The Russian PAK-FA (T50)
Below an interesting article from the Australian Business Spectator provides an intriguing analysis of the global positioning behind Russia's stand on Syria. One Americans won’t find in the US business press.
Among the issues highlighted is the fact that Russia is fairly debt-free, a definite advantage in modern day global politics, and the vast superiority of the Russian/Indian PAK-FA (T-50) over the American Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). According to Robert Gottliebsen, the editorial’s author, the former gives Russia clear air superiority over NATO. Gottliebsen also mentions that Russia, not the EU, will be bailing out Cypress, in their pursuit of a presence at the island’s deep water port. The Russians are determined to maintain naval access to the Mediterranean, in case the Syrian civil war forces them to abandon their naval base at Tartus in Syria.
“Russia might have lost the cold war but as a low debt country it is coming back with a vengeance.
The return of Russian power is among the long-term security ramifications caused by the convulsions in Europe and the Middle East plus the mistakes of the US.
More ramifications will start to emerge in the next 12 months.
But over the weekend the ‘Russia is Back’ syndrome hit the headlines in two events. First, the Dutch parliament rejected the American Joint Strike Fighter. The Netherlands are coming close to an election and whether the rejection will follow through to action will depend on the outcome. Nevertheless, the Netherlands are facing the same problem as all other JSF partners – in tough economic times the aircraft’s costs are ballooning. And they will rise even further as more countries pull out.
More seriously, it is now clear that the JSF will not be able to match the Russian/Indian PAK-FA T-50, the aircraft giving Russia air superiority in Europe.”
Read more here: Russia’s New Muscle
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Comments
Interesting. Never heard about the new Russian fighter.
r
Unfortunately a great many Americans have swallowed the government sponsored attitude that Americans are well informed by American media and that they need not bother checking other available sources from around the world. As much as I boast proudly that our Canadian media coverage is better than that of the US, it is only fair to point out that it pales beside European coverage. Heck I often learn of things going on right here in Canada from the Chinese English language media! How shameful is that?
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I'm often reading Nepali newspapers as published in the Net, because I have connections in that country. Sometimes I get better informed news about things going on in Europe and especially in Russia from Nepali newspapers than I can get from newspapers as published here in Finland.
Concerning fighter jets, did you read in American newspapers that India recently made the decision to buy their new small fighters from Europe, not from America?
Hannu, in his article Gottliebsen refers to the PAK-FA (T-50) as a joint Russian/Indian project but doesn't elaborate. I haven't been able to find further information on the Internet.
Jmac, it's my impression that most weapons projects defense contractors sell the Pentagon are pretty worthless, except to line their pockets.
Russia's new fifth-generation air superiority fighter project developed in cooperation with India would probably become again the best on the field of air superiority fighters, if it ever becomes a reality.
India is a big player in arms business and to develop new fighters with Russians they will help Russians' arrms industries really a lot. They have already got 137 Su-30MKIs in active service as of December 2011.
India has been recently really active, they are just finishing the deal to buy new medium range combat aircraft from Europe.
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India has shortlisted two European fighter jets, ruling out two US rivals for a key $11bn (£6.6bn) military contract.
The Indian defence ministry picked the pan-European Eurofighter and France-based Dessault's Rafale ahead of jets made by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The US ambassador in India said the US was "deeply disappointed" by the news.
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A report published last month said that India had overtaken China to become the world's largest importer of arms.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13233177
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Finally:
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31/1/2012: Dassault Aviation has emerged as the lowest bidder to supply 126 fighter jets to India, with its Rafale fighter jet reportedly $5m per aircraft cheaper than the Eurofighter Typhoon.
http://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C4F1437ECDEF28/
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Americans have tried hard to enter into the arms business with India, to beat Russians in that market, which seems to be the most important in Asia.
Americans lost the deal of India's medium range combat aircraft to Europeans, but they are still leading the arms industry of the world.
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SIPRI said the U.S., the world's top exporter, accounted for 30 percent of global arms exports, selling arms to more than 80 countries.
It said Russia's share of the global arms trade stood at about 24 percent.
http://www.rferl.org/content/world_arms_exports_imports_/24519932.html
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Russia's new plans for fighter jets have received really much attention in the Net.
Maybe the best known article in the Net is this one:
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-2010-01.html
Assessing the Sukhoi PAK-FA
Sukhoi/KnAAPO T-50/I-21/Article 701 PAK-FA
Перспективный Авиационный Комплекс Фронтовой Авиации
Air Power Australia Analysis 2010-01
15th February 2010
by Dr Carlo Kopp, SMAIAA, MIEEE, PEng,
Peter Goon, BE (Mech), FTE (USNTPS)
© 2010, Carlo Kopp, Peter Goon
From the abstract:
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Analysis of PAK-FA prototype airframe aerodynamic features shows a design which is superior to all Western equivalents, providing ‘extreme agility’, superior to that of the Su-35S, through much of the flight envelope. This is accomplished by the combined use of 3D thrust vector control of the engine nozzles, all moving tail surfaces, and refined aerodynamic design with relaxed directional static stability and careful mass distribution to control inertial effects. The PAK-FA is fitted with unusually robust high sink rate undercarriage, intended for STOL operations.
Disclosures indicate that the avionic suite and systems fit will be derived from the Su-35S design, with the important difference in the use of an very high power-aperture product X-band multimode primary AESA radar. Five AESA apertures are intended for production PAK-FA aircraft. The highly integrated avionic suite is intended to provide similar data fusion and networking capabilities to the F-22A Raptor.
The available evidence demonstrates at this time that a mature production PAK-FA design has the potential to compete with the F-22A Raptor in VLO performance from key aspects, and will outperform the F-22A Raptor aerodynamically and kinematically. Therefore, from a technological strategy perspective, the PAK-FA renders all legacy US fighter aircraft, and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, strategically irrelevant and non-viable after the PAK-FA achieves IOC in 2015.
Detailed strategic analysis indicates that the only viable strategic survival strategy now remaining for the United States is to terminate the Joint Strike Fighter program immediately, redirect freed funding to further develop the F-22 Raptor, and employ variants of the F-22 aircraft as the primary fighter aircraft for all United States and Allied TACAIR needs.
If the United States does not fundamentally change its planning for the future of tactical air power, the advantage held for decades will be soon lost and American air power will become an artefact of history.
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I think that this article by Carlo Kopp and Peter Goon was at least parly paid by American weapon industries to get more money to develop their own machinery 'to beat Russians'...