Russia’s Stealth Fighter Is in Serious Trouble

[Prechko]

People should not take serious anything coming from Western MSM these days , I mean most of these journalists don`t get that for instance Tu-95s in RuAF active service is on average 30 years younger than USAF B-52s and they still dare to call "Soviet era" as it is something old LOL

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

If Russia doesn't rush this plane out the door it will eventually work out any problems and be a good plane.

Unfortunately Putin wants it as soon as possible.

 

[Prechko]

If Russia doesn't rush this plane out the door it will eventually work out any problems and be a good plane.

Unfortunately Putin wants it as soon as possible.

How did you figured that out?

Su-35S is that intermediary fighter for RuAF so they could develop PAK-FA in peace.

 

[SpArK]

This is putin's pet project...

This project is very important and development will see no delay's.

The cut in numbers doesnt translate to hiccups in R&D.

 

[bdslph]

russian bears will solve the problem
well it is a new plan so and stealth so it is normal to run in to problem
but Russia went a lot advance in stage
but i am sure it will be used in airforce in future

 

[Matrixx]

patience is the key element in development projects

 

[Penguin]

People should not take serious anything coming from Western MSM these days , I mean most of these journalists don`t get that for instance Tu-95s in RuAF active service is on average 30 years younger than USAF B-52s and they still dare to call "Soviet era" as it is something old LOL

Tu-95
First flight 12 November 1952 < THAT makes it soviet era (design wise)
Produced 1952–1994 < there may be older and younger airframes
Number built 500+
Russia: 63 Tu-95MS strategic bombers. As of 2012, 55 of them are combat-ready

Tu-142 (naval variant)
First flight 18 July 1968
Introduction December 1972
Produced 1968–1994
Number built 100
The Russian Naval Aviation had fifteen Tu-142s in service as of December 2010

As of mid-2012, the Russian air force had 66 combat-ready intercontinental bombers, not counting those undergoing repair and modernisation or on training duties. These comprised 11 Tu-160s and 55 Tu-95MS, with some 200 nuclear charges (although this fleet can carry more). The latter types are undergoing modernisation, which is centred on fitting them with new long-range subsonic cruise missiles. Most of these bombers were built in the 1980s and 1990s and have logged a relatively small number of flight hours. They could therefore remain in service until 2030-2040, and beyond, suggesting that the PAK-DA, if it arrives on time, may be deployed in different roles to those allocated to the Tu-95MS and Tu-160. Presumably, the air force will be more interested in a harder-to-detect bomber able to penetrate through modern air defences and suppress them.

IN FOCUS: Russian's next-generation bomber takes shape - 10/15/2012 - Flight Global

B-52
First flight 15 April 1952 < THAT makes it Cold Wart era (design wise)
Produced 1952–62 < that means production of new airframes ended 1962
Number built 744
Since the mid-1990s, the B-52H has been the only variant remaining in military service
As of 2012, 85 were in active service with nine in reserve.
B-52s are periodically refurbished at USAF maintenance depots
USAF intends to keep the B-52H in service until 2045
Air Force Begins Massive B-52 Overhaul | DoD Buzz
On average, 50+ year old B-52s have between 17,000 to 18,000 flying hours, about 300-400 hour per year.
The Air Force's newest B-52 turns 50 | DoD Buzz
The B-52H airframe life is estimated at between 32,500 and 37,500 airframe hours based on traditional mission profiles.
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/ADA428790.pdf


Large numbers of airframes with little 'mileage' were retired but kept in desert storage. These have recently been taken taken up and restored to current standards when necessary. For example, in January 2015, a B-52 from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Groups 'boneyard' at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base was refurbished and returned to service for the first time. So, OLD doesn't equate to USED UP.

"It's the first time we've ever brought any of the B-52s out of the boneyard"

USAF resurrects B-52 from Arizona storage for first time - UPI.com

Tupolev Tu-95 MS aircraft for sale on eBay for 3 million dollars
Kiev, Ukraine - Built in 1987, the strategic bomber has just a few flight hours

A Tupolev Tu-95 MS aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force has been put up for sale on eBay, the renowned online auction website, with a starting price of 3 million dollars (about 2.16 million Euros).

