The Russian Air Force is preparing for a major modernization of the aircraft fleet. In the short term, combat units will actually receive a significant number of new aircraft and helicopters for the first time in the last 20 years. Combat aviation is directly affected by the current stage of military reform.
The Chief of Aviation - Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force for Aviation, Lieutenant General Igor SADOFYEV, spoke about the results of the Air Force's activities in 2010 and the prospects for their development.
Igor Vasilievich, what are the results of the work of the Air Force aviation in 2010? In what main activities of combat training within the Armed Forces did the Air Force crews take part?
- The work of the Air Force aviation in 2010 was aimed at improving the professional training of officers in general and, of course, flight training of crews in particular, their readiness to conduct combat operations as intended. Particular attention was paid to the commissioning and training of young flight personnel, training for the qualification category. The tasks of 2010 were fulfilled by aviation. The average flight time per pilot meets the requirements of regulatory documents and has increased by 9% in comparison with the previous year. The quality of tactical flight training has improved. Undoubtedly, the number of tactical flight exercises had an impact, which increased by 14%, including those with live fire - by 18%. The volume of training of flight personnel per class has increased by one and a half times. All this is the result of the painstaking work of the leadership and the entire personnel of aviation associations, formations and units, universities and centers of combat use.
The result of this work was the successful participation of Air Force flight crews in large-scale operational-strategic exercises of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, including jointly with the armed forces of other states. Thus, the tasks within the framework of the "Interaction-2010", "Peaceful Mission-2010", "Indra-2010" and "Vostok-2010" exercises were performed with high quality.
Lieutenant General Igor Vasilievich SADOFIEV was born in 1956. In 1977 he graduated from the Kachin Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, in 1987 - from the Air Force Academy named after V. I. Yu. A. Gagarin, in 2001 - the Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
He has mastered about ten types of aviation equipment, has over 2, 5 thousand hours of flight time. He flew over 100 combat missions while serving in Afghanistan.
Since 1987 senior navigator of the regiment, squadron commander of a fighter aviation regiment in Lithuania.
Since 1990, he served in the Western Group of Forces, deputy regiment commander.
Since 1993 - commander of an air regiment in Transbaikalia, since 1996 - chief of staff, then commander of a formation in Buryatia.
Since 1998 - deputy commander of a separate corps of the Air Force and Air Defense in Chita, in 1998-1999. - Commander of the Air Division of the Far Eastern Air Force and Air Defense Association (Komsomolsk-on-Amur).
Since 2001 - Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Association in Rostov-on-Don, since January 21, 2002 - Commander of the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army (Khabarovsk) of the Far Eastern Air Force and Air Defense Association.
From May 10, 2007 to the present - Chief of Aviation - Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force for Aviation.
Sniper pilot, "Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation".
How was the work of aviation organized in the interests of other branches and branches of the Armed Forces of Russia during such exercises as, for example, Interaction 2010, Peace Mission 2010, Indra 2010?
- The work of aviation in the interests of other branches and branches of the Armed Forces is organized in accordance with the plan on the basis of applications from the branches and branches of the armed forces. In its day-to-day activities, aviation performs the tasks of transporting personnel, military and special equipment, and provides parachute training for personnel. In the course of battalion and brigade exercises, aviation performs tasks of fire action against a conditional enemy in accordance with the plans of the exercises, airborne personnel, combat and special equipment by landing and parachute methods. In the course of large-scale exercises, such as Vostok-2010, Interaction-2010, and Peaceful Mission-2010, aviation not only ensures their conduct, but also participates in the exercises as an independent branch of the Armed Forces, practicing the tasks of creating aviation groupings, organization and conduct of hostilities.
Let's dwell in more detail on the participation of a large number of aircraft in the operational-strategic exercise "Vostok-2010". What tasks did the flight crews perform, which Air Force and Air Defense Commands did they represent?
- Directly the flight crews involved in the Vostok-2010 exercise performed a number of important tasks. This is the creation of a grouping in a strategic direction - the crews made non-stop flights with refueling in the air, conducting aerial reconnaissance, mining, jamming detection and guidance systems, patrolling and conducting air battles to repel a massive missile and air strike, escorting and covering troops on the route and in the landing area, air support for combat operations of the Ground Forces tactically and with the use of air weapons, search and reconnaissance support.
It should be said that for the first time the creation of an aviation grouping was carried out with the involvement of aviation from all air force formations, with the relocation of equipment from the European part of the country - from the Lipetsk, Rostov, Voronezh regions. The flight of two Su-24M units was completed with three refuelings in the air. Of course, during the exercise, questions of close interaction with the Ground Forces and the Navy were worked out.
