Soon the Russian Air Force will receive the latest 5th generation T-50 fighter. The plane is expensive, about one hundred million US dollars in today's exchange rate, and the average taxpayer may well have a question about the advisability of spending such a significant amount of money.
Why do we need PAK FA and other questions
Do our military need such an expensive "toy", is there an urgent need for it and what will be its role in ensuring a peaceful sky over our country? What opponents will the aircraft meet in the alleged and probable air battles? Will he be able to emerge victorious from them and what is the probability of such an outcome? What tasks will this “front-line aviation complex”, and even a promising one, have to solve? What are its features and characteristics? And who was the first to start the next round of the air force race? The last question may be the key to answering all the others.
Race inair
The arms race has always taken place in the history of mankind. The advantages of the army, which owns the most advanced models of technology, if not one hundred percent, then at least significantly influenced the outcome of wars. Since the mid-forties, the rapid development of jet aviation began. One after another, generations of fighters were replaced, each of which differed from the previous one in ever better technical characteristics: speed, rate of climb, ceiling, maneuverability, caliber and number of barrels of airborne small arms, the presence and number of missiles of various types, detection and navigation. There have been five generations so far. The last of these includes the American F-22 and F-35, the Chinese J-20 and the Russian T-50. A fifth-generation fighter can be immediately distinguished from aircraft that until recently were considered the latest in aviation technology.
External differences
So, what are the external signs of the latest interceptor aircraft? Their first and main difference lies in their somewhat angular outlines, unusual after the beautiful smooth silhouettes of MiGs, Sabers, Phantoms and Dry, which everyone has become accustomed to over the past decades. Of course, aesthetics have nothing to do with it. The outer contours, consisting of planes intersecting at a certain angle, are due to the ability of surfaces to reflect radar radiation so that, to the greatest extent possible, they do not return to the receiving antenna of the locator, but go somewhere to the side. SameThe requirement also dictates the absence or minimization of weapons on external suspensions, which, due to the complex geometric shape, “shine” especially brightly. People who understand a little about aviation will also note the third sign by which a fifth-generation fighter can be distinguished. PAK FA T-50, like its foreign counterparts-contemporaries, has a rotary thrust vector. If this technical term is translated into common language, this means that the nozzles are able to rotate about the longitudinal center line in two or three planes. In all other respects, the fifth generation aircraft have approximately the same design as previous models.
Materials
The appearance of technology does not allow us to judge many other parameters that are inaccessible to the eye. The new fifth-generation T-50 fighter is made not only from titanium and aluminum alloys, but to a large extent (almost half) its design is made using composite plastic materials. Technological advances in chemical products have opened the way for the use of polymers to make parts that were previously only made of metal. This immediately solved many problems: the weight became less, the risk of operational corrosion also decreased, but the main effect was low visibility for air defense systems. Polymer chains serve as a kind of damper that dampens high-frequency radiation. Recent advances in this area have found application in the materials for the manufacture of the T-50. The fifth generation fighter should be highly maneuverable, ste althy and have supersonic speeds.characteristics. Therefore, it needs to be light, strong and reflect as little high frequency radiation as possible.
"Raptor" - "first pancake"
The Americans were pioneers in the implementation of the principles of the fifth generation of fighter aircraft. They also tasted the first bitter fruits of the experience.
Low radar visibility, which has become an urgent need in modern warfare, has created a huge number of problems for aircraft designers. Ideas about aerodynamics had to be revised, which significantly worsened flight performance. Strength also suffered. The Raptor can withstand less loads than the Phantom, which was the workhorse of the US Air Force during the Vietnam War (4.95g/0.8 max for the F-22 versus 5.50g/0.8 max for the F-4E). Its speed is also lower than that of aircraft developed in the late 50s and gained combat experience in the 60s.