The airplane is owned by a Swiss company, with locations in Switzerland , Germany and the Ukraine, was built in 1987 and gathered just 454 flight hours on an expected life cycle of 5000 hours. However, as stated by the seller, the bomber is currently not capable of flying, and it is necessary to make a technical service and prolongation of the data limit.

Avionews.com | Tupolev Tu-95 MS aircraft for sale on eBay for 3 million dollars

So, even 30 year younger Tu-95 is still designed for far fewer flight hours than the on average much older B52.....

 

[Penguin]

Tu-95
Long range / strategic bomber aircraft
prototype 1952
first production aircraft 1955
First entered service 1957
Production continued until 1959
Total produced 173 + 2 prototypes , in nine versions.
Most continued in service through 1980s/1990s
Many then cut up due to SALT accords.
By mid 1990 all cut up or scrapped.

Tu-142
Long range anti-submarine and maritime reconnaissance aircraft
Prototype 1968
First Entered service 1972
142M Upgrade 1975
142M2 Upgrade 1976
142M3 Upgrade 1980
Production continued until 1988
Total produced 225, including 8 for Indian navy

Other variants
Tu-114 passenger plane (32)
Tu-116 24 seat long-range airliner (2)
Tu-126 MOSS AWACS (12)

Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft
by Paul Duffy, A. I. Kandalov.
Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft - Paul Duffy, A. I. Kandalov - Google Boeken

Tu-95MS/Tu-95MS6/Tu-95MS16: Completely new cruise missile carrier platform based on the Tu-142 airframe. This variant became the launch platform of the Raduga Kh-55 cruise missile and put into serial production in 1981. Known to NATO as the Bear H and was referred to by the U.S. military as a Tu-142 for some time in the 1980s before its true designation became known.
Tupolev Tu-95 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, I figure those 225 Tu-142 referred to by Duffy and Kandalov includes the TU-95MS variant, since wiki lists only 100 Tu-142 MPA produced. Of possible 125 aircraft produced in since 1981 currently only about half remain.

 

[Prechko]

@Penguin , I never said Tu-95 is not Soviet era design , i said that Tu-95 currently in service are 80`s era production and technology and therefore Soviet era in this case doesn`t mean it `s old and obsolete.

 

[Penguin]

@Penguin , I never said Tu-95 is not Soviet era design , i said that Tu-95 currently in service are 80`s era production and technology and therefore Soviet era in this case doesn`t mean it `s old and obsolete.

Not anymore than refurbed B52s, which have been refitted with some of the most modern gadgets. The survival rates are interesting though. That may be a reflections of funding levels or design/build quality, both or yet other factors.

 

[Prechko]

Not anymore than refurbed B52s, which have been refitted with some of the most modern gadgets. The survival rates are interesting though. That may be a reflections of funding levels or design/build quality, both or yet other factors.

I agree that B-52s are top notch , but you will rarely see in Western MSM "old Cold war" or " old 50`es era" design when it comes to B-52 (or anything else for that matter) reporting while you will see such style when it comes to Soviet/Russian produced planes. I`m not criticizing B-52 but MSM reporting.

 

[Penguin]

