The Russian Military Merged Thread- Air Force

[CougarKing]

Russia mulls restarting 2 production lines:

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Suggests Resuming MiG-31 Interceptor Aircraft Production

Quote:

The aircraft had no rivals. That was the opinion of the Military-Industrial Commission, the Defense Ministry, the industry on the whole and even the State Duma, which used to hold special hearings on the subject of the interceptor. The production should be revived, as the jet is being upgraded. This fighter will certainly be effective for another 15 years, with its various modifications that are up to today’s military requirements,” Rogozin said.

The deputy prime minister went on to say that he believed the aircraft had big export potential and expected high demand for the MiG-31.

RIA

Su-25 Attack Aircraft Production May Resume at Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant

Quote:

MOSCOW, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - The Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (UUAP) may resume the production of Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets, the plant’s managing director Leonid Belykh said.

“We used to produce the Su-25 jets and today our equipment is still in good condition, so the question is under consideration. Some serious investment will be needed, and it is likely that another factory will take up the production. But if the government orders us to do it, we shall do it. If the production is to be transferred to somebody else, so be it,” Belykh told RIA Novosti.


RIA

 

[CougarKing]

Isn't this more than they usually do in that airspace?

Russian strategic bombers near Canada practice cruise missile strikes on US

Two Russian strategic bombers conducted practice cruise missile attacks on the United States during a training mission last week that defense officials say appeared timed to the NATO summit in Wales.

The Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers were tracked flying a route across the northern Atlantic near Iceland, Greenland, and Canada’s northeast.

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 U.S. targets, said defense officials familiar with intelligence reports.

Disclosure of the nuclear bombing practice comes as a Russian general last week called for Moscow to change its doctrine to include preemptive nuclear strikes on the United States and NATO.

Gen. Yuri Yakubov, a senior Defense Ministry official, was quoted by the state-run Interfax news agency as saying that Russia’s 2010 military doctrine should be revised to identify the United States and the NATO alliance as enemies, and clearly outline the conditions for a preemptive nuclear strike against them.

Yakubov said among other needed doctrinal changes, “it is necessary to hash out the conditions under which Russia could carry out a preemptive strike with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces”—Moscow’s nuclear forces.

The practice bombing runs are the latest in a series of incidents involving threatening Russian bomber flights near the United States. Analysts say the bomber flights are nuclear saber-rattling by Moscow as a result of heightened tensions over the crisis in Ukraine.

Fox News

 

[CougarKing]

Meanwhile, in the Pacific...

Military.com

Russia's Pacific Activity: A Show of Force or More?

Stars and Stripes | Sep 10, 2014 | by Matthew M. Burke and Chiyomi Sumida
The Pacific Pivot has been widely perceived as a U.S. effort to counterbalance a resurgent China. Russia clearly wants to show that power in the region is more than a two-horse race.

Between April and July, the number of Russian surveillance aircraft that came close enough to Japanese air space for Tokyo to scramble its Air Self-Defense Forces jumped more than sixfold from the same period last year and more than doubled the 104 sorties flown to counter Chinese fighters. Long-range Russian patrols also were detected near the U.S. mainland and Guam.

Japan's Foreign Ministry lodged a protest with Russia in August after exercises commenced on two islands seized by the Soviet Union after World War II and claimed by Japan. Russia has vowed to fortify the islands while U.S. ally Japan hopes to negotiate for their return. Last year, Russia held its biggest land and sea military exercise since the Soviet era in Siberia and the Sea of Japan.

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[CougarKing]

Crossposting T6's update here to keep it in context:

US, Canadian aircraft intercept Russian bombers

Plus a CBC report:

Canadian fighter jets intercept Russian bombers in Arctic

Long-range 'Bear' bombers came within 75 kilometres of Canada's coast

Fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers flying about 75 kilometres off Canada’s Arctic coast in the early morning hours Thursday, NORAD revealed to CBC News.

Two CF-18s met the Tupolev Tu-95 long-range bombers, commonly referred to as "Bears," at around 1:30 a.m. PT as they flew a course in “the western reaches” of Canada’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the Beaufort Sea, said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for North American Aerospace Defence Command.

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About six hours before the CF-18s intercepted the Russian bombers, American F-22 fighter jets were scrambled from a base in Alaska to meet a group of Russian aircraft, including two refuelling tankers, two MiG-31 fighters and two long-range bombers.

After the U.S. jets made contact, the group headed west back towards Russian airspace.

