Unbreakable union
There is one thing that really brings Russia and Ukraine together. This is an almost complete absence of any reasonable unification of technology in the armed forces. Presumably, it makes no sense to explain in detail why the uniformity of military equipment, which performs the same tasks, is of key importance. And if during exercises difficulties with unification can simply cause unnecessary trouble, then in war such problems risk turning into a real disaster. There are a lot of examples.
With Ukraine, everything is more or less clear: the leadership is simply trying to squeeze the maximum out of what is left of the motley fleet of Soviet equipment. Something else, at the very least, is on the move, but something has already become scrap metal for a long time. A similar picture can be seen in the case of the ships of the Russian fleet: even now, despite the attempts at rearmament, the basis of the fleet is made up of combat units that were inherited from the USSR. A vivid example: despite the delivery of the first "Boreys", now the basis of the naval component of the Russian nuclear triad is various representatives of the family of Project 667 submarines, located at the junction of the second and third generations of nuclear submarines. So you don't really have to choose.
Separately, it is worth remembering about the ground forces, which got thousands of different Soviet tanks, plus what they produced in the post-Soviet years. Now the basis of all this monstrous park, it seems, has decided to make the T-72B3 model 2016. One can say a noticeable progress. In any case, it is better than building T-90s from scratch, which, purely conceptually, differ little from the 72s. And it's better than always relying on the expensive and raw "Armata". It seems that there is simply no money for it.
A completely different matter is the massive deliveries of new-built aircraft to the Russian Air Force. This is an expensive program designed for many years, designed to provide the videoconferencing system with everything it needs. So attention to the supply of new aircraft has always been the closest thing. As we know, the military purchased a huge number of completely different machines: Su-35S, Su-30SM, Su-34, Su-30M2, Su-27SM3. And then there is the MiG-29SMT and a whole fleet of old Soviet aircraft of various versions and years of production. And this, perhaps, is a completely unique example, which, with all the desire, you will not find in any other country in the world. However, first things first.
How many fighters …
Let's see how these issues are resolved in the West. It makes no sense to describe in detail the processes that are taking place in the American or European Air Force. The enormous cost of new vehicles made it almost completely abandon the development of new heavy attack aircraft, interceptors and bombers. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. De facto, the leading countries of the world have chosen a concept for their Air Force, similar to the concept of the main battle tank in the ground forces. So, in the future, the F-35 fighter will become a single combat aviation tactical strike complex of the United States and a number of its allies. With some blotches of old cars that will live out their days on a safety net. And, of course, the UAV.
It can be argued that three different aircraft were built on the basis of the F-35: F-35A, F-35B and F-35C. However, the unification of the components of these options reaches 90 percent. Suffice it to say that all these aircraft have one AN / APG-81 active phased array radar. The fighters received unified electro-optical systems, omnidirectional infrared cameras, radio-electronic jamming stations, helmet-mounted target designation systems and much more. Some differences in the design of the power plant are mainly due to the requirements for vertical landing for the F-35B. It is believed that the Americans even overdid the unification, making the F-35A and F-35C "limited" machines, the capabilities of which were partially sacrificed due to the requirements for the F-35B. But this is just the opinion of some aviation enthusiasts. And the US military has its own view on this matter.
On a string to the world
Now let's move on to the Russian Air Force. Surprisingly, the super-economical "modernization" of the Su-27 to the level of the Su-27SM raises the least questions. Yes, the car did not become much more combat-ready, but this, one might say, is a necessary measure for far from new aircraft in conditions of a chronic lack of funds. In addition, the Su-27SM and Su-27SM3 have a lot in common, which also makes the program far from the most meaningless.
Much more questions are raised by the already mentioned aircraft of the new construction: Su-35S, Su-30SM, Su-30M2, MiG-29SMT, MiG-35 (in the future) and, of course, Su-34. In fact, the functions of all these machines can be performed by one aircraft: for example, the conventional Su-35 (U) BM, which has a single and two-seat version. There is a point of view that the Su-34 has some makings of a long-range bomber: almost a replacement for the Tu-22M3. But this is completely absurd, because the combat radius of the 34 is 1100 km, which is comparable or even less than that of the Su-27. The increased mass of the vehicle makes itself felt, so that its radius can be seriously increased only with the use of PTB or refueling in the air. Which, again, is available to all modern fighter-bombers.
But these are all details. What is the main problem with the supply of aircraft? Formally, the above vehicles are built on two bases: MiG-29 and Su-27. However, in practice, these are completely different complexes, between which there is almost nothing in common, except for the name of the brands: "MiG" and "Su". The most unpleasant thing is a fundamentally different set of avionics. Recall that the Su-30SM has the well-known to many radar station Н011M "Bars", and the Su-35S is equipped with the radar station Н035 "Irbis". In turn, the Su-34 has the Sh-141 radar, and the Su-30M2 received the N001V radar, which is not much different from the equipment installed on the Su-27 / CM. At least one plus, however, it is already hopelessly outdated.
Surprisingly, the situation is exactly the same with the engines that official propaganda loves to be proud of. The above machines have different engines that are not interchangeable, although they are made using the same technological base (which, again, cannot be called anything other than strange). It is also quite symbolic that the rather heavy Su-34 fighter-bomber is equipped with the "modest" AL-31F-M1, while the single-seat Su-35S received the AL-41F1S advanced by Russian standards. But, as they say, these are already details. And the requirements for a fighter and a front-line bomber are different.
The only good news here can be considered a recent statement presented in the work submitted by the Ufa Engine Production Association (UEC-UMPO) for the competition "Aircraft Builder of the Year". The point is that in the future, the Su-30SM should receive the same engine as the Su-35. That is, the aforementioned AL-41F1S. At present, the corresponding development work is being carried out jointly by Sukhoi, UEC-UMPO and the Irkut corporation. It is not clear when the Su-30SM will receive the new engine.
What to do?
The first thing that the Ministry of Defense can do in a difficult situation is to completely (or almost completely) abandon the MiG-35. This is a completely unnecessary machine under current conditions, which will make the operation of aircraft even more difficult, at the same time, without bringing practical benefits to the Air Force. Do not forget that 2018 is in the yard: the era of fifth generation fighters has begun. Under these conditions, the "Zhuk" radar station, to put it mildly, will surprise no one. Exactly as well as a number of other features of the 35th.
Perhaps it is much better to direct the money towards further purchases of one particular aircraft. From among those already in service. Let's say the Su-35S and its hypothetical two-seat version. Now it is the most powerful fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which is probably superior to the Su-30SM (especially the Su-30M2) in a number of characteristics, including the detection range of targets with low ESR.
The situation in RSK MiG is a completely different issue and we will not discuss it now. But in general, when the entire aircraft industry lined up for a handout from the state, this is a bad sign. Airplanes should be in demand on the world market, and if they are not bought, it means that they are not so good airplanes. Or there is no corny infrastructure for operation (which, in principle, is the same in today's reality).
A real replacement for old Soviet and new Russian combat aircraft could be the Su-57. However, an assessment of its combat potential is completely impossible in the current conditions, when the machine exists only as a prototype, and we will probably never know the effective scattering area (roughly speaking, the degree of stealth). Earlier, we recall, it became known that the mass production of the car was postponed approximately to the end of the 2020s - approximately 2027-28. That is, when (and if) the engine of the second stage is brought to mind and the main "childhood diseases", which, as you know, almost always accompany sophisticated new military equipment, are eliminated.
