MAKS-2013. Prospects for T-50 are associated with serious problems?
Demonstration of the fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAKFA) at the Moscow air show MAKS-2013 showed that Russia has problems with adopting new front-line fighters the Air Force, writes janes.com August 29.
On the opening day on August 27 with the participation of the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev planned to carry out the flight of all four instances of flight T-50, but the show was attended by only three cars. Analysts of the Russian aerospace industry and related structures of note that there are several obstacles that the T-50 must be overcome before it will be considered as a viable design, ready for serial production.
As technology demonstrator of the Su-47 (1990) T-50 should be an example of Russian industrial opportunities for the production of composite structures on a large scale and at a reasonable price. Nevertheless, more than 15 years, composite panels and other components of nodes T 50 are still made in "manual mode". In order to bring the aircraft to a series, the production base factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (KNAAPO) needs substantial investment in modernizing equipment.
Today, T-50 flies on the same turbofan design 117S/AL-41F "Saturn" / KB them. Cradles, which are on the Su-35. This engine was developed in the late 1980s for the program 1.42 (IFIs) in size. Mikoyan, which was canceled. The development teams of "Salute" working on a new turbofan ed. 127/217 state that they have created a "concept and the core of the new engine." An unnamed Russian military analyst at the Moscow Research Center reported INS Jane's, that "will take several years to understand the design and build a new engine."
Meanwhile, the third of the four prototypes of the T-50 is equipped with a new radar NO50 with active electronically scanned array (AESA) NIIP design (Scientific Research Institute of Instrument. Tikhomirov - approx. "VP"), which, according to representatives of some of the participating electronic companies, "in a test flight showed very encouraging and impressive results." The dilemma is that the receiving and transmitting modules (APMs) for radar produced no commercial firm, as in the case of the radar "Zhuk-MA" AFAR, and on the research and production center "Source", which produced microwaves and other technologies to Soviet weapons systems. "Source" is not able to produce antipersonnel mines in production scale, making them unprofitable in the current scheme of production, "the experts say.
In addition, the aircraft has not yet completed a full test program to validate the flight characteristics. There are a number of maneuvers for which algorithms control systems still need to be developed and validated.
One aspect of the T-50 program is to create on-board weapons within schedule and budget funding. August 28, General Director of "Tactical Missiles Corporation" (Tactical Missiles Corporation) Boris Obnosov spoke about the modernization of the existing and development of new-generation aircraft armament. Portages made a pretentious statement that creates new air combat missiles, whose characteristics will be better UR Meteor develop a European company MBDA. However, Obnosov states that all samples of airborne weapons, created as part of the T-50, will also be included in the nomenclature of weapons of Su-35. Against this background, many Russian analysts expect that the Su-35 will be produced in larger quantities than planned, and will be the basis of Russian Air Force fighter aircraft, if enacting the T-50 will move away due to technical problems.
The leaders of the United Aircraft Corporation and the "dry" earlier promised President Vladimir Putin that the T-50 will be ready for commissioning by 2015. "It seems that there is no chance to survive this schedule, therefore, the price of the aircraft is expected to grow as a delay are taken into account in the overall cost of the program," said one analyst.
MAKS-2013 was the first exhibition, which since his election to the presidency in 2000, Putin was absent. There are indications that it is a problem with the T-50 made a "contribution" in his decision not to attend the air show on the opening day.
MAKS-2013. Prospects for T-50 are associated with serious problems? - VPK.name