More than six and a half years have passed since the first flight of the prototype of the Russian super-maneuverable multi-role fighter of the 5th generation T-50-1 PAK-FA on January 29, 2010. During this time, thousands of discussions among combat aviation enthusiasts and experts regarding the combat qualities of this magnificent machine in opposition to the best serial fighter of the 5th generation of the Air Force - the F-22A "Raptor", three modifications of the most famous and popular in the West promising tactical fighter F-35A / B / C, as well as various transitional fighters produced by Western European aerospace corporations. It was clearly determined that over all machines of the 4 ++ generation (Rafale, EF-2000 Typhoon, JAS-39NG, Super Hornet, F-15SE, etc.), the T-50 PAK FA will be to gain undeniable superiority in ultra-long-range, long-range and close air battles.
A similar situation will develop with American combat and export F-35s, even if they are equipped with AIM-120D long-range guided air-to-air missiles (URVV). True, due to the significantly lower radar signature of the Lightning, this will happen at a much shorter (1, 5 - 2 times) distance than with machines of the transitional generation. Lightning with EPR 0, 15 - 0, 2 m2 will be detected by the onboard radar N036-01-1 at a distance of 175 - 200 km, from where an attack can begin using RVV-BD missiles ("product 610M"), as well as more adapted for this highly maneuverable ramjet-powered missiles known as the 180-PD product. The AN / APG-81 radar installed on the F-35A will be able to detect PAK FA with EPR less than 0.3 m2 at a distance of 120 to 140 km, so long-range AMRAAMs will have to be used not according to the radar data, but according to the information from the warning system. irradiation, which emphasizes the lag behind the Russian promising aviation complex.
But there is still heated debate about the likely battles of the T-50 with the F-22A. The Raptor and the radar are several times more powerful than the F-35A, and it will have higher noise immunity. And as for the radar signature (EPR), it does not exceed 0.05 - 0.07. Similarly to the T-50, the Raptor is equipped with a twin-engine power plant with OVT and is a super-maneuverable fighter. This is an excellent ground for continuing the simulation of the air confrontation between the two best fighters in the world.
THE OPINION OF SOME WESTERN MEDIA BECOMES MORE OBJECTIVE
So, on September 16, 2016, another brief comparison of two 5th generation aircraft systems was published by the online edition of the famous magazine "The National Interest". An absolutely balanced position was reported here, where the T-50 was presented as an equal to the Raptor of the next generation fighter. In their article "TNI" noted the Russian Federation and the PRC as the current world leaders in the development and production of the best examples of fighter aircraft in the world. Despite the brevity of the analytical review, the Nixon Center (as the "National Interest" is often called) very competently approached the comparison of the two best 5th generation fighters, indicating their main advantages and disadvantages, expressed by design differences.
So, according to the most important criterion for 5th generation fighters - the effective scattering surface (EPR), the author of the review gave more preference to the American F-22A, indicating that when creating the Raptor, great attention was paid to the all-aspect reduction of its radar signature, while “The Sukhoi Design Bureau focused its efforts on reducing the radar signature of the front hemisphere (projection) of our fighter. This conclusion is completely true. In both fighters, all structural elements of the front projection airframe are inclined planes without right angles with an applied radio-absorbing coating. The nose of the fuselage has a multifaceted cross-section with two sharp side ribs, and with rounding in its lower part for the maximum possible diversion of electromagnetic radiation from the enemy's radar. Radar canvases with active HEADLIGHTS Н036-01-1 (Ш-121) and AN / APG-77 have some inclination towards the upper hemisphere (in AN / APG-77 about 15 degrees) to further reduce the RCS, but with some loss of their own energy and range capabilities when working on targets with derogation relative to the carrier. True, this slope is able to well reduce the RCS only against those ground-based or air-based radar systems that are located relative to the carrier with a decrease of several kilometers, as well as at a short range of three to five tens of kilometers. Against high-potential radars located closer to the radio horizon (at a distance of 250-300 km), 15 degrees of tilt of the track (4-6% decrease in EPR) will not play a big role.
