VVS Russian Air Force: News #1

Russian fighter jets make first ever nonstop flight across Russia to Far East

RIA Novosti

12:45 04/07/2010

VLADIVOSTOK, July 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russian fighter jets have performed the first ever nonstop flights from European Russia to the Russian Far East with in-flight refueling as part of the Vostok-2010 military drills, Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov said on Sunday.

"For the first time ever, we have tested a possibility for fighter jets to fly from aerodromes in the European part of Russia to eastern airfields in the Far Eastern district without landing, with in-flight refueling and the delivery of strikes according to assignments received during the flight," Makarov said.

The exercises, which have entered their naval phase in the Sea of Okhotsk in the Russian Far East, are being overseen by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on board the heavy nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky.

When asked by the president about how many refuelings had been required for the fighter jets, Russia's top military commander answered that it had taken Su-24M Fencer fighter-bombers three refuelings and for new Su-34 Fullback strike aircraft two refuelings.

The drills, Vostok-2010, began on June 29 in Russia's Far East training areas and involved some 10,000 troops and around 1,000 items of military hardware. The first phase of the drills ended on Saturday. The second, naval phase launched on Sunday, will see the involvement of several times more service personnel and military equipment. The exercises continue until July 8.

Apart from the Pyotr Veliky cruiser of the Russian Northern Fleet, the drills also involve the Guards guided missile cruiser Moskva of the Black Sea Fleet.

As part of the drills, the Armed Forces will practice the deployment of additional troops in Siberia and the Far East to reinforce the existing military contingent in the region in case of a military conflict.

Russia holds Vostok strategic command-and-staff drills every two years.


http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/russia/2010/russia-100704-rianovosti01.htm

Russian frontline, army aviation to be completely rearmed in 10 years

RIA Novosti

13:58 14/08/2010

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Air Force will entirely rearm its frontline aviation and army aviation within the next 10 years, Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin told the Ekho Moskvy FM station on Saturday.

The frontline and army aviation will see 100% rearmament, and the military transport aviation will be updated by 70%, Zelin said.

He emphasized that the Air Force is higher-priority military service and the shaped plans would be unambiguously carried out.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/russia/2010/russia-100814-rianovosti03.htm

The frontline and army aviation will see 100% rearmament

100% must mean reductions of 80%. There are only a couple hundred attack jets and helicopters slated for frontal aviation over the next 5 years. Don't see how they will increase that by much when they have to replace upgraded Soviet rust buckets in the same time frame. At the rate we are going we will have an air force of 300 attack craft. France couldn't even live with that.

The Russian Air Force will procure over 1,500 new aircraft and significantly increase the number of high-precision weapons in its arsenal by 2020, a deputy Air Force commander said on Wednesday.

"Overall, we are planning to acquire and modernize about 2,000 aircraft and helicopters by 2020...including more than 1,500 new aircraft and about 400 modernized," Lt. Gen. Igor Sadofyev told reporters in Moscow.

According to the general, in 2011 the Air Force plans to adopt Su-27SM, Su-30M2 and Su-35S multirole fighters, Su-34 fighter-bombers and Yak-130 combat trainers as well as Ka-52 and Mi-28N attack helicopters, Mi-8 armed assault helicopters, Ka-226 and Ansat-U light multipurpose helicopters.

"The priority for the strategic aviation is the modernization of 80 percent of existing Tu-160, Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3 bombers and Il-78M aerial tankers...and the extension of their service life," Sadofyev said.

He also said that the share of high-precision weaponry in the Russian Air Force arsenal would increase by 18 times, including the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) - by six times.

"In addition to a thorough upgrade of the aircraft fleet, the measures planned until 2020 will allow us to increase the share of high-precision weaponry to 70 percent of the total, or by 18 times," the general said.

Sadofyev added that the number of all-weather aircraft, capable of carrying out day and night missions would increase almost five-fold, and the share of UAVs would constitute about 30 percent of the total by 2020.

However, Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies told RIA Novosti that Russia's ability to fund and manufacture 1,500 military aircraft over the next decade is "questionable."

"The defense aerospace industry suffered from a decade plus of serious under-investment following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and only in the past few years has there been any appreciable improvement in the flow of cash," Barrie said.