Historical Snapshot
In August 2014, the B-52 Stratofortress celebrated 60 years in the air. The eight-engine, 390,000-pound (176,901-kilogram) jet was America’s first long-range, swept-wing heavy bomber. It began as an intercontinental, high-altitude nuclear bomber, and its operational capabilities were adapted to meet changing defense needs.
B-52s have been modified for low-level flight, conventional bombing, extended-range flights and transport of improved defensive and offensive equipment — including ballistic and cruise missiles that can be launched hundreds of miles from their targets.
It had a rocky beginning. The original XB-52 design, selected by the Army Air Forces in 1946, was for a straight-wing, six-engine, propeller-powered heavy bomber. On Oct. 21, 1948, Boeing Chief Engineer Ed Wells and his design team were in Dayton, Ohio, when the Air Force’s chief of bomber development told them to scrap the propellers and come up with an all-jet bomber. Over the following weekend, in a Dayton hotel room, the team designed a new eight-engine jet bomber, still called the B-52, made a scale model out of balsa wood and prepared a 33-page report.
This effort impressed the Air Force’s Air Materiel Command, and the design was approved. As the war worsened in Korea, the Air Force, in 1951, designated the B-52 the country’s next intercontinental bomber and approved an initial production order for 13 B-52s. The first B-52A flew Aug. 5, 1954.
After assembly of three B-52As, production converted to B-52Bs, with more weight and larger engines. Some had photoreconnaissance or electronic capsules in their bomb bays and were redesignated RB-52Bs. The turbofan powered B-52H, the final version of the B-52, made its first flight March 6, 1961, and is still in service.
With each variant, the B-52 increased in range, power and capability. In all, 744 B-52s were produced by Seattle, Wash., and Wichita, Kan., plants between 1952 and 1962.
Throughout the 1950s, the B-52 chalked up many distance and speed records. It cut the round-the-world speed record in half, and in January 1962, flew 12,500 miles (20,117 kilometers) nonstop from Japan to Spain without refueling. This flight alone broke 11 distance and speed records. The B-52 saw active duty in the Vietnam War and was used in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and over Afghanistan in 2001.
On Oct. 26, 2012, Boeing marked 50 years since it had delivered its last B-52 Stratofortress to the U.S. Air Force. H-model bomber 61-040 had been assigned to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where it remained in active service. Modern engineering analyses showed the B-52’s expected lifespan extending beyond 2040.
In May 2014, The Air Force introduced the first B-52 aircraft upgraded with an advanced communications system developed by Boeing into its fleet. The Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) modification added several communication data links, full-color LCD displays with real-time intelligence feeds overlaid on moving maps, a state-of-the-art computing network, and the ability to retarget a weapon, or mission parameters, in flight. At that time, the Air Force operated 76 B-52s primarily out of Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and planned to upgrade all of them.

Boeing: Historical Snapshot: B-52 Stratofortress

B-52 gets first full IT upgrade since ’60s, now LAN party ready
Digital facelift and networks give Stratofortress new lease on dealing death.
by Sean Gallagher - May 26, 2014 9:00pm CEST
The US Air Force’s 10th Flight Test Squadron recently took delivery of the first B-52H Stratofortress to complete a refit through the Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) program. It's an effort to bring the Cold War era heavy bomber into the 21st century way of warfare—or at least up to the 1990s, technology-wise. While the aircraft received piecemeal upgrades over the past 50 years of flying, CONECT is the first major information technology overhaul for the Air Force’s B-52H fleet since the airplanes started entering service in 1961.
A total of 30 B-52s are due for the CONECT upgrade, at least based on the funding allotted for this fiscal year. The most visible part of the upgrade is the crew’s workstations. New “multi-functional color displays” (MFCDs) replace the analog instruments and monochrome displays previously used by aircrew.

The workstations, which have keyboards and trackballs, are connected through an onboard network that allows each console to control multiple onboard systems through a client-server architecture. Another part of the onboard network is the new “digital interphone” system for internal communications.
While much of this sounds like capabilities from the Clinton era, it’s important to remember that the network systems are designed to “survive and function through the nuclear environment.” But the real heart of the CONECT upgrade is the satellite and tactical network improvements they deliver to the B-52, which add data links to the aircraft that make it more relevant in an era of precision bombing and flexible targeting for close air support. In the past, aircrews had to write down mission details on paper and then manually enter them into systems for targeting. Now, mission plans and weapons systems targeting data will be able to be sent to the aircraft's systems while it's inflight.

The new networks will turn the B-52 into a node on the DOD’s network, allowing machine-to-machine communications to handle the on-the-fly retargeting of JDAM guided bombs and conventional air-launched cruise missiles. Imagine a B-52 casually orbiting over Afghanistan, waiting for some ground spotter to tap his BATMAN Google Glass and say, “OK Glass, bomb that ridge.”

B-52 gets first full IT upgrade since ’60s, now LAN party ready | Ars Technica (with pics and vid)

For a plane that's now being flown by the original crews' grandchildren, the B-52 is still going strong.