The F-22A unbound cockpit canopy has slightly better stealth performance than the T-50 canopy framed by a single "strip". Nevertheless, despite the large area of the plan of the vehicle, the area of the midsection of our fighter is only 2.3% higher than that of the Raptor (9, 47 versus 9, 25 m2), which indicates a sufficient compactness of the vehicle's fuselage with a minimum number of internal volumes … Naturally, the radar signature of the T-50 PAK FA remains at a decent level, slightly exceeding that of the Raptor. The only details that can have a bad effect on an effective reflective surface are: a flashlight with one binding, as well as a turret of the OLS-50M optoelectronic sighting system.
These questions are also quite solvable: during a combat operation for target designation in full radio silence, the OLPK turret can be deployed towards the cockpit canopy, and its rear part will be made of radio-absorbing materials, the cover from the canopy structure can also be safely removed. But if everything is very clear with the radar visibility of the front projection, then the rear hemisphere of the aircraft raises a lot of questions, all of which are unlikely to be resolved.
As mentioned a little earlier, the aerodynamically ideal T-50 airframe has the smallest possible midsection area, which is explained by the fuselage design traditional for all Sushki, where between two air intakes and engine nacelles there is a space about 1.5 m wide, the inner generatrix of this gap forms the load-bearing a surface area of several square meters, due to which the lifting force of the machines of the family increases. The flight capabilities with high angles of attack are improved, as well as the angular rate of turn. Also, in comparison with other two-engine fighters (F / A-18E / F, F-22A "Raptor"), the survivability of the T-50 increases in the event of damage to one of the engines. But it has such a design and a drawback.
It is associated with the practically "open" architecture of the power plant. The F-22A "Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100" engines are known to be hidden deep in the fuselage aft structure. In the T-50, the engines are spaced apart in separate engine nacelles, each of which stands out against the background of the tail section of the fighter like a huge "candle". Judging by the photographs, the nacelles are not covered with layers of radio-absorbing materials, and the inner spaces between the nacelles and turbines of the AL-41F engines do not have heat-absorbing materials and air channels of the cooling system to reduce the infrared visibility of the fighter. The T-50 PAK FA nacelles, in terms of the total area of the sectors unprotected from radars and infrared optical-electronic means of the enemy, are approximately 3-5 times larger than the angular contours of the Raptor compact nacelles with flat nozzles. We have the result: the open design of the T-50 power plant brings the RCS to 0.5 - 0.8 m2 when the enemy radar is irradiated from the rear hemisphere. In addition, the rapidly heating T-50 PAK FA engine nacelles, especially in afterburner modes, allow the optical-electronic complexes of enemy fighters to detect our vehicle at a distance of about 100 km (when viewed in profile or into the rear hemisphere), into the front IR hemisphere - sensors will detect our T-50 no further than 40-50 km. For the Raptor, these figures will be several times lower.
And what can I say, the T-50 PAK FA was created to defeat the enemy in the PPS during long-range air combat, as well as for super-maneuverable close air combat, where reduced radar and infrared signatures will not play a big role. The entire emphasis was placed on preserving the unique flight characteristics inherent in all Sukhoi Design Bureau products, reducing the frontal projection RCS for covert rapprochement with enemy aircraft, as well as equipping the new promising aviation complex with radio equipment superior to the enemy. It was in this question that the authors of The National Interest showed their incompetence.
THE GREAT TOTAL TECHNOLOGICAL PERFECTION OF THE T-50 BEFORE THE "RAPTOR" IS OBVIOUS THAT THE WEST IS TRYING TO HIDE EVERYTHING
In their article, they argue that the avionics of the T-50 and F-22A have similar parameters. Any knowledgeable person can simply "distort" from such statements. Firstly, the YF-22, developed over 25 years ago, has gone through the modernization path from the F-22A Block 20 Increment 2 version to the Block 35 Increment 3.2B (Milestone-C) version, although it received the latest software versions for controlling various modes of the radar AN / APG-77, as well as the integration of the latest types of high-precision weapons, still continues to be qualitatively inferior in this regard to the T-50 PAK FA.
