Russia Looking at 2020 for New Generation Long-Range Bomber

“We have everything today to develop the plane on time and put it into operation together with Tu-95MS Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack,” deputy Air Force commander said.

The Russian Air Force may receive its first PAK DA next generation long-range bomber about 2020 instead of 2025 as initially planned, Russia’s acting deputy Air Force commander, Major General Alexander Chernyayev, has said.

“I think the first models of the Prospective Air Complex for Long Range Aviation (PAK DA) will be supplied to the Air Force approximately by 2020,” Chernyayev said in an interview published on the Russian Defense Ministry website late last week.

Russia's Long Range Aviation commander, Major General Anatoly Zhikharev, has said the Air Force could receive the new strategic bomber in 2025.

The general look of the new strategic bomber has already been worked out, and engineers are currently finishing work on aircraft specific operational requirements, Chernyayev said.

“We have everything today to develop the plane on time and put it into operation together with [Tupolev] Tu-95MS Bear, Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-22M3 Backfire [strategic bombers], which have proven their high reliability,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered development of the new long-range strategic bomber to be sped up in mid-June.

“I know how expensive and complex this is,” Putin said during a conference on defense orders. “The task is not easy from a scientific-technical standpoint, but we need to start work,” he said, adding that otherwise, Russia could miss the boat.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has said previously that a new aircraft assembly line in Russia's Kazan plant (KAPO) would build PAK DA and the new Antonov An-70 propfan transport aircraft. The same plant previously built the Tu-95MS and Tu-160.

Currently, only Russia and the United States operate intercontinental range bombers. Most other nuclear-capable nations rely solely on intercontinental ballistic missiles, based on submarines or in land-based silos, or cruise missiles. The United States has expressed an interest in successor systems to its B-1, B-2 and B-52H long-range bombers.

Chernyayev also said in his interview the Russian Air Force was planning to modernize its Tu-95MS, Tu-160 and Tu-22MS bombers, as well as Ilyushin Il-78 Midas air-to-air refueling tanker aircraft.

Russia’s strategic air forces operate a total of 63 Tu-95MS and 13 Tu-160 bombers. Altogether, they are capable of carrying 850 long-range cruise missiles.

Putin Serious About Expanding UAS Fleet

During a defence budget meeting last Thursday after visiting a base in southern Russia, newly-re-elected President Vladimir Putin said  “We need a programme for unmanned aircraft.”

Experts say this is a most important area of development in aviation,” he added. “We need a range of all types, including automated strike aircraft, reconnaissance and other types.” Russia is allegedly spending $13 billion on unmanned aircraft through 2020.

Russian Air Force Pilots Practice “Afghan Landing”

Strategic air force drills are underway in the Ryazan Region. Watch this RIA Novosti video to see how pilots flying IL-78M perform the “Afghan landing” and train on flight simulators

Russia to Double Armenia Base Contract Staff

Russia will double the number of contract personnel at its military base in Armenia, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"The number of contract servicemen at the Russian base at Gyumri will be doubled by the end of 2012," Col. Igor Gorbul, a spokesman for Russia's Southern Military District, told reporters in Moscow.

Permanent staff numbers, however, will remain at the current 5,000, Gorbul added.

Russia's parliament voted last year to extend the country's lease of the base through 2044.

The base, near Armenia's border with Turkey, is part of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States air defense system and is home to S-300 anti-aircraft missiles and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters.

Russian Air Force to Get 10 MiG-31BMs This Year

The Russian Air Force's Central Military District will receive its first ten modernized MiG-31BM interceptors this year, the District's press service said on Monday.

"The air forces of the Central Military District will take delivery of 10 MiG-31BM fighter-interceptors and two Mi-26 heavy transport helicopters this year," a Central Military District representative said.

The Russian Air Force has previously said it intends to take delivery of up to 60 MiG-31BMs by 2020, under a contract signed with United Aircraft Corporation in 2011.