"With regard to increasing the percentage of precision guided-weapons in the Air Force inventory, Russia's Tactical Missile Systems (TRV) has been designing and developing a range of 'precision' munitions, including the Kh-38 family of air-to-surface missiles, since at least the early 1990s," Barrie continued.

He said these projects had been hampered by the lack of adequate state funding until recently. He noted, however, that funding has been "noticeably improved," which will likely increase the pace of development on the Kh-38, as well as other weapons projects.

MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti)
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20101201/161580969.html

Russia has been planning to procure hundreds of aircraft now for the last ten years. Two GOZ have gone unfunded. Why will the third be any different?

GarryB wrote:South Ossetia conflict Mostly.

Plus the Government seems to have realised that the military industrial complex needs to be repaired and engaged whereas before it was just looking at the military.

MoD's biggest problem is cost. Cost escalation in the MIC is almost twice as bad as it is in NATO. MoD put down the first payments for GOZ orders, then the producers come back and say it will cost 50% more than stated. This is why the first two GOZ never got funded. Now the state has to fund not only the order, but also the reequipping of MIC. They waited so long to do it, it will cost trillions of USD to do the job. Russia doesn't have those kind of funds. The industrialists are so greedy, the little money they do get will disappear as it did before.

Cost escalation and obsolescence are the two reasons why they have gone unfunded. Watching all those projects get canceled revealed alot. Now we are waiting on retooling and reogranisation so cost escalation will go down for the large orders about to come. The rest we will have to buy abroad.

GarryB wrote:Volume will reduce the cost but developing new models and sourcing western components not available in Russia will also drive up costs.

With a modern high tech production plant most of the costs are not labour costs so the low cost labour advantage Russia once had is now gone so prices are going to climb dramatically.

That is why I have been suggesting that alternative solutions to all brand new should be sought.

The plan of paying for 2,000 aircraft in the next ten years where 400 and something are upgrades is silly. A plan to make 1,200 all new aircraft, plus about 1,000 upgrades makes much more sense and would probably be much cheaper.

The problem is that the leadership have locked themselves into the delusion that only the latest and best will do.

The reality is that for the majority of its work the Air force doesn't need T-50s. For the majority of its work the Navy doesn't need carriers. It has been made known that for the majority of its work the Army doesn't need 22,000 tanks.

The point is that a country the size of Russia does need numbers in certain areas, and aircraft and ships are the two main ones.

The important thing is to have things in service and to give them regular and proper upgrades.

The changes made to the Army sound to a layman as drastic cuts, but they include the removal of lower readiness units and a slight increase in the highest readiness units so in practical terms instead of having about 1,800 odd tanks ready to roll they will actually have about 2,200. The enormous reduction in tanks sitting in storage should lead to those tanks getting regular upgrades etc so the Army will actually be a much leaner and meaner force with this reduction.

For the air force and the navy the situation is the opposite in that they do need numbers and it is often cheaper and easier to upgrade an existing aircraft or ship to an acceptable level than to make new ones from scratch.

With better command, control, communications, computers, Intel, and Recon the Army will find that it can move on the battlefield much more efficently and react to the enemy to maximise the damage they can deliver and the lease cost, with an improved air force hitting important enemy assets they can start planning for attacks like Desert Storm and the like.

In support of What Garry said:

What's next for the Russian Air Force?
RIA Novosti

22:56 03/12/2010 RIA military correspondent Ilya Kramnik - Deputy Commander of the Russian Air Force Igor Sadofiyev said on December 1 that in the next ten years, Russia will acquire more than 1,500 new aircraft and upgrade more than 400 others. The media has mentioned these figures more than once when quoting high-ranking military officers, but now the Air Force is ready to disclose the full range of its purchases.

Modernization

The modernization of obsolescent planes at a relatively modest cost makes it possible to sharply increase the combat potential of the previous generation of aircraft. Such improvements are common practice in many national militaries, and, for its part, Russia primarily plans to upgrade its long-range aviation and cargo fleet.

The Air Force will extend the service life of the Tu-160 (Blackjack) and Tu-95 (Backgin) strategic bombers and the Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and upgrade its IL-78 (Midas) refueling tankers. Additional improvements will be made to the A-50 "flying radar" and cargo aircraft, such as the An-124 Ruslan (Condor) and Il-76 (Candid) airlifters.

