The latest best military aircraft of the Russian Air Force and the world photos, pictures, videos about the value of a fighter aircraft as weapon capable of ensuring “superiority in the air”, was recognized by the military circles of all states by the spring of 1916. This required the creation of a special combat aircraft that surpassed all others in speed, maneuverability, altitude and the use of offensive small arms. In November 1915, Nieuport II Webe biplanes arrived at the front. This was the first aircraft built in France that was intended for air combat.
The most modern domestic military aircraft in Russia and the world owe their appearance to the popularization and development of aviation in Russia, which was facilitated by the flights of Russian pilots M. Efimov, N. Popov, G. Alekhnovich, A. Shiukov, B. Rossiysky, S. Utochkin. The first domestic cars of designers J. Gakkel, I. Sikorsky, D. Grigorovich, V. Slesarev, I. Steglau began to appear. In 1913, the Russian Knight heavy aircraft made its first flight. But one cannot help but recall the first creator of the aircraft in the world - Captain 1st Rank Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky.
Soviet military aircraft of the USSR Great Patriotic War sought to hit enemy troops, his communications and other targets in the rear with air strikes, which led to the creation of bomber aircraft capable of carrying a large bomb load over considerable distances. The variety of combat missions to bomb enemy forces in the tactical and operational depth of the fronts led to the understanding of the fact that their implementation must be commensurate with the tactical and technical capabilities of a particular aircraft. Therefore, the design teams had to resolve the issue of specialization of bomber aircraft, which led to the emergence of several classes of these machines.
Types and classification, latest models of military aircraft in Russia and the world. It was obvious that it would take time to create a specialized fighter aircraft, so the first step in this direction was an attempt to arm existing aircraft with small offensive weapons. Mobile machine gun mounts, which began to be equipped with aircraft, required excessive efforts from pilots, since controlling the machine in maneuverable combat and simultaneously firing from unstable weapons reduced the effectiveness of shooting. The use of a two-seater aircraft as a fighter, where one of the crew members served as a gunner, also created certain problems, because the increase in weight and drag of the machine led to a decrease in its flight qualities.
What types of planes are there? In our years, aviation has made a big qualitative leap, expressed in a significant increase in flight speed. This was facilitated by progress in the field of aerodynamics, the creation of new more powerful engines, structural materials, radio-electronic equipment. computerization of calculation methods, etc. Supersonic speeds have become the main flight modes of fighter aircraft. However, the race for speed also had its own negative aspects- the takeoff and landing characteristics and maneuverability of aircraft have sharply deteriorated. During these years, the level of aircraft construction reached such a level that it became possible to begin creating aircraft with variable sweep wings.
For Russian combat aircraft, in order to further increase the flight speeds of jet fighters exceeding the speed of sound, it was necessary to increase their power supply, increase the specific characteristics of turbojet engines, and also improve the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft. For this purpose, engines with an axial compressor were developed, which had smaller frontal dimensions, higher efficiency and better weight characteristics. To significantly increase thrust, and therefore flight speed, afterburners were introduced into the engine design. Improving the aerodynamic shapes of aircraft consisted of using wings and tail surfaces with large sweep angles (in the transition to thin delta wings), as well as supersonic air intakes.
Tests of the Izdeliye 30 engine for the Russian fifth-generation fighter T-50 are already undergoing ground tests, flightglobal.com reported on February 20, citing a statement by UAC head Yuri Slyusar. Flight tests will begin in 2017.
Second stage engine, also known as "Type 30" (formerly erroneously called "Izdeliye 129")
Presumably, the engine will be able to develop a thrust of 107 kilonewtons in cruising mode and 176 kilonewtons in afterburner mode. The power plant will differ from the AL-41F1 in increased fuel efficiency and lower life cycle cost.
The product design was created in cooperation with the design services of the enterprises of the “Engines for Combat Aviation” division, headed by the branch of OJSC “UMPO” “OKB im. A. Lyulki.”
General Designer-Director of the OKB im. A. Lyulki" Evgeniy Marchukov
The head of the UAC clarified that the T-50 will be tested in two stages - the first using the Izdeliye 117 turbofan engine ─ AL-41F1, the second with the Izdeliye 30.
