Despite the significant progress of recent decades, aircraft of relatively old models are still the main technology of strategic aviation in Russia and the United States. For various reasons, quite old, but still meeting the requirements, Tu-95MS and B-52H aircraft remain in service. Various measures are being taken to preserve this technique and extend its service life. First of all, machine repairs are carried out on a regular basis, including with the installation of one or another new equipment. All this allows you to keep the equipment in service, as well as improve its tactical and technical characteristics.
Serial construction of Tu-95MS bombers started in the early eighties and lasted for 11 years. Thus, the oldest aircraft of this type are no more than 35 years old, and the latest series of aircraft are only a quarter of a century old. American B-52H bombers are significantly older than Russian aircraft. The last car of this type was built in 1962, after which the production of such equipment stopped. All the B-52Hs remaining in service were released no later than the early sixties - by now, the age of even the newest bombers has exceeded half a century.
Modernization of Tu-95MS
The relatively small age of the Tu-95MS bombers remaining in service allows their continued operation. At the same time, the equipment needs regular repairs and other maintenance. In addition, due to the emergence of new electronic systems and weapons, it is necessary to modernize aircraft in order to improve their basic characteristics. For six decades of its service, the Tu-95 bomber went through a significant number of upgrades, which eventually led to the emergence of modern machines with the letters "MS". Now a new project is being implemented to update the existing equipment, designed to improve its characteristics.
Tu-95MS "Samara". Photo Wikimedia Commons
In 2009, the Ministry of Defense launched a project with the symbol Tu-95MSM. Its purpose is to update a certain number of combat missile carriers using new equipment, which will extend the service life of the equipment, as well as ensure its compatibility with modern and promising weapons. According to available data, the MSM project involves the repair and restoration of some aircraft units with the simultaneous replacement of others.
According to the Ministry of Defense and the Aviation Industry, the repaired and modernized Tu-95MSM aircraft must retain the airframe and some other units corresponding to the basic design of the Tu-95MS. At the same time, part of the existing radio-electronic equipment will be dismantled from them, which will be replaced with new devices. By modernizing the onboard electronics, it is planned to improve the main characteristics of the sighting and navigation system, as well as introduce new models into the range of weapons used.
To improve flight performance, it is proposed to equip the aircraft being upgraded with modernized NK-12MPM turboprop engines, which differ in some characteristics. In addition, the Tu-95MSM should receive new AV-60T propellers. Such an upgrade of the power plant implies an increase in some parameters, first of all, efficiency, which, in turn, allows to improve the range indicators, combat radius, etc.
The radio-electronic equipment undergoes significant changes in the new project. The existing Tu-95MS carry the Obzor-MS radar station. In the new project, it is proposed to change it to the Novella-NV1.021 radar, which has higher characteristics. Also, the aircraft should receive a new information display system such as SOI-021. The use of the modernized onboard defense complex "Meteor-NM2" is envisaged.
One of the main goals of the modernization project is to equip existing strategic bombers with the latest weapons. In recent years, the domestic industry has completed work on some projects of air-launched cruise missiles, which makes it possible to re-equip missile carriers.
Tu-95MS in flight. Photo by the author
In the course of the current modernization, Tu-95MSM bombers are able to carry and use the Kh-101 and Kh-102 cruise missiles. These products belong to the class of strategic air-launched cruise missiles. According to reports, the X-101 missile is equipped with a conventional warhead, and the X-102 carries a special warhead. Both missiles with a launch weight of no more than 2400 kg are capable of flying up to 5, 5 thousand km with a cruising speed of about 200 m / s. It is possible to attack stationary and mobile targets. In the design of the airframe of both missiles, technologies for reducing the visibility are used.
The Tu-95MSM project involves equipping the bomber with eight holders for transporting X-101/102 missiles. For this, the fuselage cargo compartment is being finalized due to the increased length of the missiles, and four new holders appear under the wing. After such an upgrade, the strategic bomber is capable of carrying up to eight missiles with conventional or special warheads. The new sighting and navigation system, installed on equipment during modernization, is fully compatible with promising missiles and performs all the necessary operations when they are used.