The fact is that the element base and energy capabilities of the Sh-121 onboard radar are much newer than the electronic base of the American AN / APG-77. The detection range of a cruise missile-type target (EPR 0.1 m2) for our station is 165 - 170 km, for the American one - about 115 km. The LPI mode advertised by the Americans (with "low interceptability"), in which the AN / APG-77 emits a broadband noise-like scanning signal with a pseudo-random tuning of the operating frequency, could not be calculated using the outdated radiation warning system SPO-15LM "Birch", where the pilot was informed by a simple indicator unit with the ability to track only 1 detected radar complex and classify 6 types of radar. A simple algorithm for the operation of the Berezy receiving-computing device could not determine the LPI-type radiation. A more advanced L-150-35 type SPO installed on the Su-35S, as well as its more advanced analogue, which is part of the T-50 avionics instead of lamp indicator panels, are used to display all LCD MFI information on the pilots' dashboard, due to which the pilot can be aware not only of the class of the irradiating radar, but has the ability to identify it. The number of radar types loaded into the digital storage bank is 1,024 units (instead of 6 for "Birch").
The modernized radiation warning systems of the L-150 type have target designation capabilities for radar detectors and radar surface-to-air missile systems for anti-radar missiles, as well as for radio-emitting air targets for RVV-SD / BD missiles. Thanks to this, the L-150 systems are usually called stations of direct electronic intelligence (SNRTR). The American AN / ALR-94 SPO installed on the F-22A has similar characteristics. The US model has more than 30 passive antenna sensors installed in various parts of the Raptor airframe; they work in the L, VHF, UHF, S, G, X, Ka and Ku-bands. Agree - the system is advanced, and provides all-aspect direction finding of radio-emitting targets with the possibility of target designation to AIM-120D missiles and high-precision air-to-ground / ship-class weapons starting from a distance of 200 km. There are not so many passive SPO sensors on the PAK FA, but there is a trump card - the concept of the XXI century.
It is represented by additional 4 radars of the N036 complex (Sh-121). The first 2 centimeter X-band radars (N036B and N036B-01) are located immediately behind the main antenna array in the forward fuselage. They fully provide tracking of targets located in the lateral hemispheres of the T-50, and allow the pilot to fire at targets with RVV-MD missiles on the "over the shoulder" principle, even without the OLS-50M and helmet-mounted target designation system. The range of these radars for typical targets can be up to 50-70 km. The second 2 radars (N036L and N036L-01) operate in the decimeter L-band. They are installed in the wing toes and are designed to detect, track and identify airborne objects. In addition, L-band radars have excellent terrain mapping capabilities with the detection of even small radio-contrast ground objects. The radar N036L / L-01, theoretically, can be an excellent tool for flying in the mode of following the terrain with simultaneous tracking of sea / earth surfaces and close airspace. In this case, the main radar N036-01-1 may not be activated, which will keep the enemy's air reconnaissance assets in the delusion about the type of aircraft until the very last moment. These radars are indispensable for flights at low altitude in difficult weather conditions, when onboard and container optoelectronic systems have low efficiency. The F-22A does not have such means on board, and the AN / APG-77 radar cannot "look" into the lateral hemispheres: the azimuth field of view is about 120 degrees.
It is worth recalling the rear radio-transparent container T-50, in which, in the image and likeness of the Su-34, the 6th airborne radar station can be installed for operation in the rear hemisphere. Judging by the size of the radio-transparent "spot" on the tail container, a small-sized decimeter radar with AFAR "Kopyo-DL" is installed here. It is used as a station for detecting enemy missiles attacking in the tail section. Large missiles can be detected at a distance of 6 km, AIM-120C missiles - from 5 km, anti-aircraft guided missiles of the FIM-92 ("Stinger") type - from 4 km. Fighters are detected from 7-16 km, depending on the type and RCS.
"Spear-DL" realizes in one fighter just enormous opportunities for conducting close air combat and defense against approaching enemy missiles. If equipped with super-maneuverable missiles BVB R-73RMD-2 or RVV-MD, the T-50 can destroy any potential air attack weapon located behind the aircraft: the whole process will be realized only with the help of the "Spear". According to unofficial information, the interceptor gas-dynamic control of the R-73RMD-2 and RVV-MD missiles makes it possible to maneuver with overloads of up to 65 units, and therefore even anti-aircraft missiles that maneuver with an overload of up to 20G can be intercepted.
