Russian Air Force (VVS)

[The_Fat_Kid]

Russia is resuming the production of A-50 long-range radar warning aircraft, this is an analogue of American AWACS aircraft, Rostec reported. The A-50 aircraft is now in great demand, since there are few of them in the Russian Air Force, only 12 of them, 7 of them are flying. In light of recent events, with the expected loss of two A-50 aircraft, which are not officially confirmed, the release of aircraft is becoming especially important for the Air Force . Now Russia can produce up to 3 A-50 aircraft per year. To date, no new aircraft are being produced; only the A-50s already in service are being modernized to the A-50U level; work is being carried out in Taganrog. A-50U aircraft have recently been used to guide missiles from Russian S-400 air defense systems. Most likely, the A-50U aircraft will go into production. It is worth noting that Russia is also developing new A-100 aircraft, created on the basis of the Il-76MD-90A aircraft. For comparison, the A-100 will be able to detect up to 350 air, sea and ground targets at a distance of up to 650 km; its analogue, the American Boeing 737AEW&C AWACS system, can track up to 180 targets at a distance of up to 500 km. When asked about the A-50 aircraft, the head of Rostec said: “Of course, this aircraft is needed. Of course, we will make it. Not only does our army need it, it is also exported very well.” In recent years, Russia has put into operation improved A-50U aircraft, they are capable of detecting low-flying targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers, targets at medium and high altitudes are detected at a distance of up to 650 kilometers, and ballistic missiles are detected at a range of up to 800 kilometers. The number of simultaneously tracked targets is up to 150. You can see the full technical characteristics of the A-50 aircraft on the screen. The aircraft can coordinate the work of 12 fighters and guide 30 aircraft. The A-50 aircraft is capable of conducting patrols for 4 hours at a distance of 1000 km without refueling, with one refueling up to 7 hours. The practical flight range of the aircraft is up to 7500 kilometers, the aircraft crew is 5 people and 10 operators. The cost of the A-50 aircraft is about 330 million dollars.

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Seems like A-100 is comparable to KJ-2000, A-50EI

 

[Soldier35]

Footage of a Russian search and rescue team taking off on a Mi-8 helicopter. The helicopter is accompanied by two helicopters, Mi-28 and Ka-52. The specialized air search unit consists of a fire support team and a medical worker. The medic helps in rescue operations, he also monitors the situation, assists in evacuation and provides first aid to pilots in case of emergency situations. Also on the channel you can watch videos of Russian pilots training on survival in enemy territory

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[Soldier35]

Impacts of RBK-500 SHOAB-0.5 cluster bombs in Ukraine. Footage of Russian Su-34 aircraft using RBK-500 SHOAB-0.5 cluster bombs in Ukraine. A cluster bomb was used southeast of Malaya Tokmachka in the Zaporozhye region. The aircraft bomb has a special fairing that improves its aerodynamic characteristics. The Russian RBK-500 SHOAB-0.5 aerial bomb was put into service in 1969 and is equipped with 570 SHOAB-0.5 ball fragmentation ammunition, weighing 417 grams each. Each Shoab-0.5 ammunition contains 304 steel balls with a diameter of 5.5 mm, that is, the explosion creates a cloud of 154 thousand steel balls; one Shoab-0.5 ammunition can be compared to a hand grenade. The RBK-500 SHOAB-0.5 cluster avionics bomb is used from altitudes from 500 to 20,000 meters, at flight speeds from 700 to 2300 km/h. The minimum opening height of the cassette is 300 meters, the optimal height is 300-400 meters. The affected area depends on the altitude of the bomb; when striking from a height of 1000 meters, the area of continuous destruction is up to 600 meters.