Front-line aviation will also undergo modernization, but the accent will be shifted. All things considered, the Air Force will likely discontinue the modernization of the Su-27 (Flanker) fighter into its SM version after it receives 12 new aircraft of this type in 2011. In addition, next year the Air Force will begin flying the Su-35S fighter - the latest derivative of the Su-27.

On the other hand, the Air Force plans to step up the modernization of the Su-25 (Frogfoot) assault plane, the Su-24 (Fencer) bomber, and the MIG-31 (Foxhound) interceptor. On par with transports and far-range bombers, they will form the backbone of Russia's upgraded air fleet.

What's new?

The planned purchase of 1,500 new aircraft and helicopters in the next ten years has sent some shockwaves, because in the past, annual purchases were limited to 30-40 aircraft in total. Many wonder if the plan is realistic.

Ruslav Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technology (CAST) and one of the leading domestic military experts, explains: "Most likely, this number - 1,500 aircraft - includes not only planes and helicopters, but also drones. Many countries count their aircraft in this way, for instance, when they present information to the UN Register of Conventional Arms.

In reality, the figure of "more than 1,500 aircraft" is most likely to include 350-400 new combat aircraft, about 100 military transports of different types, and 120-140 Yak-130 Mitten trainer aircraft. The remaining 800-900 aircraft will be helicopters and drones.

Some figures on particular types of aircraft have been specified. The Defense Ministry has already signed contracts for the purchase of 32 Su-34 (Fullback) front-line bombers through 2013, 48 Su-35 fighters through 2015, 12 Su-27 SM (Flanker) fighters through 2011, four Su-30M2 (Flanker C) aircraft through 2011, and 12 Su-25 UBM trainer aircraft.

This year the Defense Ministry plans to sign a contract for the delivery of 26 MIG-29K (Fulcrum) fighters by 2015. It is also expected to sign additional contracts for the purchase of at least 80 Su-34 (Fullback) fighter-bombers and 24-48 Su-35 (Flanker- E) fighters. All in all, these purchases will amount to about 240-260 aircraft.

Contracts for the purchase of another 100-110 aircraft are likely to be awarded to the Sukhoi design bureau for the T-50 fifth generation fighter and other Sukhoi aircraft.

The Defense Ministry also has plans to buy a long list of helicopters - primarily the Mi-28H (Havoc) and Ka-52 Hokum B attack choppers. By 2020, their numbers are likely to swell to 200-250 and 50-60, respectively, while different Mi-8 (Hip) versions will remain the backbone of the transport and combat fleet. Their serial production was launched in the 1960s and will continue for at least two more decades. The fleet of light helicopters previously represented by the Mi-2 (Hoplite) will be renovated - and the Mi-2 will be replaced with the light Ansat trainer and the multi-purpose Ka-60 Kasatka (Orca).

Unknown drones and the bottom line

The biggest enigma is the drones that the Air Force is planning to buy. In fact, today the military are expected to purchase drones that have not yet been developed or are, at most, in the last stage of design. It has been previously reported that the testing of domestic drones is scheduled to start in 2011. The new year will begin very soon, and hopefully we'll hear more about them in the next 12 months.

As to the Air Force's overall number of aircraft, I can only repeat the previous estimate given by RIA Novosti. But by 2020, Russia will have about 800 efficient combat aircraft and a total fleet numbering between 1,500 and 1,700 planes and helicopters. Including Navy aircraft, Russian military aviation will possess around 1,800-1,900 aircraft, not counting drones.

The views expressed in this article are the author's and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/russia/2010/russia-101203-rianovosti03.htm

Upgrades for the transports and bombers can keep them running for 50 years. Upgrading fighters makes it 35 years at best. We seen what happens doing that in India, bunch of flying coffins. The inventory of fighters is dated at 1987 on average. 23 years to date, 12 years left if refurbished. Su-27SM stopped, no MiG-29s upgraded, limited MiG-31 upgrades... we are losing over 1200 fighters not including Su-24. Include Su-34 we are still only getting 350 if all goes to plan... which it rarely does here. Lets list what we have today that can be considered modern fighters...

