.com.au. The United States has been flying spy missions of its own, however. Over the weekend, US officials confirmed Swedish media reports that an American spy plane invaded Sweden’s airspace in mid-July. The maverick plane was spying on Russia when it was intercepted, and was evading a Russian fighter jet when it entered Swedish airspace without permission. Air traffic control had denied the Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint entrance, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper said. The incident occurred on July 18, the day after MH17 was shot down.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Sept 8, 2014 22:28:53 GMT -5
Russian strategic bombers reportedly practice nuclear missile strike against US.
RT.com
September 08, 2014 17:05
A pair of Russian bomber jets reportedly practiced cruise missile attacks against targets in the United States last week, according to a report published on Monday in the Washington Free Beacon.
Bill Gertz, a writer for the Beacon, reported that two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers were tracked flying over the Labrador Sea last week in the northern Atlantic Ocean near Iceland, Greenland and Canada as part of a recent training mission.
“Analysis of the flight indicated the aircraft were conducting practice runs to a pre-determined ‘launch box’ — an optimum point for firing nuclear-armed cruise missiles at US targets,” Gertz wrote, citing unnamed defense officials he described as being familiar with intelligence reports.
The aircraft, Gertz added, are outfitted with six AS-15 nuclear-armed cruise missiles, each capable of striking targets as far away as 1,800 miles.
Representatives for the US Northern Command and Northern American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, declined to comment to Gertz ahead of his report, and told RT in an email Monday afternoon that they could not confirm the allegations printed by the Free Beacon. On his part, however, Gertz wrote that neither the US nor Canada responded to the alleged incident because it reportedly occurred outside of the North American Air Defense Identification Zone.
According to Gertz, the reported drill occurred last week at the same time that officials from the US, Canada and other allied partners met in Wales for the largest NATO summit of its kind in two years, where on the agenda, among other topics, was the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine and potential action that could be undertaken to counter perceived Russian aggression. On the heels of that meeting, both the US and the European Union are expected to impose new sanctions against Moscow.
The latest report comes days after Russia’s own recent decision to revise a 2010 military doctrine to identify the US and NATO members as enemies, which “clearly outline [ s ] the conditions of a preemptive nuclear strike” against partner countries, Gertz wrote. With regards to the alliance, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said during last week’s summit that at least 4,000 troops from various member states will soon form a “spearhead” regiment that will be “ready to deploy within a few days with air, sea and Special Forces support” in the event that the Ukrainian crisis spread into allied territory.
Gertz has previously reported for the Beacon that no fewer than 16 Russian bombers incurred the airspace of either US or Canada during the month of August, and this week’s article comes days after similar allegations were made abroad: late last month, a Dutch F-16 military jet intercepted and escorted a Russian Tu-95 bomber out of that nation’s airspace, as did the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force during a similar incident.
“Clearly, we at the US Strategic Command do monitor the strategic environment,”Admiral Cecil Haney, commander of the US Strategic Command, told Gertz last month following reports that Russian bombers came within 50 miles of California on the US West Coast. "I will say that the business of them coming close to the United States of America, we take very seriously.”
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Post by TsarSamuil on Sept 20, 2014 3:19:56 GMT -5
US, Canada military report Russian military planes at border.
RT.com
September 20, 2014 05:39
American and Canadian military reported intercepting Russian military aircraft near Alaska and Canada this week. Neither country’s airspace was violated.
There were two separate incidents involving Russian military planes near North America. On Wednesday, two Mig-31 fighter jets were spotted in a US air defense identification zone (ADIZ) off the Alaska coast, with the US Air Force scrambling two F-22 jets to intercept them. The US also identified two Tu-95 long-range bombers and two Il-78 refueling tankers nearby.
On Thursday, two Russian Tu-95 bombers flew into Canada’s ADIZ and were intercepted by two Canadian F-18 jets.
ADIZ is a zone projecting from a country’s coastline closely monitored by the military for possible threats. The US and Canada ADIZ extends some 200 miles into the sea.
Since Russia renewed long-range air missions for its air force, Russian military aircraft have regularly flown near the US. In the past five years, the US has scrambled its fighter jets some 50 times to shadow the Russians, said John Cornelio, spokesman for NORAD and NORTHCOM.
"We do not see these flights as a threat," he said.