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[Soldier35]

Footage of workshops producing Russian kamikaze drones “Geran-2” has been published. Although it was previously reported unofficially where the production is located, we cannot disclose this. The Geranium-2 drone is a modernized and localized version of the Iranian Shahed-136 drone; there is a review of the drone on the channel. As can be seen from the video, truly mass production of drones has been established. Some drones are painted black for use at night, and some drones are known to be coated with a special radio-absorbing material. British experts examined one of the drones, and it follows from them that the drone has already become Russian. The body is now made of fiberglass and carbon fiber, the manufacturer has optimized and simplified the design. The drone's satellite navigation unit is based on the Russian Comet receiver; the antennas are integrated into the body. The Gerany-2 drones use boards with elements created on a 3D printer and an inertial measurement unit, which allows them to operate in conditions of poor satellite signal. The Russian drone “Geran-2” uses an engine produced by the Chinese company Beijing MicroPilot UAV Flight Control Systems MD550, it is similar to the Iranian engine MADO MD 550, the engine costs about 13 thousand dollars

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[Soldier35]

Footage of the use of a flight simulator of the Yak-130 aircraft by the President of Russia, at the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots named after. Hero of the Soviet Union A.K. Serov. The Russian flight simulator is a complete copy of the control system of the Yak-130 and L-39 fighters. The Yak-130 combat training aircraft is recognized by experts as the best in terms of price-performance ratio; more details about the Yak-130 can be found in the link to the video in the comments to the video. Future pilots are allowed to fly an aircraft only after 17 hours of training flight time on this simulator. The flight simulator is used to practice difficult flight conditions, actions in case of equipment failures and simulate the main mistakes of pilots. The President of Russia flew and landed on a flight simulator.

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[Soldier35]

Footage of the production and testing of the Russian airborne electronic warfare complex L-370 "Vitebsk", designed to protect aircraft and helicopters from missiles. The developer of the complex is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Research Institute Ekran, it is produced by the KRET company, journalist Alexey Egorov interviewed the developers. The Russian airborne defense complex L-370 "Vitebsk" is produced in two versions, the L-370 version is used for helicopters, and the "Vitebsk-25" version is used for aircraft. The electronic warfare system is effective, but it does not provide 100 percent protection; in the cockpit you can often hear the phrase “Attack from the right, attack from the left,” this means that the electronic warfare system detected the missile launch and rejected it. Judging by the videos published by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the complex quite often saved the lives of pilots. The Vitebsk electronic warfare system is also installed on the Il-96-300 aircraft on which the Russian President flies.
In the video you can see tests of the L-370 electronic warfare system installed on a Mi-8 helicopter; as you can see in the video, the complex successfully rejects Igla MANPADS missiles; a total of 20 of them were fired. The sets of the L-370 "Vitebsk" complex are placed in suspended containers on the suspension units of the Su-25SM3 aircraft and on the Ka-52, Mi-26, Mi-8 and Mi-35M helicopters. It is worth noting that it is not often found on Su-25 aircraft.
The basis of the Vitebsk electronic warfare is the L-370-3S active jamming station; according to the developer, the station is much faster than the electronic warfare on other aircraft: the Sorptsiya electronic warfare on the Su-27, Omul on the Su-25 and Gardenia on MiG-29. Electronic warfare L-370 "Vitebsk" is capable of assessing the intensity of radar radiation and suppressing this signal in a wide frequency range. The complex also includes a missile protection system with a thermal homing head. In the photo you can see the composition of the complex placed on the Su-25Sm3 aircraft and the Ka-52 helicopter. The system automatically detects a missile launch and activates the use of passive jamming, thermal decoys and chaffs, as well as active protection in the infrared and radio bands. The operation of electronic warfare leads to disruption of the missile homing systems and provokes them to fly to false targets. The system can operate automatically without operator participation, only providing information about the attack angle and the nature of the threat. They plan to equip the Il-76, Il-78, An-72, An-124 aircraft, as well as the promising Il-112V, with the complex.

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[Soldier35]

Russian MiG-31 aircraft with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and Tu-22M3 bombers patrolled the western border of Russia over the Baltic waters. During the flight, the crews of the MiG-31 aircraft practiced in-flight refueling from the Il-78 aircraft. Fighter escort was also provided by Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S aircraft. At certain stages of the route, Russian aircraft were accompanied by Finnish F-18 fighters armed with AIM-9 air-to-air missiles.

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[Khanasifm]

??

