Date Posted 19 February 2010

Indian Antisubmarine Airplanes Get "Morskoy Zmey"

The St. Peterburg Leninets holding company has completed installing the new "Morskoy Zmey" ((Sea Dragon)) onto Indian Il-38 antisubmarine airplanes, ITAR-TASS reports. According to the company, the last of the upgraded airplanes arrived at its permanent base at the airfield in Goa.

In all five Indian Il-38 were upgraded to the Il-38SD (Sea Dragon) ((in English)) version. The contract for upgrade of the airplane was entered into in 2001. The deal's total was 150 million dollars. According to the contract's terms, India was supposed to receive the first airplanes in 2007. By the middle of 2007, India received two of the upgraded airplanes and later announced that the "Morskoy Zmey" system did not suit it.

In September 2007, it was reported that India had refused to accept the five Il-38SD airplanes and had stopped contract payments. According the Indian military, the complex showed that it did not meet specifications during tests of the "Morskoy Zmey" in the Barents Sea - in particular, the system could not detect a submarine at a sufficient range. In the opinion of the Russian side, the complex was operating normally.

Later, disagreements between the Indian and Russian sides were overcome.

The "Morskoy Zmey" system is able to perform radar, underwater, surface and aerial reconnaissance in different altitude ranges. Moreover, it is designed for targeting and ecological monitoring.

In the period from 1975 through 1983, India received five Il-38 antisubmarine airplanes that also were upgraded to the SD version in the 2000s. The are able to patrol for 14 hours at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour. The airplane's maximum speed is 610 kilometers per hour and flight range is 6,500 kilometers.

The Il-38 is armed with antisubmarine torpedoes, depth charges and flare bombs, sea mines and also has hydroacoustic buoys.

Source: 19.02.10, Lenta.RU

Sokol Transfers New Yak-130 to Defense Ministry

The Nizhniy Novgorod Sokol Aircraft Building Plant Joint Stock Company (included in the Unified Aircraft Building Corporation Joint Stock Company, OAK) has transferred a Yak-130 combat training airplane to the Russian Federation defense ministry's Lipetsk aviation training center, the Sokol press service reported yesterday. A total of 12 airplanes are supposed to be transferred to the customer according to the contract. Sokol product four aircraft last year. The Yak-130 training variant was designed in the 1990s by Moscow's Yakovlev Experimental Design Bureau, and the first prototype was assembled at the same time. In 2000, the OKB entered into a contract with Sokol for the assembly of the first four series-configured aircraft for flying and static tests. In 2002, the Yak-130 design won the Russian air force's tender to select a training and combat training airplane.

Source:  19.02.10, Kommersant - Nizhniy Novgorod

Date Posted 17 February 2010

New Targeting System Created for Tu-22M3 Bombers

A new targeting system has been developed in Russia which will improve the capabilities of the the Tu-22M3 strategic long-range bomber, ITAR-TASS reports the general director of the Gefest and T developing company, Aleksandr Panin, announced. According to him, the new system already has been delivered to Russia's air force and has been proved during combat training of bomber flight crews.

The targeting system, which consists of bomber systems and an automated ground complex, will allow the Tu-22M3 to make precision bomb strikes in poor weather conditions. Moreover, the new development allows the bomber crew to exchange data with other airplanes and for the ground controller to more effectively control strike groups, including operational retargeting.

The Russian defense ministry announced at the beginning of January 2010 that by 2015 nearly 30 percent of Russia's long-range aircraft will be updated. The upgrade process applies to both strategic Tu-95MS and Tu-160 missile carriers and Tu-22M3 long-range bomber missile carriers. The technological improvement of the airplanes will be done by expanding the range of weapons and the installation of new information systems.

Right now the Russian Tupolev company is developing a future long-range aircraft aviation complex (PAK DA), in which stealth technology will be used. According to a preliminary estimate, the new bomber will begin to reach the inventory in 2025 - 2030.

Source: 17.02.10, Lenta.RU

The Russian Fifth Generation Airplane - an Invisible Being with Artificial Intelligence

The Russian fifth generation airplane will possess elements of "stealth" technology, the chief of the Russian Federation armed forces general staff, Nikolay Makarov, has reported.