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The first stage engine for the T-50 is “Product 117” ─ AL-41F1, which is a modified version of the AL-41F1S power plant for the Su-35S (“Product 117S”
Engine "Product 117"(AL-41F1) developed by the Saturn company is a “very deep modernization” of the AL-31F turbofan engine and its characteristics are sufficient for the “current stage of testing the T-50.” He added that the corporation has six aircraft for testing (four for flight testing and two for ground testing). Three additional aircraft will be built this year. “Everything is going according to plan,” assures Slyusar.
General Director of Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant them. Gagarin Alexander Pekarsh said in an interview with TASS that the second stage engine for the fifth generation multi-role fighter T-50 PAK FA (promising aviation complex front-line aviation) is ready. And that it is currently being tested. Thus, the serial production of the aircraft, scheduled for the end of 2017, will be made with this engine. Fears that the first samples of the T-50 would begin to arrive in the Air Force with the previous, less efficient engine modification were not justified. The aircraft will go into production with all the systems and assemblies provided for during the design, specially created for it.
The first prototype of the fighter, created at the Sukhoi Design Bureau, took off in 2010. To date, eight are already flying, and four more are being built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur as part of the first installation batch. If everything comes together and serial production, designed for 50 aircraft, is launched at the end of next year, then the Sukhoi Design Bureau will become a world record holder for the pace of development of modern fighters. From the first flight until the aircraft enters combat units, only 7 years will pass.
This is very little. The fact is that the world's first fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, was developed by Lockheed Martin from its first flight to its introduction into the US Air Force from 1990 to 2005. The same company spent about the same amount of time on the second, the F-35 Lightning II. However, the aircraft turned out to be so crude that it is still in trial operation.
A fifth-generation fighter must satisfy a number of criteria. And two of them are provided by the power plant, that is, the engine. The aircraft, firstly, must have super maneuverability. Secondly, have a cruising speed in non-afterburning mode that exceeds the speed of sound. Supermaneuverability has always been strong point domestic aviation. And the T-50 did not break this tradition. Actually, its “younger brother” - the 4++ generation Su-35 - is not only comparable in this characteristic, but also exceeds the capabilities of the F-22 and F-35. It is equipped with a turbojet bypass engine developed by NPO Saturn AL-41F1S with an all-angle variable thrust vector. It is simpler than the AL-41F1 engine for the T-50 of the first stage. But in several computer simulations of close combat between the Su-35 and two “Americans” of the older generation, in 95% of cases it emerged victorious precisely due to its highest maneuverability.
As for supersonic non-afterburning speed, the F-35 is very poor in this regard. IN technical specifications non-afterburning speed is transonic. And only the president of Lockheed Martin at press conferences assures corrosive journalists that it is equal to 1.2 M. The Su-35 has a maximum non-afterburning speed of 1.1 M, the T-50 - 2.2 M, and the F-22 - 1 ,7 M. Such low speed of the “fifth generation standard”, which is considered the F-35, is explained by the fact that in order to create a universal aircraft - both for the Air Force and the Navy - the airframe “plumped up”, it developed excessive drag.
As mentioned above, our first 8 prototypes fly on the first stage AL-41F1 “type 117” engine. But even with it, the T-50 surpasses the F-35 in speed characteristics. The engine is completely new, created specifically for this aircraft. It is the first to use a fully electronic control system. Thanks to this, it was possible to increase the efficiency of fuel use, increase the resource, as well as traction. The only mechanical control element is a centrifugal regulator, which is activated in the event of a complete failure of the electronics in the event of a powerful electromagnetic pulse being used against the aircraft, for example, during the explosion of a nuclear charge. In this case, the regulator will allow the aircraft to be brought to the airfield at a reduced engine operating mode.
Also, for the first time in jet engine construction, a plasma ignition system is used. This made it possible to implement oxygen-free engine starting at high altitudes, which significantly increased the survivability of the aircraft.