The MiG-31BM is a heavily modified variant of the MiG-31, featuring upgraded avionics and digital data links, a new multimode radar, color multi-function cockpit displays, and a more powerful fire-control system. It can detect airborne targets at the range of 320 kilometers (200 miles) and simultaneously track up to 10 targets.

The MiG-31BM can carry new air-to-air missiles including the K-37M long-range air-to-air missile, which has been developed specifically for it according to Douglas Barrie, an air warfare analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Fourth T-50 Stealth Fighter to Fly This Year

Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is to introduce a fourth Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter into its test and development program this year, the company's President Mikhail Pogosyan said on Thursday.

"We are now testing three aircraft. A fourth will be brought in this year," he said.

Pogosyan had said earlier this year that the firm would introduce a fourth aircraft into the test program but did not disclose when.

The first production standard T-50 is due to enter service with the Russian Air Force by 2015, and the first evaluation example by 2013. The service plans to acquire 60 of the fifth-generation fighters.

The T-50, also known as project PAK-FA, first flew on January 29, 2011 and was first publicly revealed at the Moscow Air Show in August that year. India will also acquire an advanced fighter aircraft based on the T-50.

Putin Calls for New Long-Range Bomber and UAVs

Russia must start development of a long-range bomber aircraft, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting on defense orders.

"We have to develop work on the new PAK-DA long-range bomber aircraft for Long-Range Aviation. I know how expensive and complex this is. We have talked about this many times with ministers, and with the head of the General Staff. The task is not easy from a scientific-technical standpoint, but we need to start work," Putin said.

If bomber development work is not started soon, Russia might miss the boat, Putin said.

A new long-range cruise missile has already been adopted for these aircraft, he said, adding that the “tactical level” is in need of deep modernization.

The president also said the A-100 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) project should be implemented within the next five years.

The new AWACS plane will have the capability to detect and track long-range airborne and ground-based targets.

Russia operates a mixed fleet of 63 aging Tu-95MS turboprop missile carriers, and just 13 Tu-160 bombers.

Russia must also develop a range of military unmanned air vehicles (UAV) including strike and reconnaissance types, Putin said.

"We need a program for unmanned aircraft. Experts say this is a most important area of development in aviation," he said. "We need a range of all types, including automated strike aircraft, reconnaissance and other types," Putin added.

Russia plans to spend around 400 billion rubles ($13 billion) on UAV development in the next eight years.

Putin’s call for a new bomber comes just a week after Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who has responsibility for the military-industrial complex, appeared to pour cold water on the need for a new bomber, in remarks carried in Izvestia newspaper.

Rogozin Doubts Need to Develop New Strategic Bomber

A long-running dispute between the Russian military and defense industry over procurement of new weaponry may enter a new phase as Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has questioned the need to develop a new strategic bomber, the Izvestia daily said on Wednesday.

Russia announced plans in 2009 to develop a fifth-generation strategic bomber, which will feature new airframe and elements of stealth technology, by 2025.

The new bomber is expected to replace the Tu-95MC Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers, and Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bombers currently in service with Russia’s strategic aviation.

“Look at the current level of air defense and anti-missile defense – these aircraft will not get anywhere. Not ours, not theirs,” Rogozin, who oversees defense industry and will soon assume full control over financing of R&D for military purposes, said in an interview with Izvestia.

He added that strategic bombers could not be viewed as means of delivering nuclear strikes on enemy territory anymore.

Meanwhile, Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov told Izvestia that the new bomber project was underway as planned.

“We have made some progress in the development of the new bomber,” Makarov said. “If we reach production phase, this plane will outperform any modern aircraft of the same class, including those built by the Americans.”

It is not the first time Rogozin and Makarov have clashed over arms procurement issues.

In the beginning of this year, Makarov sharply criticized the quality of Russian-made weaponry for the Ground Forces and said the Defense Ministry would stop purchasing domestic-made armored vehicles for the next five years because they are outdated.

Rogozin, clearly angered by Makarov’s blunt statement, responded that the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces “is not the only one who makes decisions on the purchase of arms and military hardware.”

He said Russia’s Armed Forces would be modernized as scheduled in accordance with the state armament procurement program and the defense budget.