Soon Air Force of the Russian Federation will get the newest fighter aircraft 5th-generation T-50.The aircraft is expensive, about a hundred million dollars, based on today's exchange rate, and the average taxpayer may be asked about the appropriateness of spending such a large sum of money.
Why do we need the PAK FA, and other issues
Do this not cheap "toy" our military, whether it has a pressing need, and what will its role in ensuring the peaceful sky over our country?What opponents of the aircraft will meet in suspected and probable air battles?Can he get out of them the winner and what is the likelihood of such an outcome?What are the challenges to be addressed to this "front-line aviation complex", but still promising?What are its features and specifications?And who started another round of military air race?The last question may be the key to respond to all the others.
Race in the air
arms race took place in the history of mankind forever.Advantages of the army, which owns the most perfect examples of the art, if not a hundred percent, then at least significantly influence the outcome of the war.Since the mid-forties rapid development of jet aircraft.One after another, alternated generation of fighters, each of which is different from all the previous best technical characteristics: speed, rate of climb, ceiling and maneuverability, the caliber and quantity of small arms barrel board, the presence and the number of different types of missiles, detection and navigation.Whole generations until it was five.For the latter of these include US F-22 and F-35, J-20 Chinese and Russian T-50.Fifth-generation fighter just in appearance can be distinguished from the aircraft, until recently were considered the last word in aviation technology.
External differences
So, what are the outward signs of advanced interceptor aircraft?The first and the main difference between them is more angular shapes, unusual after a beautiful flowing silhouettes MiGs, "Sabres", "Phantom" and "dry", which are all used for the past decade.Of course, aesthetics is not to blame.External contours consisting of intersecting planes at a certain angle, due to the ability to reflect radar radiation surfaces so that as much as possible to a greater extent, they did not come back to the receiving antenna radar, and went off somewhere to the side.The same requirements as dictated by the absence or minimization of arms on the external load, which, because of complex geometric shapes "light" particularly bright.People understand a little in the air, and will mark the third feature by which you can distinguish a fifth generation fighter.PAK FA T-50, as his foreign fellow contemporaries, has a rotary thrust vector.If translate this technical term for a common language, this means that the nozzles are rotatable about the longitudinal center line in two or three dimensions.In all other planes fifth generation have approximately the same structure as the previous model.
Materials
Appearance technology does not allow to judge the many other options that are not available to the eye.New fifth generation fighter T-50 not only made of titanium and aluminum alloys, to a considerable extent (almost half), its construction is made using a plastic composite material.Technological advances have opened the way for chemical products use polymers for the manufacture of parts that were previously made only of metal.This immediately solved a lot of problems: become less weight, the risk of corrosion is also decreased production, but the main effect has been noticeable for small air defense.Polymer chains are kind of damper, high-frequency quenching the radiation.Recent advances in this field have been used in the materials of manufacturing the T-50.Fifth-generation fighter to be super-maneuverable, stealthy and enjoy supersonic speed characteristics.Therefore, it needs to be light, strong, and reflect as little as possible high-frequency radiation.
«Raptor" - "the first pancake»
Americans found themselves pioneers in implementing the principles of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft.They are also first tasted the bitter fruit of experience.
low radar signature, which has become a necessity in the conditions of modern warfare, aircraft created a lot of problems.Representations about aerodynamics had to be revised, which significantly worsened the flying qualities.Victims and strength."Raptor" stand lower load than the "Phantom", the former "workhorse" USAF even during the Vietnam War (4,95g / 0,8 max the F-22 against 5,50g / 0,8 max at the F-4E).Its speed is also lower than that of aircraft designed in the late 50s, and received combat experience in the 60s.
modest flight characteristics caused and the need to accommodate vnutrifyuzelyazhnyh arms.MiGs, "Phantoms" and "Tomcat" missiles carried under the wings, and almost all of the interior space they occupied a power plant, fuel tanks, crew cabin, avionics and other critical components.Clearly, additional volume impairs the aerodynamics.This entails very serious consequences.If the "Raptor" still be found, and his opponent fired a missile, then all that is left to the pilot to eject it in advance.Leave little chance of a stroke.
American aircraft worth about 350 million.One hour of the flight, taking into account operating costs and salaries of the pilot "pulls" of 44 000 $.It is expensive.«Raptor» F-22 has already discontinued.
Chinese "black eagle»
The Chinese fighter jets began to build with a delay of one generation.At the beginning of the people's own designs aircraft industry was not copied by Soviet planes.Therefore, your "Stealth» J-20 Chinese modestly refers to the fourth generation, but by international standards it is likely corresponds to the fifth.On the "Chengdu" little is known, but judging by their appearance, it remains largely a carrier of ideas Soviet designers.
Failed Project 1.44 MiG-inspired engineers Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation to establish a similar compositional scheme.From the Russian aircraft "Black Eagle" is also referred to as J-20, received and engines.For the fifth-generation fighter T-50 designers CB "Dry" provided a double-circuit power plants with a variable in two planes thrust vector.Details are unknown, but the two traction engine developing up to 18 tons, which, of course, more than the J-20.
Another American
In the late eighties in the United States began an ambitious program to re-Marine Corps.To replace the "Hornet» F-18 needed a new aircraft, which has some of the features of the next generation of aircraft.The task was complicated by two claims brought by the Pentagon: the ability of marine ship-based as possible, and lower cost.Winning the competition aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning" ("Lightning").According to its flight and performance, as well as fighting qualities he gives even the Russian-class interceptors Su-35.T-50 fifth-generation fighter, it far exceeds almost all respects.
How to identify a leader?
At present the prizes in choosing the best modern interceptor could theoretically claim three aircraft.This seems very difficult task comparing fifth-generation fighter.T-50, F-22, J-20 and even the F-35 are examples classified, details of their structures is a state secret, and judge them only on the fragmentary information that have leaked to the press during their exhibition shows.Still, certain conclusions can be made.
Compare "dry" with "Raptor»
Due to the lack of technical information, it makes sense to use the easiest method of evaluation, geometric.PAK-FA is large in comparison with the "Raptor", therefore, in its weapons bay can hold more missiles and guided bombs.It is, according to published data it carries 10 SD in the fuselage and 6 under the wings (the F-22, respectively, 12 and 4).At the same Western experts point to the deterioration of the stealth with external suspension, but Russian engineers vaguely hinted that possess the technology of "Plasma-Stealth" leveling this shortcoming.Judge, whose fighter 5 th generation is better and can be radially combat use.T-50 may overcome the 5.5 th. Km, while the only 22 F-3.2 thousand. Km.Advantages of "Raptor" appear in a special heat dissipation system footprint, as well as radars operating at optimum capacity of radiation.Both of these features make it difficult to detect infrared.It also has a high supersonic cruising speed (Mach 1.8, as in T-50), allowing it to quickly arrive at the scene of the air combat.What next?
Estimated fight
maneuvering characteristics of the Russian fifth generation fighter T-50 is much better than the American F-22 interceptor.This is comparable with all other parameters, determines the success of a modern air combat, judging by the recent decades of military experience.At the same time the two aircraft were created for the solution of various problems, including for attacks on ground targets.Unlike the American "colleagues" Russian T-50 fifth-generation fighter, it can also be a supersonic attack aircraft, while the "Raptor" before the shot you need to slow down.
Without belittling the merits of the American interceptor, it can be assumed that in the case of air combat, ceteris paribus success will accompany Russian planes more often than American.Experts even called the approximate ratio of possible losses: one in four.In practice, the better this figure is still not checked.