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[Soldier35]

The Chinese company Tsingaero Armaments is going to launch the production of helicopter-type drones in Russia on the territory of Tatarstan. According to the head of the company’s board, the company “chose” Russia to implement this project and “perhaps it will be the only partner country.” The company's drones are used in the military sphere for reconnaissance, transportation, communications relay and battlefield surveillance. In addition, drone helicopters are used in the civilian field, for example, to extinguish fires. Tsingaero Armaments has developed drones and synchrocopters, their rotors are located at an angle to each other, their planes of rotation intersect. When using this scheme, the drone has higher stability and its load capacity is 30% higher. Accurate characteristics of drones on the screen. Depending on the model, drones have a carrying capacity of 60 to 250 kg, can stay in the air for 3 to 5 hours and have a flight range of 200 to 500 km, reaching speeds of up to 270 km/h.

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[Soldier35]

The Russian army has begun to use the Bee queen drone, but there is no technical information about it yet. The drone is made according to the VTOL scheme, that is, a hybrid of an airplane and a quadcopter, it is equipped with an internal combustion engine and can transport and launch FPV drones. Judging by its size, the Bee UAV can carry one FPV drone placed on top. The use of the Bee UAV as a carrier of FPV drones allows you to significantly increase the range of use of FPV drones, since the UAV relays signals from FPV drones and increases their range. Judging by the development of drones, unmanned aircraft will soon become a separate branch of the military.

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[Fatman17]

Unveiling the T-60S: The Soviet Bomber That Could Have Redefined Aerial Warfare

Summary: The T-60S bomber was a highly ambitious Soviet aircraft project aimed at modernizing their intermediate-range bomber fleet, replacing older models like the Su-24 and Tu-22M. Originating from the T-4 concept, the T-60S was envisioned as a variable geometry swing aircraft with innovative...

nationalinterest.org

 

[Deino]

Unveiling the T-60S: The Soviet Bomber That Could Have Redefined Aerial Warfare

Summary: The T-60S bomber was a highly ambitious Soviet aircraft project aimed at modernizing their intermediate-range bomber fleet, replacing older models like the Su-24 and Tu-22M. Originating from the T-4 concept, the T-60S was envisioned as a variable geometry swing aircraft with innovative...

nationalinterest.org

Another most interesting project that did not reach hardware level

 

[Fatman17]

Another most interesting project that did not reach hardware level

Reason: too ambitious perhaps?

 

[Harbyharb]

Reason: too ambitious perhaps?

The key issue that killed the project was disagreements between TsAGI and OKB Sukhoi over design decisions as well as the interruption of the AL-41 development in the '90s.

Fundamentally speaking, while certainly interesting and an especially masterful demonstration of Sukhoi engineers' mastery over leading-edge extension/central lift body design, at the end of the day it is still a Soviet-style intermediate bomber with a variable sweep design with a focus on low alt supersonic breakthrough ability in mind, which increased airframe complexity, thus cost, maintenance burden, and reduced effective payload (a mere 6000kg for a ~80ton MTOW aircraft is not very appealing), with a very narrow intended mission set such as maritime anti-shipping. The lack of funding in the '90s definitely put the project in the coffin and the further advent and emphasis of standoff weaponry instead of airframe flight performance hammered in the last nail.

 

[GoMig-21]

Footage of a Russian search and rescue team taking off on a Mi-8 helicopter. The helicopter is accompanied by two helicopters, Mi-28 and Ka-52. The specialized air search unit consists of a fire support team and a medical worker. The medic helps in rescue operations, he also monitors the situation, assists in evacuation and provides first aid to pilots in case of emergency situations. Also on the channel you can watch videos of Russian pilots training on survival in enemy territory

Looking good. Interesting how Russia does things a bit different but not really that different that western SAR methods. Using the Mi-8 as the primary ambulatory air lift escorted by a pair of attack choppers in the Ka-52 & Mi-28.

For the US, it would typically be a Red-Crossed Blackhawk performing the ambulatory aspect with other Blackhawks performing the lookout role with a mini-gun or gatling gun. A far cry from the powerful loadout a Ka-52 AND an Mi-8 would provide. I suppose they might use Apaches for escorts but typically they stick to other, lightly armed derivatives of the Blackhawk.

You would think that SOP would've changed after the Battle of Mogadishu when they used exactly that same escort and paid a heavy price against a bunch of determined Somali militias. But it doesn't look like it and interesting to see how Russia has implemented that heavy, SAR escort concept.

And it looks like they're also employing the President-S defensive system on the Mi-28 & Ka-52, but I don't see it on the Mi-28. So they bring about as much escort protection as they possibly can.