- Two crews of Su-34 fighter-bombers from the Lipetsk PPI and PLC worked at the Vostok-2010 OSU. Please, assess the participation of the Su-34 in a large-scale exercise. On several occasions, officials have said that the Air Force is in dire need of these machines. So when will these multifunctional complexes enter the Air Force units and formations?
- During the creation of the aviation group according to the plan for the Vostok-2010 OSU, two regular crews of the Su-34 aircraft for the first time performed non-stop, more than eight-hour flights with two refueling in the air from the Lipetsk airfield to the Dzemgi airfield (Komsomolsk-on-Amur) and back … The crews demonstrated a high level of skill, and the aviation equipment demonstrated no less high reliability. Su-34 aircraft are considered by the leadership of the Air Force and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as extremely promising modern aircraft. Involving them in such a large-scale exercise is primarily dictated by the need to test their real combat capabilities and assess the prospects for realizing the increased combat potential of front-line bomber aviation in the face of a change in strategic directions.
Once again, I would like to note that, along with the crews of the Su-34 aircraft, more than 20 crews of the Su-24M aircraft performed a similar task of redeploying to a new strategic direction with three air refueling and a non-stop flight duration of about 8 hours. It is also a very important indicator of the skill of the flight crew and the reliability of our aviation technology.
Su-34 aircraft continue to participate in military tests, serious work is underway to increase their combat capabilities and improve their technical characteristics. At the same time, their planned delivery to the troops and their development by flight personnel in combat units has already begun.
Will the approach to obtaining the required level of flight hours by the Air Force flight personnel change in connection with the reassignment of aviation forces and means at the USC? How will the personnel qualification events be organized?
- The minimum flight personnel flying rates are determined by the corresponding orders of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
When planning flight work in large formations, air formations and units for a year, the achieved and planned level of training of each pilot (flight crew member), combat training events (exercises, training camps) and tasks assigned specifically to each unit are also taken into account.
The level of flight time of the Air Force flight personnel, as a rule, depends on the serviceability of aviation equipment and the limits of aviation fuel allocated for training, which is currently sufficient for systematic flight operations.
That is, the level of flight time of flight personnel does not depend on the subordination of air force formations and units.
As for the receipt of class by the personnel of the Air Force, then with each formation, formation and unit, qualification commissions have been created and operate. In their work, they are guided by the requirements set out in the relevant orders of the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force. These documents set out the procedure for determining the qualifications of personnel, assigning and confirming qualification categories. Training for qualification categories is carried out on the basis of approved plans, which are drawn up for a year on the basis of the achieved level of personnel training.
Qualification categories are assigned to pilots by the Central Qualification Commission of State Aviation Flight Personnel under the Ministry of Defense after appropriate tests of theoretical knowledge and the level of flight training.
The reassignment of aviation forces and means at the USC will not affect the assignment of qualification categories to both flight personnel and air force ground services specialists.
Tell us about the main directions of modernization of aviation equipment by type. Which components should be replaced first? Is the arrival of new aviation equipment expected in the Air Force units and formations? How long does it take?
- The military-technical priorities for the development of the Air Force in accordance with the re-equipment program for the near future envisage several directions. This is the re-equipment of combat units of front-line and army aviation with modern technology, the implementation of measures to maintain the serviceability of weapons and military equipment at a level that ensures the fulfillment of combat missions as intended, as well as R&D to create promising weapons of warfare.
For Long-Range Aviation, the priority is to improve the technical equipment, mainly due to the modernization of the Tu-160, Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, Il-78M aircraft. In the medium term, about 80% of these machines will be modernized.
It is also envisaged to extend the designated service life of Tu-160, Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, Il-78M aircraft, information support for the use of the long-range aviation complex. Undoubtedly, the Air Force will not refuse to purchase new aircraft.
As for the aviation fleet of the Military Transport Aviation, it is envisaged to re-equip the equipment in two stages for the medium term, both by modernizing the aircraft in the formation and by purchasing new ones, the number of which will amount to over 50%.
Significant changes will take place in the equipment of front-line and army aviation.
Thus, part of the existing aircraft of the front-line aviation will be modernized, and the aircraft fleet will be replenished in the medium term by more than half with new and approximately 14% promising aircraft.
During the same period, about 70% of new aviation equipment will be purchased in the army aviation, and then it is planned to increase its number to 100%.
