In one of his previous materials, the author tried to answer the question of what kind of fighters will appear in the future. Today we will talk about "strategists".
First of all, we will try to answer the question of where exactly the bombers will evolve. It must be said that within the framework of existing realities, high speed, even such as that of the American Valkyrie, can no longer guarantee survival in the current conditions. The strategic bomber of the future will have to deal with modern anti-aircraft missile systems and medium-range air-to-air missiles of the new generation, such as the European Meteor. The only way out in such a situation is to remain "in the shadows" as long as possible. That is, designers must rely on reducing radar signature at any cost - there is simply nothing else to do. However, upon closer examination, it turns out that everything is not so simple. And today we will talk about how exactly the designers approached the solution of the problems facing combat aviation.
Tu-160M2 (Russia)
In January last year it became known that the first flight was performed by the Tu-160, made from the Soviet reserve. Thanks to Dmitry Rogozin's efforts, many Russian and Western media called the plane Tu-160M2. In fact, the first M2 is yet to be built. It will be a modernly new machine, which should receive advanced avionics and new aircraft weapons, such as the promising Kh-BD cruise missile. Most likely, the car will take off in 2020-2021. Earlier, the media announced the intentions of the Russian Aerospace Forces to purchase 50 new Tu-160M2. However, such a large party should probably not be expected: it is too expensive in the realities of modern Russia. And it is not really necessary: already in the 2030s, the Air Force expects to receive a completely new combat aircraft, completely developed in the post-Soviet Russia.
PAK DA (Russia)
A promising long-range aviation complex, without exaggeration, can be called the most expensive and most complex combat aviation complex in all of Russian history. The aircraft will be subsonic, unobtrusive, made according to the "flying wing" aerodynamic configuration. On the Web, you can find the alleged appearance of the PAK DA: with a high degree of probability, it does not reflect the real state of affairs, even if we talk specifically about the images on which the aircraft appears, made according to the "flying wing" aerodynamic scheme.
To put it as simply as possible, the PAK DA is the Russian analogue of the American B-2 Spirit, the cost of which, by the way, according to some estimates, exceeds two (!) Billion dollars per plane. Needless to say, the technical risks in the case of the PAK DA are simply colossal. But even if the development is carried out on time, one should not believe the official forecasts regarding the adoption of the aircraft for service. PAK DA has a very long and incredibly difficult path ahead. At the end of which, the Russian Air Force will have to receive a car, which, according to official data, will not only replace all Russian "strategists" and the long-range Tu-22M3 / M3M, but also partially take over the functions of a reconnaissance, interceptor and even act as a platform for launching space rockets. The car can perform its first flight in the mid-2020s.
B-21 Raider (USA)
Long-Range Strike Bombe, LRS-B, B-3, B-21 Raider are all names of one aircraft. American strategic bomber, which will replace not only the B-52H and B-1B, but also the aforementioned B-2. The latter, by the way, no matter how paradoxical it sounds, can be decommissioned even earlier than other American "strategists". The reason is simple - the cost is too high. It follows directly from this fact that the B-21 will almost certainly be a smaller and much cheaper analogue of the B-2, made taking into account all the new technologies. Experts believe that the plane will receive two Pratt & Whitney PW9000 engines. This is an engine based on the F135 built for the F-35 Lightning II. Maximum unification. In a word, the PAK DA engines are also likely to be an upgraded version of the NK-32, which is used on the Tu-160 / M / M2.
It is important to note that the Raider will almost certainly take off before the PAK DA. According to new photographs, Edwards AFB is actively preparing the infrastructure for testing the new machine. There probably won't be long to wait.
Xian H-20 (China)
In addition to the start of testing the B-21, aviation enthusiasts will obviously expect another pleasant surprise in the face of the first flight of the promising Chinese strategic bomber H-20. Let the readers not be surprised by this fact: the world has long been accustomed to the Chinese "agility". Suffice it to recall the adoption of the fifth generation fighter J-20, which, it would seem, was just a prototype quite recently (first flight - 2011).
The new Chinese bomber will almost certainly be a subsonic stealth aircraft with a flying wing aerodynamic design. According to experts, the aircraft can begin to operate around the middle of the next decade, and it will "overtake" not only the Russian PAK DA, but also, possibly, the American B-21 Raider (again, this can be seen by looking at the pace of testing J- twenty). In the Chinese Air Force, the H-20 will replace the outdated H-6 bombers, which are nothing more than a Chinese copy of the very old Soviet Tu-16 bomber, which made its maiden flight in 1952. Now it is, recall, the only strategic bomber operated by the Chinese military. air force.
It is too early to judge the appearance and capabilities of the H-20, however, according to the China Daily newspaper, the Chinese want to make an aircraft with a range of up to eight thousand kilometers, which suggests that the H-20 will be similar to the B-2 not only in appearance, but also in size, as well as in the weight of the combat load.
JH-XX (China)
The most mysterious "guest" on our list was the plane, the existence of which can only be judged by a number of indirect signs, for example, the frequent mention of a "mysterious plane" in the Chinese and Western media. If we try to summarize all the data available about it, it turns out that the machine will not be a pure "strategist", but a kind of mixture of a strategic bomber, a front-line bomber and a multifunctional fighter. It is possible to draw a parallel with the Su-34, but the comparison with the Lockheed FB-22 Raptor, the strike version of the F-22 Raptor, which never came into being, looks more correct.
Most likely, the "Chinese" will be a supersonic vehicle, which will be much inferior in size and combat load to the PAK DA, and the B-21, and the H-20. But this is just an assumption, based not least on images that can be found on the net and which, I think, do not provide an exhaustive answer to the question of what the new bomber will be like.