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[CougarKing]

Russia reviving the old Il-112/114 tactical airlifter project:

AIN online

Russia Dumps An-140T Airlifter for Home-Made Ilyushins

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE » SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
by  VLADIMIR KARNOZOV

September 26, 2014, 7:20 AM
Russia has abandoned plans to build a large fleet of Antonov An-140T tactical airlifters as replacements for aging An-26s and An-72s, thanks to deteriorating relations with the new regime in Ukraine, where Antonov is based. Instead, the Russian defense ministry has revived the Ilyushin Il-112 project, a development of the Il-114 airliner, even though it was shelved in 2010 in favor of the less expensive An-140T.

The An-140T is a ramp-loading version of the 52-seat An-140 turboprop airliner that the Aviacor plant in Samara makes under license for airlines and government customers. The Russian defense ministry has already acquired several An-140s out of a total order for 20 such aircraft. Russia supported Aviacor’s plans to develop An-140T jointly with Antonov. But negotiations stalled in late 2013, when the pro-Western regime took power in Kiev.

Russian deputy prime minister for military-industrial complex Dmitry Rogozin has confirmed that the Il-112 and Il-114 are back. The Il-112 will go into production at the VASO plant in Voronezh that is likely to discontinue manufacture under license of the Antonov An-148 twinjet airliner. VASO general director Sergei Yurasov confirmed that the talks on making a pair of Il-112 prototypes—one for ground testing, the other for flightsare ongoing. According to local media, the MoD has agreed to provide an extra Rouble 8 billion ($222 million), thought be enough for completion of design documentation and production preparations. The Il-112 and the new version of the Il-114 would share onboard systems and powerplants, making both projects more economically viable.

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[CougarKing]

A Russian snooper...

Defense News

Alliance: Russian Spy Plane Intercepted in NATO Airspace
Oct. 22, 2014 - 02:39PM  |  By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BRUSSELS — NATO fighter jets intercepted a Russian spy plane over the Baltic Sea after it breached Estonian airspace, the alliance said Wednesday in the latest of such incidents amid tensions with Moscow over Ukraine.

The Ilyushin IL-20 “intelligence collection aircraft,” which took off from the Russian Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad on Tuesday, was first intercepted by Danish F-16 jets when it approached Denmark, NATO said in a statement.

It then flew north towards non-NATO member Sweden which also sent jets to intercept the plane.

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[CougarKing]

Will this mean an even larger increase in Russian planes being intercepted in North American or European airspace?

Defense News

Russian Air Force To Acquire New Aircraft, Helos, Bolster Arctic Presence
Dec. 2, 2014 - 03:45AM  |  By JAROSLAW ADAMOWSKI

WARSAW — Russia’s Ministry of Defense has unveiled plans to acquire more than 150 new aircraft and helicopters in 2015 as part of plans to bolster and modernize the country’s Air Force.

Col. Igor Klimov, the spokesman for the Russian Air Force, told local news agency ITAR-TASS that, in the forthcoming year, the Air Force will focus its efforts on strengthening its military presence in the Arctic.

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[CougarKing]

Upgraded Blackjacks and Bears...

Flight Global

Russian air force takes first modernised Tupolev bombers
By: DOMINIC PERRYLONDON Source: Flightglobal.com 16:30 19 Dec 2014

Russia’s air force has today received the first examples of a number of modernised strategic bombers – a Tu-160M and Tu-95MSs - following upgrade work performed by manufacturer Tupolev.

Enhancement activity on the supersonic Tu-160 includes “partial replacement” of the aircraft’s avionics and weapons systems, says Tupolev. First flight of the initial example took place on 16 November.

A second phase of modernisation will begin in 2016 with the addition of uprated Kuznetsov NK-32 engines, according to Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

Flightglobal’s MiliCAS database lists the service as possessing an active inventory of 13 of the long-range bombers. It will bring “more than a dozen” aircraft to the enhanced standard, says Itar-Tass.

Meanwhile, the air force has also taken delivery of an unspecified number of upgraded turboprop-powered Tu-95MSs.

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[CougarKing]

Not sure what to think of this since the report is from an Iranian media source:

Press TV News

‘Russian bomber carried nuclear missile over the Channel’

Sources within the Ministry of Defence have revealed that one of the two long-range bombers was carrying at least one air-dropped “seek and find” nuclear missile, designed to seek and destroy a Vanguard submarine, Sunday Express, reported Sunday.

It said RAF Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled on Wednesday after two long-range TU-95 “Bear” bombers were detected flying over the English Channel.