The engine of the second stage has not yet been given a name. For now it is listed under the serial number “type 30”. Its development at the Rybinsk NPO Saturn began in 2012, based on the results obtained on the AL-41F1. And now he is ready. Contrary to the claims of skeptics who claimed that this development would smoothly transition into the 20s.
The Type 30 retained both plasma ignition and an electronic control system. But at the same time, his strength characteristics increased. According to various estimates new engine more efficient than AL-41F1 “type 117” by 20−25%. First of all, this relates to the thrust developed by the engine. The ratios here are:
- thrust in non-afterburning mode, kgf: 8800 (type 117) - 11000 (type 30);
- afterburner thrust, kgf: 15000 (type 117) - 18000 (type 30).
The increase in performance became possible, first of all, through the use of new engineering ideas. This made it possible to achieve approximately equality in the weight and dimensions of the two engines.
Almost all other systems of the fighter are already ready, tested and are awaiting the stage of state testing as part of the entire complex. However, there is a position according to which work continues - this is missile weapons. It is also largely created under new fighter.
Since the fighter is multi-purpose, the weapons for it are created in such a way that they solve the entire range of tasks assigned to front-line aviation. That is, the T-50 must be a fighter, an interceptor, an attack aircraft, and a bomber. Therefore, the aircraft can use air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles that operate against both ground and surface targets, and adjustable air bombs. The T-50's arsenal includes short, medium, long and ultra-long range missiles.
Increased demands are placed on the sensitivity of the homing head, on noise immunity and on the ability to withstand electronic countermeasures, to maneuvering, to stealth and to speed.
There is conflicting information about the quantity of new ammunition, disseminated by the developers in doses. So, general manager Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation Boris Obnosov said in August: “The T-50 will receive six fundamentally new missiles by 2017, and six more by 2020. Four samples of intra-fuselage missiles have already been created and are being tested.”
It is assumed that the KS-172, which is undergoing development at the Novator design bureau, part of the Almaz-Antey corporation, will be used as a long-range air-to-air missile. Its range is 400 km, and the speed of the targets it hits can reach 4000 km/h. American fighters are equipped with missiles of the same class, but have half the range.
As for high-speed air-to-surface missiles that can easily overcome enemy missile defenses, we can assume that in the foreseeable future there will be a hypersonic Brahmos-2 missile, not only sea-based, but also air-based. Its speed will exceed 5 M.
As part of the program “Advanced Aviation Complex of Frontline Aviation” (PAK FA), the domestic defense industry must create not only a new fifth-generation fighter, but also a number of different products necessary for its construction. A few days ago, reports appeared about the progress of ongoing work on the project of a promising turbojet engine for the PAK FA aircraft.
New messages about the progress of the project have been published news agency TASS September 2. During the Eastern Economic Forum, the agency's journalists were able to obtain new information from the General Director of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAZ) named after. Yu.A. Gagarin Alexander Pekarsh. The head of the enterprise said that the second stage engine for the PAK FA aircraft is already ready and working. The tests are currently going according to plan. Other details about the ongoing work, however, were not made public.
Shortly before information about work on the engine appeared, the responsible persons announced the possible course of further events. On the eve of the opening of the Eastern Economic Forum, Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory Vyacheslav Shport said that serial production of new aircraft could begin at the end of 2017. The new model fighters will be included in the state defense order for 2018. The site for the construction of aircraft of the PAK FA program will be an aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Recent reports on the progress of work on the engine for a promising fighter may be a reason for optimism. Conducting ongoing tests brings closer the moment of installation of new products on prototype aircraft with subsequent testing in the air. In addition, these works open the way to serial production of fully equipped aircraft capable of demonstrating all the calculated characteristics.
Let us recall that due to some features of the development of promising power plants, it was decided to use several types of engines within the framework of the PAK FA project. Initially, the experimental T-50 aircraft received the so-called. engines of the first stage - these were the AL-41F1 products. After the appearance of the new engine, the so-called. of the second stage, having the required characteristics, it was planned to introduce it into the project. At some stages of the PAK FA program, first-stage engines were considered not only as a means capable of providing testing, but were also proposed in the context of the construction of the first production aircraft. The engines of the second stage, in turn, were to be installed on serial vehicles in the future.
