I haven't communicated with my American acquaintances for a long time. Somehow it turned out that it was not possible to talk on Skype, given the time difference. And there were no special questions. Most Americans are exactly the same people as we are. It is much more important for them to know about a new store in their own town than about problems in North Korea or Ukraine. Therefore, we rarely touch upon political problems in our conversations.
However, there are topics that are of interest to a fairly large number of Americans. For example, army games. Or the new equipment of the Russian army. These topics are not particularly covered in the American press. And if they talk about something, it is from the point of view of the advantages of American technology and weapons over Russian. Everyone is used to it and takes it as a fact. American patriotism is almost as bigoted as Russian patriotism. Only "smelly". Patriots who want to receive good wages for their patriotism. The specifics of the American way of thinking.
Understandably my surprise when I read a letter from one of my acquaintances. He speaks Russian fairly well; there were immigrants from the USSR in the family. Because an American with a "Russian interest." As he says, "Russian roots". Although he is a descendant of Russians in the third or fourth generation …
My surprise was a question about the T-50 PAK FA. I will not quote from the letter. But the essence of the whole can be expressed in one phrase: "Are you there, have you" fucked up "with the new T-50 PAK FA Su-57?" And then, with reference to The National Interest, a fascinating story about the problems of the new aircraft. Specifying specific flaws and direct deception of customers by manufacturers.
Honestly, the letter puzzled me. Somehow we lost interest in the new aircraft. Probably the mentality. I remember the old Soviet film Big Family. There is an episode when an old worker talks to a minister. I don’t remember literally, but in fact, answering the question about the implementation of the plan, this very grandfather Matvey perfectly expressed the whole essence of the Soviet system: "If it is necessary according to the plan, then it will be so." We are talking about the Su-57 today in about the same way. But in the USA they speak differently.
So what are we "shitty about"? Why is The National Interest so happy or dissatisfied? And why is the American so "alarmed"? The reason for my friend's "brain explosion" was two statements by our high-ranking leaders. The first was done by Colonel General Viktor Bondarev, the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel:
"At the exit of the T-50 or Su-57, from next year it will begin to enter the troops, the pilots will master and operate it."
The second statement was made in an interview with TASS by the head of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar:
"In 2019, we will begin delivery of an initial batch of aircraft (T-50)."
Naturally, the Americans began to "draw conclusions" from these two statements. It is stupid to accuse such sources of information distortion. So … it's the planes themselves. This is the logic of American journalists. The Russians cannot even hand over a pilot batch of aircraft next year. And this, reportedly, is a total of 12 aircraft.
Further, the Americans "chew" the topic. It turns out that our Su-57 is not a 5th generation aircraft at all. This is something similar to the already existing Su-35S "Flanker E". Moreover, this aircraft has yet to be brought to the 35C level. And the engines are to blame. I didn't want to quote, but I can't do without it.
“The Russians are not at all thrilled with the purchase of the initial batch of Su-57, since these low-signature fighters are temporarily equipped with AL-41F1 by-pass turbojet engines with an afterburner with 15,000 kgf afterburner thrust produced by NPO Saturn. a modified version of the same engines that are installed on the existing Su-35S Flanker E. In addition, the Su-35S is equipped with many of the systems that will be installed on the Su-57. In fact, with the exception of the stealth technology "The new Flanker has many of the same capabilities as the fifth generation fighter."
I will not go into the technical details of the project. The topic has long been "untwisted" by the media and it was really experts in the field of aircraft construction that commented on it. I do not know what is true and what is false in this article. I repeat, technical details are for specialists. But the fact that today the United States is seriously afraid of the new aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces is a fact.
It was not in vain that I mentioned the political indifference of the "American hinterland" at the beginning of the article. Most get their information from one or two sources. That is why they surprise us with their "knowledge". I'm interested in something else. The famous American expression "America above all else" today, in the age of information accessibility, is beginning to "burst at all the seams." Today you can get acquainted not only with the official point of view, but also with the point of view of "a potential competitor or adversary." This raises questions about American superiority.
By the way, The National Interest has an answer to a question that might be asked by an attentive reader. "Why, then, are the Russians spending huge sums on the creation of a new aircraft?" Yes Yes. Americans are always Americans. The main question is always the same. What is the price?
"The Russians intend to purchase more fighters of the second, improved version of the Su-57, which will be equipped with new engines, as well as other, more advanced systems. The Russians at NPO Saturn continue to develop a new generation engine for the T-50 aircraft under the working title" Product 30 ". So far, little is known about the" Product 30 ", but the non-afterburner thrust of the new engine will be 11 thousand kgf, and the afterburner - 18.5 thousand kgf".
I did make my contribution to the destruction of "anti-Russian propaganda". And he did it by the hands of an American. Many remember the American who asked Vladimir Putin a question on a direct line. Here is his reaction to the flight of the T-50 PAK FA I laid out to my interlocutor.
The reaction was about the same as that of this American professor. This means that we are doing everything right. And the plane is correct … And "finished off" already with the Russian analysis. More precisely, by comparing the American F-22 and T-50 PAK FA by our specialists (https://www.youtube.com/embed/JRY_kICaRv0).
Sometimes, to improve my mood, I reread the classics, including the famous, eternally living novel "12 chairs" by Ilf and Petrov. In the light of reports of various media about this or that event, I recall the lecture of Ostap Bender at the chess club. Remember?
"The subject of my lecture is a fruitful opening idea. What is a debut, comrades, and what is an idea, comrades? A debut, comrades, is Quasi una fantasia. And what is an idea, comrades? An idea, comrades, is a human thought clothed in a logical chess form …"
But Ostap Bender was right. More precisely, just right. Without "was". All articles on Russian weapons in the Western and American press are indeed Quasi una fantasia. Something like a fantasy, if we take the translation in the Bender context … And this Quasi una fantasia is definitely intended for foreign readers. Internal product …
And we will continue to do what we need. Without looking at "them". And without considering "their" claims. The world is in tension. The world is on the verge of great change. This means that you need confidence in your strength. Confidence in your capabilities. And this confidence is given, among other things, by the new Su-57 …