Some media linked the encounters with the annual Vostok military exercise currently underway in Russia’s east.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Sept 26, 2014 17:31:54 GMT -5
Pentagon concerned over Russian strategic bomber drills near US.
RT.com
September 26, 2014 18:21
A top US military commander has expressed concern over the appearance of long-range Russian bombers near United States airspace, adding that the Pentagon is watching the activity “very carefully.”
Admiral Samuel Locklear, chief of the US military’s Pacific Command, spoke a week after Russian Bear bombers approached US and Canadian airspace last week. Both countries scrambled fighter jets to intercept the Russian craft, Reuters reported.
"Certainly the return of the long-range aircraft flights that we haven't seen in any significant number over the last decade or so is concerning. And it's something that we watch very carefully," Locklear told reporters on Thursday.
Tensions between the US and Russia may be at the highest level since the Cold War, as a Western-backed elements in Ukraine fomented a government takeover earlier this year, deposing President Viktor Yanukovich. A tentative ceasefire is in place between the two sides distinguished by loyalty to the new government in Kiev or self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples republics in the east.
Locklear said Russian approaches near the US air defense identification zone - an area just outside sovereign US airspace - was "basically kind of Cold War activity with long-range bombers."
"These are things that we have to be concerned about as military people. We have to think about them and what that would mean to the security of the region and the security of our own homeland."
Similar Russian training missions - reportedly in practice for cruise missile attacks against targets in the United States - were tracked in early September and previous months.
Yet Locklear did not mention reciprocal military training exercises conducted by the US and allies on Russia’s doorstep, in Ukraine. A total of 1,300 troops from 15 nations, either active NATO members or candidate-countries, participated in drills this month known as ‘Rapid Trident,’ which ended on Friday.
“I think it is good training, learning how to fight the terrorists,” said Ukrainian military cadet Mykhailo Kutniy, using the term “terrorists” for pro-Russian rebels in the east. “We learn how to make ambush. We learn how to stop the column and destroy the enemy.”
In addition, in early September, Ukrainian and American naval forces held joint maritime drills in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. The US, Spain, Canada, Romania, and Turkey sent warships to take part in the joint naval exercises with Ukraine 'Sea Breeze 2014.' A total of 12 ships and supply vessels – including seven Ukrainian ships - as well as planes and helicopters participated in the drills.
NATO ships have been operating in the area since this spring, when tensions started escalating between Kiev forces and rebels in eastern Ukraine. Despite the three-week limit, set up by the Montreux Convention for non-Black Sea states' warships, the alliance has managed to secure its presence in the area by constantly rotating vessels there.
Moscow has been particularly sensitive about NATO’s increased activity in Eastern Europe, reportedly pushing Russia’s recent decision to revise a 2010 military doctrine to identify the US and NATO members as enemies.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Nov 22, 2014 10:48:13 GMT -5
Long-range air patrols put Russian strategic bombers near Guam.
RT.com
November 21, 2014 19:10
Two Russian strategic bombers flew near the US territory of Guam last week shortly after Russia’s defense minister announced flight patrols of the nation’s long-range nuclear-capable aircraft over international airspace near North America.
Two Russian strategic bombers flew near the US territory of Guam last week shortly after Russia’s defense minister announced flight patrols of the nation’s long-range nuclear-capable aircraft over international airspace near North America.
“US Pacific Command can confirm that two aircraft circumnavigated Guam on November 13th,” said spokesman Maj. Christian Devine, according to the Washington Free Beacon. “The aircraft were flying safely in international airspace and in accordance with international norms; as such, the decision was made to not intercept them.”
The bombers were identified as Tu-95 Bear H aircraft, which flew near a major American military outpost in Guam.
On Nov. 12, two days before the Guam flights, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced impending long-range flight patrols that would include the Gulf of Mexico.
"In the current situation, we need to secure our military presence in the western part of the Atlantic, eastern part of the Pacific oceans and the waters of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico," he told Itar Tass.
Shoigu added that the flights were “connected to the situation in Ukraine, with the emerging anti-Russia inclinations on the part of NATO and the increasing foreign military presence in the immediate vicinity of our borders.”
The Pentagon responded saying Russia, like other nations, has the right to be in international airspace and international waters.
"The Russians have patrolled in the Gulf (of Mexico) in the past, and we’ve seen the Russian Navy operate in the Gulf of Mexico. These are international waters," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren, according to Reuters.
"It’s important that the Russians conduct their operations safely and in accordance with international standards."
