While at the "Kazan Aviation Plant named after S. P. Gorbunov "the assembly of the first prototype of the deeply modernized strategic bomber-missile carrier Tu-160M2 is in full swing, the management of Tupolev PJSC has finally decided on the timing of the rollout of the first flight prototype of the promising long-range aviation complex PAK DA. According to the statement made for the Interfax news agency by the CEO of the company, Alexander Konyukhov, the first concept of the unobtrusive “strategist” will be assembled by 2021-2022. It is well known that the main purpose of these machines will be the delivery of a promising stealth missile WTO to the launch lines located several hundred to thousands of kilometers from well-protected enemy targets. At the same time, maximum attention is paid to increasing the level of stealth of the new vehicle, which will require a rendezvous at a distance of no more than 80-120 km to detect it by the enemy's infrared and radar means.
To this end, a wide range of composite materials and radio-absorbing coatings will be introduced into the design of the airframe of a promising bomber to reduce the RCS, while the reduction of the infrared signature will be achieved through the use of non-afterburning turbojet bypass engines with flat rectangular nozzles oriented to the upper hemisphere (from the side of the lower The nozzle hemispheres of the missile carrier are blocked by tail bearing elements, which significantly limits the detection range of the "warm" jet stream of engines by means of infrared surveillance and sighting systems deployed on enemy fighters and air defense systems). It all looks very dignified, but the "flying wing" glider scheme and the speed of 850-980 km / h evoke extremely serious thoughts. In particular, a subsonic low-maneuverable strategic bomber is much more vulnerable to long-range anti-aircraft guided missiles and long-range missiles when they are approached from absolutely any hemisphere. For example, the outgoing (at a speed of 1, 4-1, 7M) from the Tu-160M2 perceptor missile has a much better chance of surviving than the subsonic B-2A or PAK DA.
A promising domestic missile carrier, as well as "Spirit" or LRS-B, despite the EPR of 0.02-0.05 m2, cannot be called completely invisible in the decimeter and centimeter wavelength ranges: almost all modern airborne and ground radars operate on targets with such a radar signature, but with a 4-5-fold range limitation, and therefore PAK DA is not insured against shelling by enemy fighters and air defense systems. To fully compensate for the low speed capabilities of the missile carrier, a very original solution was found. A promising long-range aviation complex will be armed with air-to-air missiles for self-defense against enemy tactical aviation, as was recently announced by Boris Obnosov, General Director of Tactical Missile Corporation Corporation (KTRV). Exactly what types of air combat missiles are in question, the company has not yet reported, and here 2 versions can be considered at once.
In accordance with the first version, the next-generation stealthy Russian missile carrier will be equipped with several RVV-MD (K-74M2) or R-73RMD-2 close-combat guided missiles with a range of 40 km in the front hemisphere. This will make it possible to intercept enemy fighter aircraft approaching the PAK DA at an unacceptably close distance. If you look deeper, then during the execution of long-range pinpoint strikes "Archers" (R-73) will not do absolutely no weather for PAK DA. Why?
If an enemy E-2D or E-3G long-range radar detection and control aircraft (accompanied by an F / A-18E / F or F-22A squadron) is on duty in the vicinity of the launch lines for the X-101/102 strategic cruise missiles from the PAK DA, then the detection will occur at a distance of 80-150 km (depending on the RCS, the exact coefficient of which is still unknown). Even if the Super Hornets cannot detect the PAK DA with the less powerful AN / APG-79 radar, they will receive target designation from the more powerful Hokai radar and launch the AIM-120D AMRAAM airborne missile system from the maximum possible distance of 150 km without going into the affected area of the P-73, placed on our missile carrier. The outcome may be sad: the slow subsonic PAK DA will not be able to easily get away from the AIM-120D. One can only hope for the on-board defense system of the vehicle, represented by an advanced multi-band electronic warfare station, a container with dipole reflectors, etc. But even in this case, one cannot count on leaving, since modern modifications of AMRAAMs are equipped with an upgraded active radar homing head, capable of clearly "capturing" the source of jamming.
In accordance with the second version, long-range and ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles can be integrated into the PAK DA armament control complex. It can be both RVV-BD (R-37) with a range of 300 km and a flight speed of 6400 km / h, and RVV-SD ("Product 170-1") with a range of 110 km and a speed of about 4500 km / h. An important quality of these missiles is the ability to intercept both tactical enemy fighters and air-to-air missiles of the AMRAAM family launched from their pods. The R-72RMD-2 also has the ability to combat the enemy air missile systems, but only at the moment when the solid propellant charge of the engine burns out in the accelerating section of the trajectory, because guidance is carried out by means of the bispectral infrared seeker MK-80 "Mayak". In the RVV-BD missiles (“Product 610M”) and RVV-SD (“Product-170-1”), guidance is carried out by means of active radar seeker 9B-1103M-350 “Washer” and 9B-1103M-200PA, which “capture” the radar the signature of enemy missiles (not requiring thermal radiation from the engine torch), so that their destruction can be performed at any part of the flight path. Moreover, the maximum speed of intercepted enemy missiles for RVV-BD reaches 6M, for RVV-SD - up to 4M. The next question is: what means provide target designation for RVV-SD / BD for such small targets as the enemy's air-launched missile systems? First of all, this is a modern radiation warning system, represented by a hardware unit and an aperture distributed over the airframe of the aircraft from several passive antennas, recording the irradiation by active radar homing heads of enemy missiles. Secondly, this is the onboard radar itself with an active phased array, capable of working on such complex airborne objects at ranges of up to several tens of kilometers.
As for the capabilities of PAK DA in long-range air confrontation with attacking modern tactical enemy fighters armed with AIM-120D or MBDA "Meteor" missiles, we are witnessing the so-called "variable success". The RVS of the PAK DA missile carrier can detect and determine the coordinates of the radiation of the Raptor and Lightning onboard radars for 250-400 km, after which the RVV-BD can be launched in the direction. Nothing more maneuverable than the F-15E "hung" with bombs, these missiles cannot be destroyed due to the restriction on the overload of the intercepted target of 7-8 units (with proper "energy" in the middle of the trajectory).
As for the RVV-SD rocket, there are no complaints about low maneuverability, because highly efficient aerodynamic lattice systems are responsible for control, capable of operating at angles of attack up to 40 degrees. This allows the rocket to maneuver with overloads of up to 45 units, striking targets departing with 12-15 times overloads. However, the 110-kilometer range of the Product 170-1 does not allow attacking earlier than enemy fighters armed with the AIM-120D and Meteor can. Against this background, it would be worthwhile to return to the revival of the forgotten project of a long-range URVV with an integral ramjet rocket engine RVV-AE-PD ("Product 180-PD") with a range of 160-180 km. The next important point is the deployment of air-to-air missiles. It is most likely that these will be separate internal weapons bays with more compact and lighter flaps, allowing timely launching of an airborne missile system against approaching air attack weapons. Details of this design feature will not be released until the early 1920s.