48 Su-27SM
34 MiG-29SMT
12 Su-30
16 Su-34
10 MiG-31BM

120 fighters considered modern?!?

VVS is supposed to compose 1500 fighters... we are screwed.

Ok guys IDK how you would react to it but apparently RuAF is mustering a contract for 28 to 36(with option to even more) Su-30MKI or MKM (or equivalent modification) with PESA, Thrust vectoring, canards etc. Contract will be signed in nearest future. Wait for officious...

Andy_Wiz wrote:Ok guys IDK how you would react to it but apparently RuAF is mustering a contract for 28 to 36(with option to even more) Su-30MKI or MKM (or equivalent modification) with PESA, Thrust vectoring, canards etc. Contract will be signed in nearest future. Wait for officious...

Are your sure this has nothing to do with modernized Su-33 they are about to get?

GarryB:

Mig-29SM2 is now MiG-35 - the program is facing some serious drawbacks particularly with its radar & optronic sensor suite, the new engine RD-43 was cancelled etc.. Anyway no new information on MiG-35. (Although some RuAF officials mentioned plans on MiG-35 a while back)
Or you mean modernisation of existing fleet? I think there wont be any modernistation to Mig-29 and I agree fully with MoD on the issue the have max 10 years life in them - not worth it...

My version:
They get Su-30MKI'ski to complement and substitute sparkas(Su-27UB) as well as further expand multirole capability of the RuAF(the Multirole capacity is clear goal for all new airframes entering service)... There are less than 50 sparkas (Su-27UB) in flying conditions now.... Also this is a good sign, as maybe they may use them partly as trainers for Su-27SM3 - the 4++ gen Su-27 modernisation although it doesn't exist yet.(This means the Su-27's may not be retired as fast as Mig-29's)

To produce Su-27SM is an anachronism now, they want something like the mysterious Su-27SM3 although it is in very early RFP stage. (They only just recently tested an RVV-SD or R-77PD from Su-27SM with enhanced radar - read NIIP Tikhomirov CEO interview)
The Su-27 SM quantity will be 68-72 airrames total(They want to have three regiments, right now they got two - 2*24=48 + 4 in Lipetsk, 1-2 for testing...) - after that they'll move on to new types.

Although I'm beggining to think that Su-27SM3 may have become doomed now...

Aso a reason is that KnAAPO is overloaded with work on SSJ(the main factor),Su-35,PAKFA,Su-27SM,export Su-30's + maintenance and parts manufacturing for all the previously produced airframes(KnAAPO is now working as a repair site too) While Su-30MKI's are produced in Irkutsk..

Sorry folks busy with AeroIndia , hopefully I should get some good information.

But here is something to chew on from latest Air International , a new variant of Ka-31 for land reco and IL-112V will be funded.

http://www.4shared.com/document/P38pThg0/RussiaNews.html

my apologies on the b/w scan quality was in much hurry.

Garry will try to do my best ,reached bangalore and fell ill the next day

I checked on the new missile they were suppose to display , there is no new missile but a sterlet launcher on a BTR like vehical with EO seeker.

Russia to buy 1,000 helicopters by 2020

RIA Novosti

13:22 24/02/2011

MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Defense Ministry announced plans on Thursday to buy 100 ships, over 600 aircraft and 1,000 helicopters under a 2011-2020 arms procurement program.

Russia will buy 10 new generation S-500 air defense systems, which will replace the S-400 systems currently entering service with the Russian forces, said First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin, who is in charge of arms procurement.

Russia plans to purchase more than 100 helicopters this year, including Mi-26 Halo heavy transport helicopters, Mi-28 Night Hunter and Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters.

Russia's Defense Ministry submitted the 19 trillion ruble ($651 billion) arms procurement spending plan for 2011-2020 to the government in December. Some 80% of the funds will be spent on buying weapons and 10% will be spent on scientific research.

The official confirmed earlier reports that Russia will buy two Mistral assault ships from France, while two more of the ships will be built under license in Russia.

Russia is planning to build eight strategic nuclear submarines by 2020 and equip them with Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which are expected to be put into service this year.

Russia also plans to develop new heavy ballistic missiles to replace Soviet-era SS-18 Satan and SS-20 Saber ICBMs, Popovkin said.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/russia/2011/russia-110224-rianovosti01.htm