"For all practical purposes, it is an invisible airplane," N. Makarov said at a press conference in Moscow, speaking about the future tactical aircraft aviation complex's characteristics.

According to him, all weapons are inside the airplane, in the fuselage and inside the wings to reduce visibility.

N. Makarov reported that the artificial intelligence has been put into the fifth generation airplane that allows the airman "to concentrate only on fulfillment of the primary mission." "He is not distracted by minor things," the chief of the general staff said.

The airplane's reconnaissance systems ((SREDSTVA RAZVEDKI)) allow detecting and destroying targets with the weapons on-board at a great distance, he added.

The general staff chief also noted that all flights made by the fifth generation airplane have been successful.

As has been reported, the first flight of the PAK FA, developed by the Sukhoy company, took place on 29 January of this year. As of today, the fighter has made three test flights.                

It is planned that PAK FA serial deliveries to the troops will start from 2015. The first prototypes of the preproduction batch is supposed to reach the Lipetsk Center for Combat Application and Cross Training of Flight Personnel in 2013.

Source: 17.02.10, Interfax

Tests of New Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Taking Place at KnAAPO Airfield

Tests of the future tactical aircraft aviation complex (PAK FA) have lasted one hour. All airplane parts and systems performed excellently. Russia’s honored test pilot Sergey Bogdan piloted the fighter. The second flight occurred in a new look already: the airplane was painted in the Russian air force colors - a gray and white disruptive camouflage.

It is planned that the fighter will make several more test flights at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur, after which the fighter will be rebased to the Moscow suburb Zhukovskiy at the Gromov Flight Test Institute, where it will undergo the main part of flight tests. As regards the PAK FA tests for combat usage, they will take place at the Russian Federation ministry of defense State Flight Test Center at Akhtubinsk (Astrakhan Oblast').

Russia's air force commander-in-chief, General-Colonel Aleksandr Zelin, confirmed the timetable for the start of delivered of the fifth generation airplane to the troops is 2015. Its appearance will lead to a change of terminology in the Russian air force.

"We will move away from the names fighter, fighter-bomber, attack and reconnaissance aircraft. In essence, all operational aircraft will be resolving air defense missions; therefore, we shall call the aircraft long-range, strategic, tactical operational, military transport and army," the air force CinC explained.

17.02.10, Voenno-Promyshlennyy Kur'er
Date Posted 16 February 2010

Russia and India to Sign First Contract for Fifth Generation Airplane Within a Month

((Contract will be signed end of February - beginning of March.  India is procuring a twin-seat version, which will reach initial operational capability by 2020, while Russia's single-seat variant will become operational in 2015.  Not further translated.))

Source: 15.02.10, Avia.RU

India Intends to Buy Batch of Russian Su-30MKI

Source: 16.02.10, Vzglyad

((Title says it all.  Not further translated.))

Source: 16.02.10, Aviation Explorer

Russia to Deliver Armor, Air Defense Equipment and Helicopters to Saudi Arabia

((Specific types not mentioned.  Not further translated.))

Source: 16.02.10, Vzglyad
Date Posted 15 February 2010

Third Flight of Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Goes Well

Flight tests of the new Russian fifth generation fighter are continuing at the Komsomol'sk-on-Amur Aviation Production Association, NEWSru.com reports.

The third flight took place on Saturday ((13 February)). "The flight program was executed in full," a source in the defense industrial complex reported. All airplane parts and systems operated flawlessly, he added.

We recall that the first flight of the future tactical aviation aircraft complex (PAK FA) took place 2 weeks ago, on 29 January, at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur. The airplane lifted into the sky the second time on 12 February. Both flights lasted nearly an hour.

It is planned that the fighter will make several more test flights at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur, after which it will be rebased to the Moscow suburb Zhukovskiy at the Gromov Flight Test Institute, where it will undergo the main part of flight tests. Tests of the fighter for combat usage will take place at the Russian Federation ministry of defense State Flight Test Center in Akhtubinsk.

Source: 15.02.10, Avia.RU

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