One senior RAF source reportedly said: “We downloaded conversations from the crew of one plane, who used a special word which meant the would-be attack was a training exercise.”

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[CougarKing]

Russia's T-50s on the way.

Defense News

Russia To Receive 5th Gen Fighters This Year

WARSAW — The Russian Air Force is set to receive the first batch of Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA jet fighters this year amid its strained business relationship with co-developer India.

Compared with the aircraft's previous version, the variant has been fitted with a number of new features, according to the manufacturer.

Despite this, Russia will need to cope with the increasing criticism voiced by India, which is partnering with Moscow on developing the aircraft, amid concerns over delivery delays and technical shortfalls of the program.

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[Retired AF Guy]

We have all seen pictures of Allied aircraft intercepting Russian aircraft intruding on our airspace; here is a video of the Russian view:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TnZMy1WWjZs

 

[CougarKing]

The replacement for the Bears and Blackjacks, etc.:

Foxtrot Alpha

Is This The Shape Of Russia's Next Generation Long-Range Bomber?

While America's aerospace industry is hard at work creating the USAF's next generation bomber, Russia has a similar ongoing program known as the the PAK-DA. Now, after years of requirements changes, it appears that a blended wing, subsonic design, much like the one pictured above, will be the new jet's overall configuration.

The PAK-DA, which literally means "prospective aviation complex for long-range aviation," is Russia's next generation long-range bomber project and it aims to one day replace the Tu-95 Bear and the Tu-160 Blackjack, and possibly the Tu-22M Backfire fleets. Much like America's next generation bomber, which has gone from a very high-end concept to one with more limited goals over the last decade, mainly due to affordability concerns, the PAK-DA has also lowered its performance and capabilities expectations, although to an even greater degree over a similar span of time.

Is This The Shape Of Russia's Next Generation Long-Range Bomber?

Originally, the jet was supposed to be not only stealthy but insanely fast, with officials stating at one time that it would be a "hypersonic aircraft." Even if this was embellishment or some sort of misstatement, it was clear that originally the PAK-DA was meant to super-cruise at high mach speeds. This requirement has now changed drastically as it is now confirmed that the PAK-DA will be a subsonic aircraft, with a design more focused on long-range and heavily payload lifting capabilities than anything else.

A blended wing-body design, loosely similar to NASA's X-48, appears to be the result of this change in design focus. With this in mind, the PAK-DA may have similar design trade-offs as Russia's other major next generation combat aircraft, the PAK-FA, also known as the Sukhoi T-50 fighter.


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[CougarKing]

Putin whipping out his bombers to show how "big" he is...  ;D

Defense News

Russia To Scramble Bombers in Show of Might

MOSCOW — Russia will deploy Tupolev nuclear-capable bomber jets to Crimea in a snap drill, a defence ministry source said Tuesday, as the peninsula marks a year since its annexation by Moscow.

"As part of a snap check of combat readiness of the armed forces, Tupolev 22-M3 strategic missile-carriers will be deployed to Crimea," the source told Russian news agencies, without giving a specific date.

The source said the deployment of the long-range bombers was part of a snap check ordered by President Vladimir Putin on Monday of the combat readiness of more than 40,000 troops nationwide in a major show of strength amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.

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[a_majoor]

Putin whipping out his bombers to show how "big" he is...  ;D

Defense News

Can't wait for the Young Dauphin's response...

 

[CougarKing]

Too bad for the T-50/PAK FA fanboys who want this:  ;D

Yahoo Finance

Cash-strapped Russia is drastically cutting its planned fleet of 5th-generation fighter jets
Business Insider By Jeremy Bende

The T-50 The Russian military has announced that they will build significantly fewer fifth-generation fighters than previously planned due to the country's current economic situation, Russia Beyond The Headlines reports citing comments from the Deputy Defense Minister in charge of Armaments Yuri Borisov.

Russia previously had plans to produce 52 fifth-generation T-50 fighters by 2020. However, these plans have been drastically scaled back. The Kremlin will now only procure 12 of the new jets.

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[McG]

In addition to probing NATO and Scandinavian airspaces, it seems Russian air force is also putting pressure on Japan (as is China) to a record setting level.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/15/cnews-us-japan-airforce-scramble-idCAKBN0N60ST20150415

 

[MarkOttawa]

Now will they have a role escorting Bears/Blackjacks?