According to available data, only Tu-95MS-16 bombers will be able to undergo upgrades under the MSM project. These aircraft have a number of characteristic features that are used during modernization. It was reported that at the disposal of Russian long-range aviation there are about 35 aircraft of this version. Other combatant Tu-95MS belong to the modification "MS-6", which for a number of reasons is not suitable for modernization under a new project. Thus, the total number of updated missile carriers will not exceed several dozen, and not all combat vehicles will be modernized.
Earlier, there were reports that the modernization of equipment will be carried out in several stages. The first stage, the implementation of which began in 2014, involves the renewal of the power plant and some elements of the radio-electronic equipment complex. At the same time, the development and testing of some items of equipment that will be used in the next stages of aircraft renovation are continuing. It will take several years to complete all the required work.
Tu-95MS, upgraded, during the rehearsal for the Victory Day parade, April 2016 Photo Bmpd.livejournal.com
The repair and modernization of equipment, carried out at the present time, will allow solving several main problems. With the help of new engines and other equipment, a certain improvement in performance will be achieved. A sighting and navigation complex based on the latest equipment will make it possible to use modern types of weapons. Finally, a general renewal of equipment will extend its service life. It is expected that the Tu-95MSM strategic bombers will remain in service until the forties.
Repair and partial modernization of serial aircraft operated by long-range aviation began in 2014. The first results of these works appeared in 2015, when the enterprises of TANTK im. Beriev (Taganrog) and "Aviakor" (Samara) began to equip bombers with equipment for the use of advanced cruise missiles. In November last year, the first aircraft with a new set of equipment was handed over to the customer. The work continues, in the foreseeable future a significant number of other aircraft will receive new equipment.
In mid-July, it was announced that by the end of the year, the Ministry of Defense would receive seven modernized bombers capable of carrying new weapons. The next batch of several aircraft will be upgraded next year. The required renewal of the entire fleet of equipment suitable for modernization can take several years.
The successful completion of the current project will have positive consequences for the domestic long-range aviation. The existing equipment will undergo repairs, which will allow it to continue to operate for a long time, and will also receive new weapons, which will increase combat effectiveness. Thus, the updated strategic missile-carrying bombers Tu-95MSM will remain in service for the next several decades, while maintaining the required combat potential. In the future, the Tu-95MS aircraft should be replaced by a promising long-range aviation complex PAK DA. It is obvious that for some time the Tu-95MS, Tu-95MSM and PAK DA will be operated in parallel. This means that, despite their age, the existing aircraft still have quite great prospects and should remain in service, passing the necessary maintenance and upgrades in a timely manner.
Modernization of B-52H
For various reasons, the leadership of the United States decided to complete the construction of the Boeing B-52 bombers in the early sixties. The production of such equipment continued for ten years, resulting in the production of almost seven and a half hundred aircraft. The construction of the last aircraft in the B-52H modification was completed in the fall of 1962. To date, less than 70 aircraft remain in service, as well as a number of reserve aircraft. All of these bombers have undergone one or another modernization over the past decades.
B-52H and the weapons they use. Photo Af.mil
The state of the B-52H combat bombers allows them to continue to operate, but the equipment needs regular repairs, which will extend the life of various units and accordingly affect the service life of the aircraft. Through constant repair and modernization, the Pentagon plans to ensure the combat effectiveness of existing bombers until the sixties. Current plans, among other things, include the implementation of several aircraft modernization programs using new equipment that improves performance.
At the end of April 2014, a ceremony was held at Tinker Air Force Base (Oklahoma) to hand over to the Air Force the first aircraft that passed a new stage of testing. During the previous several months, the bomber was under repair, during which it received a CONECT communications system. The new communications complex allows individual aircraft to exchange data with other bombers and command posts. In addition, it became possible to change the flight mission in flight. Such procedures are now using satellite communications, which allows them to be carried out without the need to return to the airfield. The CONECT complex was planned to be installed on 76 existing B-52Hs.