Aviation actions will be based on the principle of integration into a single system of all weapons of warfare in strategic areas, regardless of their species, with coverage of fire, information, radio-electronic and special impact on enemy targets on land, at sea, in the air and in space to the full depth their location.
In total, by 2020, it is planned to purchase and modernize about two thousand aircraft and helicopters at a constantly increasing annual rate. At the same time, the number of new equipment will be more than one and a half thousand aircraft and helicopters, and the modernized one - about four hundred aviation complexes.
In addition to a radical renewal of aviation technology, the events planned until 2020, according to preliminary calculations, will allow an almost 18-fold increase in the share of modern high-precision weapons, bringing their number to 70%, and an almost 4.5-fold increase in the number of aviation complexes capable of operating around the clock and all-weather. to reduce the level of losses of aircraft and helicopters by 10-12 times, to increase the share of unmanned vehicles by 6 times, bringing its composition to 30% of the total aviation, to ensure the 100% ability of air bases to operate in a single reconnaissance and information control field.
In the near future, in accordance with the state defense order for 2011, it is planned to purchase and supply to the troops of the Su-27SM, Su-30M2, Su-34, Su-35S, Yak-130 aircraft. For army aviation in 2011 it is planned to supply Ka-52, Mi-28N, Mi-8AMTSh (MTV-5-1), Ka-226 and Ansat-U helicopters.
What are the prospects for the transfer of the Yak-130 combat trainer to the Krasnodar Air Force Station?
- Currently the plane
The Yak-130 is undergoing trial operation at the Lipetsk flight personnel training center. At the same time, flight and engineering personnel of the Krasnodar branch of the Air Force Military Educational Scientific Center are undergoing retraining at the same center.
At the beginning of 2011, the Yak-130 will enter service with the training units of the Krasnodar branch of the VUNC Air Force. After it is fully mastered by the instructor staff, the branch will start training cadets on this type of aircraft.
How do you assess the level of professional training of the young replenishment of the Air Force? Has admission to universities decreased? What changes have occurred in the flight personnel training system?
- The professional training of future officers is under the close scrutiny of the command of the Air Force. Measures of an organizational, methodological and logistical nature are aimed at increasing it.
By the measures taken in 2010, it was possible to achieve the highest level of professional (flight) training in the history of modern Russia for graduates of Air Force flight universities. Average flying time is in line with the qualifications and is up 13% over the previous year. More than 30% of graduates have been awarded the qualification category "3rd Class Pilot".
Has the enrollment to universities decreased?
- Over the past 2-3 years, there have been changes in the combat strength and organizational structure of the Air Force. In the course of structural transformations, there was a slight reduction in the number of flight personnel and, as a result, the need for university graduates to compensate for the natural loss decreased. In accordance with this, the required enrollment in flight universities has been reduced. Since in 2006-2008 the recruitment of candidates was made on the basis of the previous combat strength, during 2011-2013 an excessive number of cadets will be suitable for graduation. To even out the situation, in 2009 and 2010 it was decided to restrict recruitment. Starting in 2011, enrollment in universities will be made to compensate for the natural loss of combat strength based on the end of 2016.
What changes have occurred in the flight personnel training system?
- The system of training flight personnel is undergoing changes in accordance with the development of military science, the improvement of aviation technology, changes in the system of higher professional education.
In the framework of the general trend towards the consolidation of universities, the training of officers in flight specialties is carried out in the unified Military Educational and Scientific Center of the Air Force Air Force Academy named after Professor N. Ye. Zhukovsky and Yu. A. Gagarin”by two branches: on airplanes - in the city of Krasnodar, on helicopters - in the city of Syzran.
Pilot training takes place in three stages. The first is basic training at the university, the second stage is theoretical and practical retraining for new aviation equipment at the Lipetsk State Center for the Training of Aviation Personnel and Military Research, and the third is the training of a combat-ready pilot in the aviation unit. As a result of training according to this scheme, the pilot-officer will be fully prepared for the conduct of hostilities for the intended kind of aviation.
What work is being done to retrain the flight and technical personnel of the Air Force dismissed from military service?
- The retraining of flight and technical personnel dismissed from military service is carried out in the general system of retraining of dismissed military personnel, created in accordance with the orders of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. Retraining is carried out in military educational institutions with the involvement of highly professional teaching personnel from both military and civilian educational institutions. Currently, on the basis of the VUNC VVS in Monino and in other cities, there are a number of courses where the dismissed officers master professions related to personnel management, production, and teaching.