Russia will deploy MiG-31 fighter aircraft in the Arctic Region


MiG-31 jets will be stationed at airfields located in the Arctic Region in order to protect our ports and transport routes, Interfax reports with reference to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Defense Forces Major General Kirill Makarov. Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yuri Borisov also announced that 130 upgraded MiG-31BM will be delivered to Russian Air Force in the next few years.

“In the Arctic Region we are deploying both reconnaissance equipment designed to detect enemy aircraft and fighter aircraft, including MiG-31 jets,” Makarov said.

He noted that MiG-31 jets would be protecting our ports, transport routes and hubs as well as ships throughout the whole Arctic Region. “In particular, these MiG aircraft will be protecting ships travelling along Northern Sea Route in case of a military conflict,” General Makarov added.

The two-seat supersonic MiG-31 fighter interceptor is the fourth-generation Russian combat aircraft. It is fitted with long-range air-to-air missiles able to intercept and destroy cruise missiles at extremely low altitudes. At present air defense forces of Russia operate over 250 MiG-31 fighter-interceptors.

Over 130 upgraded MiG-31BM aircraft will also join the fleet of Russian armed forces (24 vehicles have already been delivered to the customer), Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yuri Borisov told TASS during his visit to Sokol aviation plant (Nizhny Novgorod).

“We are expecting deliveries of more than 130 upgraded MiG-31 jets. The upgraded great aircraft offering an extremely high performance,” Borisov said. According to him, about 12 or 13 jets of the type will be upgraded annually.

The first contract for upgrading MiG-31 jets was signed in 2011. Under the agreement over 50 upgraded jets of the type must be delivered to Russian air forces until 2019. In autumn 2014 another contract for delivery of more than 50 MiG-31BM aircraft was signed. These vehicles should be delivered to the armed forces by late 2018...
http://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/archive-world-worldwide-news-air-force-aviation-aerospace-air-military-defence-industry/global-news-2015/april/1695-russia-will-deploy-mig-31-fighter-aircraft-in-the-arctic-region.html

From Sept. 2014:

MiG-31 interception near North America suggests Russia changing offensive air ops
http://www.janes.com/article/43640/mig-31-interception-near-north-america-suggests-russia-changing-offensive-air-ops

Mark
Ottawa

 

[a_majoor]

Odd but interesting. My impression was the MiG-31 was essentially an interceptor aircraft, and would have expected something like the Su-27 or its many variants to be used as escorts.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Playing Blackjack:

Russia to reestablish Tu-160 supersonic bomber production line

The Russian defense ministry has confirmed that it will restart the production line for the Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-160 “Blackjack” supersonic strategic bomber.

In a series of tweets on 29 April, the ministry says it is “necessary to resume production of the Tu-160 missile carriers”, adding that it is “the best aircraft in its class”.

Tupolev is in the process of modernising the Russian air force’s Tu-160 to an enhanced Tu-160M standard. The first upgraded example had its first flight on 16 November 2014 and was delivered in December 2014, alongside an upgraded Tu-95MS “Bear” strategic bomber.

Enhancement activity on the supersonic Tu-160 includes “partial replacement” of the aircraft’s avionics and weapons systems, Tupolev says.

The defense ministry also tweets that the Russian air force will receive two Tu-160Ms and 12 long-range Tu-22M3 bombers by the end of 2015, upgraded in Kazan. The Russian air force has 13 Tu-160 in service with 14 on order, Flightglobal’s MiliCAS Fleets database shows.

A second phase of modernisation will begin in 2016 with the addition of upgraded Kuznetsov NK-32 engines, Russian news agency Itar-Tass said in December...
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/russia-to-reestablish-tu-160-supersonic-bomber-production-411778

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CougarKing]

Bears near Alaska:

Military.com

Two Russian Nuclear Bombers Intruded Into Alaska Airspace, Report Says

Two Russian military bombers, which are capable of delivering nuclear warheads, flew into a U.S. air defense zone near Alaska last week, a Washington news website reported Friday.

A pair of Tu-95 Bear H bombers reportedly flew into the airspace on April 22 -- perhaps a sign, officials said, that Russia has begun its long-range aviation spring training cycle.

U.S. defense officials have not yet confirmed the incursion but did tell the Washington Free Beacon that no American fighter jets were dispatched near Alaska last week to monitor any invading aircraft, which would typically be standard procedure.

Some analysts see the flights of Russian military aircraft into air defense zones as mere saber rattling by Moscow, which has raised international tensions in recent years with a steady stream of anti-U.S. rhetoric and its annexation of Crimea last year.

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