In June last year, aircraft power plant company Pratt & Whitney revealed its plans for the development of the B-52H bombers. Engine specialists are developing new power plant options for existing bombers. It was planned to develop several options for modernizing aircraft with an increase in performance, implying the replacement of existing TF33 engines with new products. Modernization of engines was to become one of the ways to achieve the required service life of equipment.
Any proposals for replacing engines have not yet received official approval. In addition, the main features of the proposed projects are still unknown. In particular, a reduction in the number of engines due to an increase in the power of new ones is not ruled out. Recall that the B-52H is equipped with eight turbojet engines mounted on pylons under the wing. Over the past few decades, projects have been proposed to modernize the aircraft with a reduction in the number of engines to four. However, all such proposals have not been brought to practical implementation. All combat bombers are still equipped with eight TF33 engines.
Pratt & Whitney TF33 engine. Photo Wikimedia Commons
In February 2016, Boeing was awarded a US Department of Defense contract to upgrade part of the B-52H's avionics. The military is no longer satisfied with the characteristics of the Northrop Grumman AN / APQ-166 radar, which was developed about three decades ago. In particular, complaints are made regarding insufficient performance, the use of mechanical scanning, etc. Over the next few years, the contractor company will have to find the developer of the required system, and then prepare the modernization of the equipment available in the troops. The radar replacement project is scheduled to be completed by 2021. The total cost of the program is estimated at $ 491 million.
According to the existing plans, in 2017 the industry must submit technical proposals that will be considered by the customer. After that, the stage of production and testing of prototypes starts. Its completion is scheduled for 2019, when the customer will select the winner of the program. After that, serial production of promising radars will begin with their subsequent installation on modernized aircraft. Such a renewal of equipment should be completed at the beginning of the next decade and will lead to a noticeable increase in the tactical and technical characteristics of bombers.
From time to time, there are reports of a planned expansion of the range of weapons suitable for use by B-52H missile bombers. It is reported that the existing types of weapons are undergoing one or another modernization, and new models are being developed. Such work should also have a positive effect on the capabilities of technology.
One of the workplaces of the B-52H crew. Photo Flightglobal.com
The current plans of the Pentagon include the repair and modernization of the Boeing B-52H strategic bombers in order to continue their operation for a long time. It is required to maintain the combat capability of the existing equipment, at least until the thirties. The operation of the last machines of this type will have to be completed only in the sixties, when some of the aircraft will celebrate the centenary. It is expected that timely repairs and upgrades will help achieve unique indicators of service life.
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Despite the emergence of newer technology with improved characteristics, strategic bombers of relatively old models still remain in the long-range aviation of the leading countries of the world. The characteristics of this technique meet the requirements, which allows it to continue to operate. When the need to improve the characteristics appears, the military launches another modernization project. In addition, repairs are regularly carried out, allowing the continued operation of the equipment.
The implementation of the current plans to upgrade the Russian strategic bombers-missile carriers Tu-95MS under the MSM project will allow such equipment to be kept in service until at least the forties. At the same time, it will be possible to increase some characteristics of the aircraft, as well as give them new weapons with improved capabilities. Thanks to this, domestic long-range aviation will retain the required potential until the appearance of completely new technology developed within the PAK DA project.
Similar processes are observed in the development of long-range aviation in the United States. The development of a promising bomber project has already started, but before it appears, the military will have to operate the existing equipment. In this case, one of the main long-range aircraft is the B-52H. By restoring worn-out units and installing new equipment, such equipment is supposed to be kept in service, at least until the middle of the century. In the future, it is planned to begin the construction of new aircraft, which will supplement and then replace the existing equipment.
The development of two different strategic bombers serving in Russia and the United States pursues the same goals and also follows similar paths. The renewal of equipment continues, which should have a positive effect on various features of its operation. Whether this trend will continue in the future, and what the further development of the Tu-95MS and B-52H will be - time will tell.