Currently, T-50 aircraft are equipped with first-stage engines of the AL-41F1 or Izdeliye 117 type. Such engines are based on existing developments, but the vast majority of components and assemblies were developed specifically for them. Characteristics The technical appearance of the engines is a compressor of increased diameter, all-angle thrust vector control and an automatic control system with full responsibility. In afterburner mode, the Product 117 engine can develop thrust up to 15,000 kgf. It also differs from its predecessors in its increased service life of up to 4 thousand hours and reduced fuel consumption.
AL-41F1 engines have been in mass production for several years. In addition, production of AL-41F1S products is underway, intended for production Su-35S fighters. They differ from engines for T-50 fighters in some design features and equipment. The basic capabilities are retained, including thrust vector control, but the maximum thrust is reduced by 500 kgf. Moreover, instead of the newest electronic system time-tested electromechanical control system is used.
In the future, fifth-generation fighters will have to receive new turbojet engines, now known under the designation “Product 30”. According to terms of reference, such a power plant must develop a thrust of at least 16,000 kgf, and also use the most modern developments in various fields. The creation of “Product 30” was entrusted to the United Engine Corporation, namely its “engines for combat aviation” division. OKB im. A.M. Lyulki, which is a branch of the Ufa Engine Manufacturing Plant production association. Some other organizations and enterprises are also involved in the work. Serial production of promising products is expected to be launched in Ufa.
The development of the Product 30 project was completed last year. During the aerospace exhibition in Le Bourget, representatives Russian industry talked about the completion of the technical design of the new engine. As of mid-June 2015, the project was at the stage of preparing technical documentation necessary for the manufacture of pilot products. It was planned to assemble two demonstrator engines by the end of the year. At that time, all work was carried out in accordance with the established schedule.
In March 2016, representatives of the lead developer again spoke about the ongoing work. It was mentioned that a prototype of the new engine is still in production. At the same time, tests were carried out on the internal contour of the product, made in the form of a separate unit. A full-fledged prototype of Product 30 was planned to be sent for testing in the summer.
According to the latest reports from representatives defense industry, so-called The second stage engine has already begun testing on a ground stand. Over the next period of time, inspections of this product should be completed, based on the results of which the issue of installing new types of engines on experimental aircraft will be decided, followed by testing the equipment in the air. Apparently, all this work will be carried out this year and next.
The exact timing of completing work on the new engine and launching its serial production in order to equip promising aircraft has not yet been specified. Last year, representatives of the aviation industry mentioned that development work on Product 30 would continue until 2020. Shortly before this, in December 2014, the General Director of the United Engine Corporation, Vladislav Masalov, indicated the possibility of conducting the first flight of the T-50 with a second-stage engine in 2017. In November last year, new information appeared in this regard. According to a statement by UEC Deputy General Designer Viktor Belousov, the first flight of the aircraft with the new power plant will happen only in 2018.
Exhibition sample of the AL-41F1S engine
The emergence of serial engines of a new model with the required parameters will give promising fifth-generation fighters the opportunity to demonstrate the main characteristics at the required level. First of all, there should be an increase in speed, range and other flight characteristics. In addition, an increase in thrust can be used to increase the combat load with corresponding consequences for the effectiveness of the equipment.
According to various estimates, the normal take-off weight of the T-50 aircraft will be within 30 tons, the maximum - up to 37 tons. With such weight indicators, two engines with a thrust of at least 16,000 kgf will be able to provide a thrust-to-weight ratio of at least 0.85, depending on the payload and fuel supply. Moreover, in some cases this parameter will exceed one, which will provide noticeable advantages over existing and future aircraft. For example, it is expected to be able to accelerate to high supersonic speeds without the need for afterburner. As a consequence, promising fighter will differ from other aircraft in its reduced fuel consumption, which should have a positive effect on range performance.
