Is Russia Building a Nuclear Space Bomber?

[Zain Malik]

• >The engine has already been tested and is expected to make its public debut in September at the International Military Technology Forum. The report quotes a Lieutenant Colonel Solodovnikov, who states the plane will take off and patrol the skies like a regular bomber. Once given the command, the bomber would ascend into space and could hit any target on Earth with nuclear warheads within one or two hours.

• >Russia's Ministry of Defense has denied reports a space bomber is in development, saying it was "out of the question" but not outside its technical level of expertise. The Ministry says that remarks about a hypothetical spacecraft were misinterpreted by the state-run press. While a denial is a denial, the exact date for the engine's public debut is curious. It could be that the engine is real, and that a space bomber was a hypothetical use. Or, the bomber and engine are real. Or not. We'll find out in September.
  
  Either way, little is known about the actual design of the spacecraft. According to Solodovnikov, it would weigh "between 20 and 25 metric tons." That is not much for a plane—in fact, it's roughly the mass of the F/A-18E Super Hornet. And yet somehow, a plane that light is supposed to carry at least one nuclear weapon, fly like a regular aircraft, power itself into space, and then return to base, all on its own.
  
  The engine is a mystery, too. Afterburning turbofan engines used on fighter planes need oxygen to operate, something that isn't feasible in space. Scramjets aren't powerful enough, and ramjets wouldn't be fuel-efficient enough to use in regular atmospheric flight. The Russian spaceplane could use some combination of these, but carrying two types of engines and two types of fuel would easily bust the 25-metric-ton weight ceiling being floated. The report also implies that a single engine will power the aircraft.
  
  One possibility could be a hybrid jet engine/rocket like the United Kingdom's SABRE. The SABRE compresses and pre-cools air, enabling it to work like a regular turbojet at higher altitudes where the air is thinner. Once high enough, it operates much like a regular rocket engine, burning onboard liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. This allows a space plane with SABRE-like engines to get by on a single engine type. It would still need to carry two types of fuel, though.
  
  A space bomber sounds scary, sure, but until something actually flies, it's just vaporware. Russia has promised a number of high-profile defense projects, including the PAK-FA, PAK-DA, Storm-class aircraft carriers, and others. Only the PAK-FA has seen any notable progress, and the project has had its share of engineering issues. Don't hold your breath.
  

 

[boomslang]

SNIFF, SNIFF. Does anyone smell something ? Like, manure?

 

[oprih]

SNIFF, SNIFF. Does anyone smell something ? Like, manure?

That's just your body odor, please take a bath.

 

[Shabi1]

The Buran was a space bomber so the Russian's have done it before. They are really good at making propulsion systems, something NASA accepts as well. But there is no need for such a vehicle right now and the finances required would be put to better use spent elsewhere.

So can they do it. YES!
Do they need to do it. NO!

 

[Pandora]

SNIFF, SNIFF. Does anyone smell something ? Like, manure?

Do check your pants for any foreign smells

 

[gambit]

SNIFF, SNIFF. Does anyone smell something ? Like, manure?

I do as well. The BS is really deep over there.

 

[randomradio]

I do as well. The BS is really deep over there.

It's not BS.

http://www.pravdareport.com/russia/kremlin/13-07-2016/134999-russia_space_bomber-0/
Russia is developing a hypersonic strategic bomber capable of striking nuclear blows from space. The aircraft will be able to reach any part of the globe in one or two hours.

Representative of the Military Academy of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), Colonel Alexei Solodovnikov, told RIA Novosti that the prototype of the engine of the new aircraft is to be created by 2020.

"The idea is as follows. The aircraft will take off from conventional airfields to patrol airspace. It will be able to fly into space when there is an appropriate order for it. The aircraft will be able to strike targets from space, including with the use of nuclear weapons, before flying back to its airfield. This is a strategic aircraft," Solodovnikov.

According to the Lieutenant Colonel, the bomber aircraft will be able to reach any location in the world in one or two hours.

The new aircraft will be developed by the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute. Specialists currently work on the characteristics of the aircraft. "I think that the starting weight will be around 20-25 tons, so it could be an attack aircraft. It will be a hypersonic rocket mode machine," the official added.

Alexei Solodovnikov, who works as a teacher at the academy, is ф developer of the engine for the future aircraft, RBC reports.

"When we sort the basic aspects out, we will proceed to making the engine. During the second year of our work, in 2018, we will work on the hull. The aircraft is to fly in 2020," the specialists said, adding that the aircraft will have a turbofan engine.

"The engine will be able to operate both in the atmosphere of the planet and in near-Earth space, where there is no air. It will be one platform for both aircraft and rocket engines," the specialist said. Currently, Russia does not have such engines, he added.

In July, Russian officials said that the sixth-generation aircraft will be produced in a manned and unmanned version. It will be able to operate in a group of other aircraft and fly into near-Earth space.