More precisely, the radio-technical appearance of the Russian T-50 PAK FA is several times higher than the officially known qualities of the American F-22A radar equipment, information about which was completely neglected in TNI.
They also forgot to mention the absence of an optical-location sighting system (OLPK) in the 5th generation American fighter, which is necessary for covert independent conduct of medium and short-range air battles without external target designation, when the radars of enemy fighters and the REP systems are also disabled. In such a situation, the Raptor will find itself in a simply disastrous position, from which pilots of ordinary MiG-29SMT or Su-27, equipped with optical-electronic sighting and navigation systems of the first generations, could easily get out. The promising T-50 aviation complex will have a much more advanced OLS-50M, which will easily detect the F-22A "Raptor" at a distance of 35 km into the front hemisphere, if the American turns around relative to the T-50 with lateral, as well as lower and upper projections, - the range of direction finding will increase from 35 to 60 - 80 km: the Raptor will appear "in full view", even without the possibility of response detection and tracking of our T-50. This is the main fact that testifies to the qualitative superiority of our advanced fighter over the American one.
The only positive moment for the F-22A pilot is the presence of an AN / AAR-56 missile launch warning station. The station has a distributed optoelectronic aperture of 7 infrared sensors, symmetrically located on the upper surface of the air intakes (2 units), the lower forming of the forward fuselage (4 units), and also in front of the cockpit canopy (1 unit). Miniature thermal imaging cameras are a simplified analogue of the more advanced DAS system installed on the F-35A, and are capable of detecting and tracking launching missiles through the torch of a rocket engine until the fuel burns out. AN / AAR-56 is hardly suitable for detecting thermal radiation from jet engines of enemy aircraft in non-afterburning modes (the lens aperture and matrix sensitivity are not the same). But this station is quite capable of detecting short-range launches of air defense missiles and missiles. By design, there is a decent resemblance to the attack missile detection station (SOAP) installed on our MiG-35.
In the middle of their publication, the authors of The National Interest recalled the high capabilities of the Russian military-industrial complex in the development of electronic countermeasures systems, indicating their use on the T-50 PAK FA. And they were not mistaken at all. In terms of these parameters, the American F-22A is many times inferior to the Russian fighter.
The American vehicle uses the Sanders / General Electric AN / ALR-944 electronic warfare station. As its main radiating antenna, transmit-receive modules (PPM) of the AN / APG-77 onboard radar are used. Thanks to this, "Raptor" can carry out the setting of sighting in frequency and angular coordinates of interference with an accuracy close to the main modes of operation of the AN / APG-77 radar. AN / ALR-944 can work on target designation of external means, but the main source of data is 30 sensors of the AN / ALR-94 radiation warning and electronic reconnaissance system. The RAP system of the Raptor fighter is not without its drawbacks: the high accuracy of targeting jamming is carried out exclusively within the 120-degree sector of view of the onboard radar, i.e. only in the front hemisphere. In the rear hemisphere, apparently, the setting of barrage noise interference is carried out by a weakly directional method using small emitters of the tail elements of the airframe. To set up all-aspect sighting jamming, the Raptor will need an electronic warfare pod, which will definitely increase the fighter's radar signature, and therefore such an option is excluded. This role will be performed by electronic warfare aircraft F / A-18G.
The Russian T-50 PAK FA is equipped with the much more advanced Himalaya electronic warfare station. It also uses the energy and physical resources of the onboard radar complex N036 (Sh-121). This suggests that sighting interference can be emitted not only by the main nose radar, but also by the above-described side-looking stations N036B / B-01; in this case, high accuracy of jamming by enemy radar means can also be carried out in the lateral hemispheres (up to 120-140 degrees relative to the heading direction), which is more than 2 times more than the "Raptor" electronic warfare station. Wing L-band radars can be programmed for point suppression of enemy ground satellite navigation aids operating in the frequency range from 1176, 45 to 1575, 42 MHz. The Raptor clearly does not possess such abilities.