Modest flight characteristics are also due to the need for intra-fuselage placement of weapons. MiGs, "Phantoms" and "Tomcats" carried missiles under the wings, and almost all of their interior space was occupied by the power plant, fuel tanks, cockpit, avionics and other important components. Of course, the extra volume impairs aerodynamics. And this entails very serious consequences. If the Raptor is nevertheless detected, and the enemy fires a missile at it, then all that remains for the pilot is to eject in advance. There is little chance to get away from the blow.
An American plane costs about 350 million. One hour of his flight,taking into account the operating costs and the pilot's salary, it "pulls" $ 44,000. It is expensive. The Raptor F-22 is already out of production.
Chinese Black Eagle
In China, jet fighters began to build one generation late. At the dawn of the national aviation industry, there were no own designs, Soviet aircraft were copied. Therefore, the Chinese modestly classify their Ste alth J-20 as the fourth generation, although by world standards it rather corresponds to the fifth. Little is known about Chengdu, but judging by its appearance, it largely remains the bearer of the ideas of Soviet designers.
The failed MiG-1.44 project inspired Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation engineers to create a similar composition scheme. From Russian aircraft, the Black Eagle, as the J-20 is also called, also received engines. For the fifth-generation fighter T-50, the designers of the Sukhoi design bureau provided for dual-circuit power plants with a thrust vector that is variable in two planes. Details are unknown, but two engines develop thrust up to 18 tons, which, of course, is more than that of the J-20.
Another American
In the late eighties, the United States began an ambitious program to rearm the Marine Corps. To replace the Hornet, the F-18 needed a new aircraft with some of the hallmarks of the next generation of aircraft. The task was complicated by two requirements presented by the Pentagon: the possibility of sea-based ship-based and the lowest possible cost. Won the competitionaircraft developed by Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning" ("Lightning"). In terms of its flight and operational characteristics, as well as its combat qualities, it is inferior even to Russian Su-35 class interceptors. The T-50, a fifth-generation fighter, vastly outperforms it in almost every way.
How to identify the leader?
Currently, three aircraft can theoretically claim prizes when choosing the best modern interceptor. At the same time, the very comparison of fifth-generation fighters seems to be a difficult task. T-50, F-22, J-20 and even F-35 are classified samples, the details of their designs are a state secret, and they can only be judged by the fragmentary information that nevertheless leaked to the press during their exhibition shows. Nevertheless, certain conclusions can be drawn.
Comparison of "Dry" with "Raptor"
Due to the lack of detailed technical information, it makes sense to use the simplest estimation method, geometric. The PAK-FA is larger than the Raptor, meaning more rockets or guided bombs can fit in its weapon bays. So it is, according to published data, it carries 10 SD in the fuselage and 6 more under the wings (the F-22 has 12 and 4, respectively). At the same time, Western experts point to a deterioration in ste alth when using external suspensions, but Russian engineers vaguely hint that they owntechnology "Plasma-ste alth", leveling this shortcoming. You can also judge whose 5th generation fighter is better by the radius of combat use. The T-50 can cover 5,500 km, while the F-22 is only 3,200 km. The advantages of the Raptor are manifested in a special thermal trace dissipation system, as well as in a radar operating with optimal radiation power. Both of these features make it difficult to detect infrared. It also has a high supersonic cruising speed (Mach 1.8, like the T-50), allowing it to arrive at the air combat site faster. What's next?
Intended fight
The maneuverability of the Russian fifth-generation T-50 fighter is significantly better than that of the American F-22 interceptor. This, with all other comparable parameters, determines success in modern air combat, judging by the military experience of recent decades. At the same time, both aircraft were created to solve a variety of tasks, including for strikes against ground targets. Unlike its American “colleague”, the Russian T-50, a fifth-generation fighter, can also be a supersonic attack aircraft, while the Raptor needs to slow down before firing.
Without belittling the merits of the American interceptor, we can assume that in the case of air combat, other things being equal, success will accompany the Russian aircraft more often than the American one. Experts even call the approximate ratio of possible losses: one to four. On practiceit is better not to check this figure.
