The media voraciously comment on the message about the desire of the RF Airborne Forces to receive convertiplanes for the delivery of troops to the place of military operations. Moreover, this information is often presented as something new, progressive.
RIA Novosti launched this wave of love. The journalists of this particular agency, citing an unnamed source in the OPK, posted information that the Airborne Forces were unexpectedly interested in a hybrid of an airplane and a helicopter.
"The Airborne Forces are studying the possibility of using tiltrotors to deliver paratroopers to the battlefield. By the end of September, it is planned to receive the terms of reference and open experimental design work (ROC) on this machine."
It should be said right away that this hype looks more than strange. For it looks like another PAK FA. Recall that the R&D work on a 5th generation fighter was started back in the 80s of the last century in the USSR, in 2001 a new program for the development of this aircraft was launched in Russia, in 2010 the plane took off, in 2018 it was no longer needed, and from it in fact refused.
The situation is very similar, because the Airborne Forces is only thinking about whether it is possible to use units that do not yet exist for their own purposes, and someone is already writing technical specifications, happily rubbing their hands. And what, this sweet word "budget" inspires no worse than "Redbull".
But let's look at the situation calmly.
In fact, the paratroopers, not only the Airborne Forces, but also other units that use air vehicles to deliver troops to the battlefield, have long known the danger of this operation.
A beautiful picture of an amphibious assault from BTA aircraft is rarely accompanied by a story about enemy fighters hunting for heavy transports. Or about ground-based air defense, which have enormous capabilities to combat fairly low-flying and slow-moving vehicles.
Exactly the same picture during the landing of troops by landing method from helicopters. The advantages of low altitude are offset by the low speed of the helicopters. In fact, the successful landing of an assault force largely depends not even on the training of the flight personnel and the assault force, but on the ability to hide the very possibility of the landing for as long as possible.
Conversations and even decisions on the development of convertiplanes specifically for the Airborne Forces were conducted back in Soviet times. An aircraft that combines the advantages of an airplane (speed, flight range) and a helicopter (flight altitude, the ability to land in unequipped places, the ability to hover) really looks attractive.
A tiltrotor is an aircraft with rotating propellers. The car rises into the air like a helicopter (that is, vertically), and after climbing, the gondolas with engines are lowered, and the aircraft continues to fly like a propeller-driven aircraft. A tiltrotor can take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, a small airfield and a flat surface of land and land there.
If you recall the Soviet developments 50-60 years ago, then you will find, in particular, in the Kamov Design Bureau, prototypes of modern convertiplanes. In 1960, the OKB created and submitted for testing an apparatus according to the tiltrotor scheme - the Ka-22. Moreover, this device successfully completed test flights. He even set two world records.
Ka-22
Other Soviet developments are also widely known. In particular, Mil OKB tiltroplanes (Mi-30 family). True, they were then called propeller driven aircraft.
Mi-30
Yes, the performance at that time was impressive. Speed - 500-600 km / h. Flight range - 800 km. Takeoff weight - 10.6 tons. Carrying capacity - 2 tons (in modified versions up to 5 tons). But most importantly, the rotorcraft could become a real replacement for the old Mi-8. And the possibility of installing a more powerful power plant made it possible to upgrade the car.
There were many applications for this machine. Both in the military field and in civilian use. Suffice it to recall that the Mi-30 is a whole line of converters (by the mid-1980s) with different take-off weights, 11, 22 and 30 tons (depending on the engines).
We killed our own tiltrotor by killing the USSR. If the state armament program for the period 1986-1995 had been fulfilled, the USSR would have had such an aircraft by the mid-90s. And the army would receive it first. The Mi-30 propeller was included in this program.
So the idea of tiltroplanes is not new. There are developments in our design bureaus. Comparing Soviet vehicles with the only real tiltrotor that exists, the V-22 Osprey of the American company Bell Helicopter, we can say that even today the Mi-30 and V-22 are competitors.
The V-22 has a maximum speed (in airplane mode) of 565 km / h, a range of 690 km (combat), 722 km (landing), a service ceiling of 7620 m (2 engines), 3139 m (one engine), maximum takeoff weight - 27 443 kg, passenger capacity - 24 paratroopers.
But with all the advantages of a tiltrotor (by the way, the V-22 in the USA is called a high-altitude plane), this undoubted miracle of modern technology has become the talk of the town in the US Marine Corps since its adoption.
Add complexity of maintenance, complexity of control, numerous accidents due to design flaws to absolutely no protection of the tiltrotor.
But let's return to the conversation about promising tiltrotor designs, which will allegedly require the RF Airborne Forces and the MTR. Perhaps such devices are necessary. Perhaps the command of the Airborne Forces and Special Operations Forces will support this idea. Maybe not. At least it's too early to talk about it now.
Moreover, most likely, the Ministry of Defense will find funds for the development of promising models of such devices, or will begin work, starting from old Soviet projects. But you should not count on the quick implementation of the existing developments.
It's stupid to create a Russian propeller driven aircraft just because the Americans have a high-altitude plane. The vehicle must be safe, simple enough to operate and control, unpretentious and sufficiently protected from enemy fire.
And the sudden injection of the "information bomb" is due to completely different reasons. We think financial. The practice has been studied, the track has been rolled. To drive a certain amount of billions of rubles into the development and construction of a new "wunderwafele", "master the budget", build a bright future for yourself on this, and then?
And then as with the "Armata", Su-57, PAK DA and other "not come to court." Try to realize the "huge export potential" and make money on this again, or simply forget how, we are sure, in 3-5 years we will forget about all of the above.
At the same time, for some reason, in the armies of the world, even where aircraft construction is developed, hysteria about convertiplanes is not observed. Everyone calmly watches with popcorn at the torture of Americans with Ospreys, and everyone is happy with everything.
Moreover, it is safe to say that the interests of the military lie more where the UAV is being developed and mastered.
So, can you imagine the prospects for unmanned convertiplanes? Can.
An aircraft that sets up a land mine on the road behind enemy lines, for example. Or a UAV that delivers to the rear of the enemy, to the mountains or other places not suitable for dropping cargo, ammunition for the DRG.
But such UAVs were shown last year at MAKS-2017 (UAV VRT30 with a takeoff weight of 1.5 tons). True, in the form of prototypes, but …
But in any case, no matter what goals were pursued by the authors of the "information boom", it is great that we remembered the developments that we once could … Maybe today we can?
Of course, maybe we can. The questions of necessity and cost come first. And when these questions are answered, then it will be possible to understand what is behind the hype: a cover operation for the next cut of the budget, or something more serious.