Russia previously ran flights near Guam on Feb. 12, 2013, according to the Free Beacon, before being intercepted by American F-15 jets.
The latest Guam flights coincided with the G-20 summit in Australia, where the Western-Russian conflict over Ukraine was a topic of discussion among the 20 major economies. Western-backed elements in Ukraine fomented a government transition earlier this year, deposing President Viktor Yanukovich. A tentative ceasefire is in place between the two sides distinguished by loyalty to the new government in Kiev or self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples republics in the east.
In September, Admiral Samuel Locklear, chief of the US military’s Pacific Command, spoke cautiously a week after Russian Bear bombers approached US and Canadian airspace. Both countries scrambled fighter jets to intercept the Russian craft, Reuters reported.
"Certainly the return of the long-range aircraft flights that we haven't seen in any significant number over the last decade or so is concerning. And it's something that we watch very carefully," Locklear said.
Locklear added that Russian approaches near the US air defense identification zone - an area just outside sovereign US airspace - was "basically kind of Cold War activity with long-range bombers."
"These are things that we have to be concerned about as military people. We have to think about them and what that would mean to the security of the region and the security of our own homeland."
Yet Locklear did not mention reciprocal military training exercises conducted by the US and allies on Russia’s doorstep, in Ukraine. A total of 1,300 troops from 15 nations, either active NATO members or candidate-countries, participated in drills known as ‘Rapid Trident,’ which also took place in September.
Meanwhile, eight northern European nations recently agreed to step up military training and data sharing to oppose an alleged "invasion" of airspace by Russia. Moscow has increased its air patrols near Europe after NATO beefed up its own European presence in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
The agreement for closer cooperation between Nordic and Baltic countries and Britain came last week.
"NATO has recorded over 100 intercepts so far this year, three times as many as in 2013 and the year is not yet finished," British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said. "We will not allow Russia to continue to invade our airspace."
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 2, 2015 9:12:23 GMT -5
Russia's Defense Ministry Removes An-70 From National Armament Program. Sputnik MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE 14:54 02.03.2015 Russia currently uses the Il-476 multi-purpose four-engine strategic airlifter as an alternative to An-70. Russia's Ministry of Defense has removed the Antonov An-70 military transport aircraft, jointly developed by Russia and Ukraine, from its national armament program, the Izvestia newspaper said. The ministry could also request the return of 2.95 billion rubles (nearly $100 million at the 2010 exchange rate) transferred to Ukraine's Antonov design bureau in 2010, when both countries started research and development work on the project, initially launched in the early 1980s. The An-70 was supposed to replace the aging An-12. The troubled project was plagued by lack of funding and technical difficulties leading to constant delays in manufacturing. In 2009, Russia and Ukraine signed an intergovernmental agreement to resume the work on the project at the MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon. Russia had not been involved in the venture since the February 2014 coup in Kiev. Ukraine had been completing the work on the project on its own. The plane has already successfully completed testing and is expected to be introduced into Ukraine's military service in 2015. Russia's Ministry of Defense had planned to purchase 60 An-70 planes by 2020. They would have paid approximately $67 million apiece. Russia currently uses the Il-476 multi-purpose four-engine strategic airlifter as an alternative to An-70. Although An-70 has a potential to be an attractive competitor on the international market, the Antonov bureau might have trouble catching up with rivals, including Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and Embraer.  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 11, 2015 22:24:56 GMT -5
US Bullies Vietnam to Stop Military Cooperation With Russia © AP Photo/ 331/332-Squadron of the Norwegian Air Force.
RUSSIA 19:13 11.03.2015
While expanding NATO bases closer to Russian borders, the US government is trying to bully Vietnam into stopping its military cooperation with Russia in the Pacific.
Sputnik's sources in the US Department of State confirm that America is pushing Vietnam to stop letting Russia use Cam Ranh Bay military base. Russian air force recently used the facility to refuel nuclear-capable bombers. US officials say Russian bomber planes have increased the number of flights in the region and even conducted what the Pentagon calls “provocative flights” around Guam, a US territory in the Pacific that is home to a large military base.
US Army General Vincent Brooks told Reuters that the Russian planes circling Guam are refueled by Russian tankers flying from Cam Ranh Bay, a deep-water harbor that was a US air and naval base during the Vietnam War. The flights, Brooks alleges, show that Russia was “acting as a spoiler to our interests and the interests of others.”