Currently, six flight prototypes of the T-50 aircraft are involved in the testing program of the PAK DA project. They are all on at the moment equipped with first stage AL-41F1 engines. In the foreseeable future, it is planned to build several new prototypes, which will also participate in testing. Features of the package new technology have not yet been officially specified, but there is reason to believe that some new cars in the future will be able to receive second-stage engines. Testing of such equipment, according to the latest data, will begin only in 2018.
From the available information about the engines it follows that the first production aircraft of the new model, as previously planned, will be equipped with engines of the first stage. “Products 30”, apparently, will be installed only on equipment of later releases. According to the latest plans of the Ministry of Defense, by the end of this decade the aviation industry will have to produce and transfer to the customer more than fifty T-50 aircraft. It is not yet clear how much equipment will receive new engines.
The development of a new engine is one of the most difficult components of the Advanced Aviation Complex of Frontline Aviation program, which, in particular, is reflected in the regular revision of the deadlines for completing certain works. However, to date, the second stage engine has been brought to the stage of ground testing, which brings the next checks closer. Completion of current work, in turn, will bring closer the installation of experimental engines on prototype aircraft. Therefore, in the foreseeable future we should expect new reports both on the progress of the PAK FA program as a whole, and on individual projects within its framework.
Based on materials from sites:
A new engine has been developed for the fifth generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA), it is called “product 30”, prototypes have been built and are being tested. Now the PAK FA is flying on the engines of the first stage - AL-41F1 (product 117) - this is an aviation turbojet bypass engine with an afterburner and controlled thrust vectoring.
The T-50 will make its first test flight with the Izdeliye 30 engine in the fourth quarter of 2017. Deliveries of the fifth-generation fighter to the troops may begin after 2018, according to a statement made by Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov on February 2, 2017.
“Product 30,” as UEC emphasizes, is not a modernization, but a completely new fifth-generation engine. Its main features include a new fan, a completely repurposed compressor and new system management. It contains “many innovations, which in some cases have no close analogue in the world. We believe that with this engine the T-50 will be an even more breakthrough project, more thrust-weighted, more advanced,” said Anton Chechukov, a representative of the corporation.
The Izdeliye 30 engine allows you to develop supersonic speeds without using afterburner, and also has a fully digital control system. It is distinguished from the engine for the Su-35S (product 117S) by increased thrust, a new turbine and improved fuel consumption characteristics, as well as a fully digital control system.
The new engine will add advantages to the PAK FA compared to its competitors. According to Popular Mechanics magazine, in the summer of 2016 the F-35 Lightning II was delivered to the US Army. This aircraft is described as cheaper and not as “skilled” as the F-22 Raptor, the production of which was canceled due to high cost, but 200 were still produced and they represent serious opponents in the event of military clashes.
Raptor - the informal name for velociraptors or dromaeosaurids - is a genus of predatory bipedal dinosaurs that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period 83-70 million years ago.
Comparing our and American cars, the magazine notes that the first versions of the PAK FA were equipped with two engines with a total thrust of 30,000 kgf, and the total thrust of two Pratt & Whitney F119 Raptors was about 32,000 kgf. However, the thrust of the promising engines of our fighter - “product 30”, on flight samples reached 35,000 kgf, and the manufacturer is OKB im. Lyulki planned to bring it to 36,000 kgf. Obviously, engines with these or similar characteristics will begin to undergo flight tests in 2017 at the PAK FA flying laboratory.
At the same time they have best characteristics by the speed of thrust vector deflection from all angles, which allows the aircraft to “spin like a top almost in place,” while the F119-PW-100 engines installed on the Raptor have nozzles that deflect only vertically. Moreover, at a speed of 20 degrees per second, while the PAK FA has a deflection speed, according to PM data, of 60 degrees per second.
“Thus,” the magazine notes, “with a maximum take-off weight of 37 tons, when the missiles on board the PAK FA will be almost one and a half times more than the F-22, the thrust-to-weight ratio will be comparable to the thrust-to-weight ratio of the Raptor, and at average it will exceed by almost 10%.” As for the new main US aircraft, the single-engine F-35 Lightning II, with very limited maneuverability, its thrust-to-weight ratio is only about 20,000 kgf.
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