At the end of the article-comparison of the T-50 PAK FA and F-22A, the author recalled the highest maneuverability of the T-50, achieved due to the deflected thrust vector of the AL-41F1 turbojet engines. This is indeed the case. For example, the velocity of the thrust vector deflection for this engine is 60 degrees / s, and the deflection angles of the relative longitudinal axis of the engine are 20 degrees. OVT of our engines is all-aspect, thanks to which both the Su-35S and T-50 PAK FA, when performing super-maneuverable figures, can perform very energetic turns in the yaw plane. The American F-22A has flat rotary nozzles of the F119-PW-100 engines also deflected by 20 degrees, but only in the vertical plane, and the deflection speed is only 20 deg / s, which makes the Raptor's maneuvers more viscous. »And are realized exclusively in the pitch plane, which you can observe for yourself by watching some of these aircraft performances at western air shows.
Having listed the many technological advantages of our next generation fighter, one should not forget about the existing drawback, which must be eliminated by the time the first serial T-50 units are adopted by the Aerospace Forces. The AL-41F1 bypass turbojet engines installed on the machines of the first experimental stage produce a total thrust of only 30,000 kgf, the normal takeoff weight (with full internal fuel tanks and several guided missiles for long-range air combat) reaches 30,610 kg, which is why the thrust-to-weight ratio does not reach 1 kgf / kg and remains at the level of 0.98. In a similar situation, the Raptor's thrust-to-weight ratio reaches 1.08 kgf / kg. This means that the American car today can sometimes dominate the verticals, and also has a lower deceleration rate when going into vertical flight. According to the head of the United Aircraft Corporation PJSC, Yuri Slyusar, the situation with this characteristic will change dramatically starting from the second stage machines. The fighters will begin to equip the upgraded product 30 power plant (modernization of the AL-41F1) with a thrust increased to 18,000 kgf, as well as an improved service life and fuel efficiency. This indicates the preservation of the flight range and a sharp increase in the thrust-to-weight ratio of the T-50. For the first time in the history of military aviation in the 21st century, a 5th generation fighter will reach a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.97 with a maximum take-off weight of 37 tons. With a normal takeoff weight of 30610 kg, this parameter will be 1, 18 kgf / kg. The F-22A will be left far behind.
Tactical moments when comparing two machines are also very important in a possible confrontation in the theater of operations of the XXI century. The T-50 with 12,900 kg of fuel in its internal tanks has a combat radius, provided that the cruising supersonic mode is used on a certain segment of the trajectory, about 1050 km. If the cruising supersonic mode was not used, the combat radius can reach 1900-2000 km, one refueling during the flight will increase it to 2700 km. Without refueling, the PAK FA, having risen from one of the air bases in the Moscow region, can arrive in Danish airspace, destroy a couple of F-16A and a couple of F-35A there, and then return to the deployment airfield. What can the Raptor do?
The fuel tanks of the F-22A hold 8,200 kg of fuel, which is barely enough to carry out an impact operation within a radius of 760 km, taking into account the use of supersonic sound. If we take into account air combat with the enemy, which requires time, maneuvers and fuel consumption, the radius can be reduced to 600 - 650 km with the inevitable use of supersonic cruising speed with a decrease in the troposphere. If the standard flight mode is used at a speed of about 950 km / h, the range without refueling can reach only 1250 km, which is barely enough to reach the western borders of Russia, as well as the Gulf of Finland. Considering that during the period of a possible conflict with NATO in the Kaliningrad region and Belarus, S-400 Triumph divisions and systems will be deployed, NATO tanker aircraft will not be able to support the coalition's tactical aviation in the Baltic airspace, and combat operations will completely fall on the shoulders of stealth pilots. fighters such as F-22A and F-35A. Raptor pilots with their range cannot even dream of conducting long air battles near our air borders. At the same time, the T-50 PAK FA has much more technological and tactical bells and whistles, thanks to which the machine can be considered a true "strategist among tacticians."