Brooks contends that the flights have increased since Russia’s conflict with Ukraine began, he says as a show of Russian strength and to gather intelligence.
The US considers Cam Ranh Bay an important part of a Washington strategy to focus more on the Asia as a way to neutralize China’s growing influence in the region.
Vietnam is playing both sides of the fence, seeking closer ties with the US but also remaining close to Russia in a number of areas, including defense.
The State Department says it respects Vietnam’s right to enter into agreements with other countries, but “we have urged Vietnamese officials to ensure that Russia is not able to use its access to Cam Ranh Bay to conduct activities that could raise tensions in the region.”
Russia had said in November that it planned to send bombers on patrols over North American waters, and at the time the Pentagon called it routine training in international airspace.
Russian bomber patrol flights largely ended after the Soviet Union broke apart, but President Vladimir Putin resumed them in 2007.
The Vietnamese government has not commented on the US request.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 20, 2015 18:53:41 GMT -5
YES!!   Future Russian army could deploy anywhere in the world – in 7 hours. RT.com March 19, 2015 11:56 In the future, a fleet of heavy transport aircraft will reportedly be capable of moving a strategic unit of 400 Armata tanks, with ammunition, to anywhere in the world. And probably at hypersonic speed, enabling Russia to mount a global military response. According to a new design specification from the Military-Industrial Commission in Moscow, a transport aircraft, dubbed PAK TA, will fly at supersonic speeds (up to 2,000 km/h) and will boast an impressively high payload of up to 200 tons. It will also have a range of at least 7,000 kilometers. The PAK TA program envisages 80 new cargo aircraft to be built by 2024. This means in a decade Russia’s Central Command will be able to place a battle-ready armored army anywhere, Expert Online reports, citing a source in the military who attended the closed meeting.  Artwork: Aleksey Komarov One of the main tasks of the new PAK TA is to transport Armata heavy missile tanks and other military hardware on the same platform, such as enhanced self-propelled artillery weapons systems, anti-aircraft missile complexes, tactical missile carriers, multiple launch missile systems, and anti-tank missile fighting vehicles. The PAK TA freighters will be multilevel, with automated cargo loading and have the capability to airdrop hardware and personnel on any terrain. A fleet of several dozen PAK TA air freighters will be able to lift 400 Armata heavy tanks, or 900 light armored vehicles, such as Sprut-SD airborne amphibious self-propelled tank destroyers.  Russia's T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank. (A still from Youtube video by arronlee33)Russia's T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank. (A still from Youtube video by arronlee33) “With the development of a network of military bases in the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia, which is expected to be completed during the same time period (by 2024), it’s obvious that Russia is preparing for a full-scale military confrontation of transcontinental scale,” Expert Online says. A source who attended the closed meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission told the media outlet on condition of anonymity that he was “shocked” by the demands of the military. According to the source, the PAK TA project has been ongoing for several years now and will eventually supplant the currently operating air freighters. But such a global mission statement for national military transport aviation has never been voiced before. “It means for the first time we have the objective of creating an operational capability to airlift a full-fledged army to any desired place on the planet,” the source said. This means delivering a task force the size of the former NATO and the US troops in Iraq, in a matter of hours to any continent. “In the context of the current military doctrine that defies comprehension,” the source said. The initial PAK TA specification entailed building subsonic air freighters with a conventional 900 km/h cruising speed and a moderate 4,500-kilometer range. The program involves the creation of wide-body freighters, with payloads varying from 80 to 200 tons, to replace all existing Ilyushin and Antonov cargo aircraft. The only operating aircraft with a comparable payload is the Antonov An-225 Mriya (up to 250 tons), but this is a one-off aircraft created specially for the Soviet Buran space shuttle program.  Last year, it was reported that future military air freighters will be developed by the Ilyushin Aviation Complex, with some experts saying the company may base designs on the Il-106 cargo plane (80 tons) project that won a government tender in the late 1980s, but was abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now, with ambitious specifications and objectives, the PAK TA is a truly next-generation transport aircraft.  ------------ Western article n commentsMasaa on Mar 20, 1:52 AM said: They can lambast the Russians all they want. But Russia, just like the US, has a long history in air and space vehicles. Charles Watson on Mar 20, 2:04 AM said: There are a lot of subjective insults in this article. If the build it and it flies it is neither unproven, outlandish nor ridiculous. and the people using it would be the Russians since they built it - does that answer many of the questions that they asked. GAMEBOY on Mar 20, 2:06 AM said: Nothing but US propaganda BS Dave R. on Mar 20, 2:19 AM said: It's ok to pan anything we (Uncle Sam) didn't do first...we do it all the time. Three thoughts, however: 1. The Russkies were the first in space 2. Our very own Stealth planes were panned until they showed what they could do. 3. We don't have a monopoly on smart aerospace engineers. Captain Spaulding on Mar 20, 2:33 AM said: This story reads more like sour grapes from a fading empire. IGS on Mar 20, 6:41 AM said: The Russians have a habit of building the worlds largest plane from the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets to Tupolev Maxsim Gork to, Antonov 22,124 and 225 plus almost aircraft (wing in ground effect) bigger than this Caspian sea monster among others me on Mar 20, 3:18 PM said: Outstandingly stupid article full of spurious reasoning. "Kremlin propaganda outfit RT" - RT is an Emmy nominated news outlet. Clearly anti-western world, so to be taken with a grain of salt, but you mean to tell me Bloomberg and Reuters are not "Western propaganda outfits"? Yeah, not buying it. "200 tonnes [...] 400 tanks", so a tank weighs 500kg, heck didn't know they are half of a super-light Ferrari. "fanciful superplane of the distant and probably nonexistent future". Clearly a professional unbiased view supported by evidence. I can only conclude the author is a frustrated individual. After the "worst places to visit in the world" where they basically took one reddit comment and generalized for the entire tourist experience, I'm totally unsubscribing from this "news" outlet. ------------ Otherwww.stern.de/video-center/?vid=2182184Militärprogramm in Russland23. 03. 2015 | 1 min Moskau plant Bau eines Riesenluftfrachters Russland plant im Rahmen seines Militärprogramms den Bau eines neuen Typs riesiger Militärflugzeuge. Die Maschinen sollen bis zu 2000 Kilometer pro Stunde schnell sein und Panzer transportieren.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 27, 2015 14:55:58 GMT -5
Model of future stealth bomber PAK DA ?  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 27, 2015 16:49:56 GMT -5
Russia's New Military Transport Plane Set to Make Its Maiden Flight in 2017. Sputnik MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE 11:11 26.03.2015 The Ilyushin Il-112, Russia's brand new light military transport plane, is slated to make its maiden flight in 2017, said Yury Borisov, a Russian Deputy Minister of Defense. The aircraft's mass production is expected to be launched in 2019. The twin-engine turboprop plane, developed by the Ilyushin Aviation Complex (JSC IL), will be manufactured by the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association at an aircraft plant in Voronezh, located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Moscow. It will replace the Antonov An-26. Russia's Ministry of Defense plans to purchase at least 35 Ilyushin Il-112 planes. Earlier, JSC IL said the company was ready to deliver more than 60 Il-112 aircraft to the military. The transport plane is designed to carry out missions in any geographic or weather conditions. It has a payload of 6 tons and can travel a maximum distance of 5,000 kilometers (3100 miles). The project, launched over a decade ago, was canceled in 2011, but the work on the Il-112 resumed in 2013.  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 11, 2015 8:43:45 GMT -5
Su-27 Intercepts US Spy Plane Heading Into Russian Airspace.
Sputnik
MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE 14:26 11.04.2015
The US RC-135U reconnaissance plane was flying towards the Russian border with its transponder switched off, a Defense Ministry spokesman said in Moscow Saturday.
Maj.-General Igor Konashenkov said that an unidentified airborne target was spotted over the Baltic Sea by Russian air defenders on April 7 flying directly towards the Russian border.
A Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to inspect the target. Moving up to the unidentified aircraft the Russian pilot flew around it several times, made sure it was a US RC-135U reconnaissance plane and reported its tail number to ground control.
“I want to emphasize that the RC-135U was moving towards the Russian border with its transponder switched off… As to the professional qualities of our pilots, this is something for the Russian military command to assess. Moreover, US reconnaissance planes are supposed to fly along US borders only and nowhere else,” Konashenkov said, adding that no “emergency situations” were registered during Tuesday’s mid-air encounter.
A Pentagon spokesman said on Saturday that a Russian Su-27 jet fighter on Tuesday flew dangerously close to and nearly collided with a US reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea.
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