How will the new Federal rules for the use of airspace, which entered into force on November 1, 2010, which established a notification procedure for the use of certain sections of airspace without obtaining a dispatch permission, affect the use of military aviation?
- The government decree "On the approval of the Federal rules for the use of the airspace of the Russian Federation" that entered into force on November 1, 2010, indeed made a number of adjustments to the procedure for organizing flights.
At the same time, it should be emphasized that, in accordance with the current Air Code of the Russian Federation (Article 13), state priorities in the use of the airspace remain unshakable. This article provides for the priority provision of airspace for repelling an air attack, preventing and stopping violations of the state border of the Russian Federation or an armed invasion of its territory, as well as for flying aircraft in the interests of the country's defense and security.
The introduction of a notification procedure for its use in a certain part of the Russian airspace is dictated, first of all, by the capabilities of air traffic control bodies to exercise full control over aircraft in this area. Since the space used in the notification order does not provide for dispatching services, it seems logical that the dispatching permission itself is not needed.
In this case, the entire responsibility for preventing collisions with aircraft and other material objects in the air, collisions with obstacles rests with the aircraft commander. Only trained and registered airspace users who are required to know the aeronautical and meteorological situation along the planned flight route will be allowed to such flights.
At the same time, it is envisaged to toughen sanctions against users who disregard the norms of air legislation.
Flights of the Air Force aviation for combat training tasks, both earlier and now, are carried out according to plans submitted in advance, on the basis of which the bodies of the unified airspace management system impose certain restrictions on the use of airspace for other users in accordance with state priorities.
To date, there are no serious grounds for concerns regarding the timely provision of airspace to military aviation.
Russia has begun to withdraw its helicopter group from the Republic of Chad. What activities are carried out by the BBC as part of this process?
- After receiving the legislative base, which provides the legal basis for the withdrawal of our servicemen from the UN Mission in the Republic of Chad, we began to directly perform flights by the crews of the An-124 and Il-76 military transport aircraft to ensure the transportation of personnel, weapons and property of the group to the territory of Russia in accordance with the approved schedule.
Of course, this is the hard work of many structures, and above all, of the personnel of the aviation group. Far from the homeland, in difficult physical and geographical conditions, in the absence of the possibility of providing any technical assistance, it is rather difficult to get together and relocate 800 km from Abeche to the capital of Chad N'Djamena with all the property, ground and aviation equipment.
Our helicopter pilots fulfilled their tasks with honor and earned a high appraisal from the UN Secretary General, who expressed gratitude in his message to the President of Russia.
How do you assess the current state of the airfield network of the Air Force, what are the main directions of its development in the coming years? What will be the procedure for using Russian military aviation from joint-based airfields?
- The airfield network of the Air Force is currently in a satisfactory condition.
At the same time, its maintenance in operational condition requires significant expenditures of material and financial resources. Let me note that some of the airfields that are part of the airfield network of the Air Force are not used by military aviation in peacetime.
In the coming years, it is planned to reconstruct the main airfields of the Air Force aviation, which will increase the number and types of aircraft based on them. In addition, reconstruction and construction of buildings and structures of service and residential areas will be carried out at these airfields.
Airfields, which are not intended to be used in peacetime, are planned to be mothballed or transferred for maintenance to third-party organizations.
Now with regard to the procedure for the use of joint-based airfields by military aviation. The list of such aerodromes was approved by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation of 2007 No. 1034-r.
At the same time, the Air Force airfield network includes a number of airfields jointly based with aviation of other federal executive bodies and organizations. The procedure for using these aerodromes is determined by the relevant regulatory documents.
At present, the Russian Ministry of Defense has developed and is being approved by the interested federal executive bodies of draft amendments and additions to the Federal Law on Defense and the Air Code of the Russian Federation. They will allow military aviation to use airfields of other ministries and departments, which are not classified as airfields of joint basing and joint use, when fulfilling assigned tasks.
What place is given to the new look of the Army Aviation Air Force?
- As before the organizational measures, the army aviation will continue to carry out the assigned tasks as part of the Air Force. Army aviation will continue to solve a wide range of tasks, primarily in the interests of the Ground Forces.
In matters of the further development of army aviation, the Air Force High Command has prioritized the increase in the effectiveness of the use of the created army aviation grouping in combination with equipping it with modern weapons and military equipment. In particular, the army aviation is already operating the new Mi-28N Night Hunter combat helicopters and in early 2011 will start operating the Ka-52 Alligator helicopter.
