Russia Will Test New UCAV in 2012

Dozor-600 UAV

The flight testing of the first indigenous Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle will be carried out in Russia in 2012, Lenta.ru reports. "We will start the testing of medium UCAV in late 2012", - said Chief of General Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Nikolay Makarov. However he did not specify what UCAV will be tested.

Russian Ministry of Defense has signed contracts with St. Petersburg-based Tranzas Company and Kazan-based development design office OKB Sokol on pilot-plan and research activities in October 2011.

The total value of signed agreements was about 3 billion rubles. It is planned to develop a reconnaissance UAV and UCAV with weight of about 1 ton and 5 tons respectively in the network of these programs.

According to vice-president of Tranzas, Viktor Godunov, his company has signed a strategic partnership agreement with OKB Sokol – the companies will develop both vehicles in cooperation. In particular, Tranzas will develop the guidance systems and airborne electronics for the UAVs, while Sokol will create the UAVs and ground equipment for them. It has been reported that both vehicles will perform the first flight in 2014 and the flight testing will be started in 2015.

Russian Air Force Will Acquire Advanced Strike-Fighter By 2020

Su-34 Fighter Bomber

Su-34 Fighter Bomber

 The deliveries of new-built advanced strike-fighter, the replacement of Su-25SМ, to the Russian air forces will be started in 2020, RIA Novosti reports. It has been reported by the representative of Russian Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Drik.

"The modern requirements for conduct of operations force the aviation designers to look for new means of reacting appropriate reaction to the potential threats. As a result, the concept of advanced strike-fighter has been elaborated. This jet should be delivered to the military units by 2020, replacing Su-25SМs", - he said.

 

According to him, the new aircraft, developed on the basis of Su-25SМ, will be able to use the whole nomenclature of tactical armament. At the same time it will be developed using stealth technologies. The aircraft will be able to use any runways and it will be equipped with state-of-the-art communication, radar and navigational systems.

Russia’s New AWACS Modernized A-50U Plane Enters Service

A modernized A-50U airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft entered service with the Russian Air Force on Monday, an AF spokesman said.

The aircraft has an advanced onboard computer, satellite communication and radar systems, Col. Vladimir Drik said.

It now has the capability to detect various types of flying targets, including helicopters, cruise missiles and supersonic aircraft, he said.

The Beriev A-50, based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport, first flew in 1978. It entered service in 1984, with about 40 produced by 1992.

Russia T-50 Stealth Fighter To Make Its International Debut At MAKS 2011

T-50 stealth fighter jointly

financed by Russia and India will make its first international public appearance at the MAKS airshow which went underway in Moscow, where Moscow unveiled its newest space shuttle, armed drones and a new range of upgraded weapons.

Two prototypes of the single seater jet, estimated to cost USD 6 billion, are expected to fly over Zhukovsky air field on the outskirts of Moscow.

"The co-development projects of the two countries will remain centerpiece of the Russian aviation industry", declared Mikhail Pogosyan, President of the United Aircraft Corporation, makers of the aircraft.

Russian PAK-DA Next Generation Stealth Bomber Not For Us :Says IAF Official

Indian air force official have Said that , “IAF never ever considered nor did Russians ever presented any proposal on it ” has quoted by a serving IAF official when asked on rumors of India’s interest in PAK-DA development or purchase .

PAK DA (or PAK-DA), is a next generation strategic bomber which is being developed by Russia. It stands for Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Dalney Aviatsyi which means Future Air Complex for Strategic Air Forces. The PAK DA is going to be heavily based on Russia’s current supersonic bomber Tupolev Tu-160 and is expected to have it’s maiden flight by 2015. and enter service by 2020-25 time frame .

Russia To Sell 34 Mi-171 Transport Helicopters To China

Russia will finalize the sale of 34 transportation helicopters to China by August, the Interfax news agency reported Friday.

The Mi-171 helicopters are being built in a plant in Russia's Buryat republic. The plant is a part of the Russian Helicopters holding.

The plant's CEO, Leonid Belykh, said the contract for building the helicopters was signed in 2010.

"This is not the first and hopefully not the last contract with our Chinese partners," he said.

Belykh said that Russian helicopter builders have been gradually shifting their cooperation with China from direct shipment to joint projects.

IAF Chief Naik Witness Flight Demonstration OF PAK FA Stealth Fighter Jet in Russia

Indian Air Force chief Pradeep Vasant Naik witnessed flight demonstration of 5th Generation fighter aircraft PAK FA along with upgraded Indian air force’s Mig-29UPG .

Event was witnessed by the President of the United Aircraft Corporation, CEO of Sukhoi and RSK MiG Mikhail Pogosyan, the representatives of Rosoboronexport, the Russian Air Force. and the flight demonstration was held at Gromov Flight Research Institute in Moscow .

New Missile Defence Shield In Romania Tests Russian-U.S. Relations

A new test for relations between Russia and the United States has arisen as Romania struck a deal with Washington Tuesday to deploy U.S. missile interceptors there, prompting Moscow to ask for "safeguards" from Washington.

This future missile shield could set one more obstacle for the talks underway between the two countries on European missile defense system, local analysts said.

Though Washington said the missile shield was to counter attacks from Iran, Moscow worried the shield could be turned against Russia, targeting its strategic nuclear forces.

Russian Fighter Jet Makers Loses Deal Of The Century

Russia has lost the largest arms tender of this century - the delivery of the medium multi-role combat aircraft for India. Russia was taking part in the tender with its MiG-35 fighter jet (a modernized version of MiG-29). The contract stipulated the delivery of 126 fighter jets in the amount of over $10 billion.

Now there are two rivals left, both of them are European companies: Rafale, France, and Eurofighter Typhoon, built by the Italian-British-European consortium.

The decision of the Defense Ministry of India is extremely important for the whole world market. Russia's defeat in the tender virtually means that Russia's Air Force will not be receiving those fighter jets either. It may also mean that Russia's chances to sell the jets to someone else in the world have decreased considerably, observers say.

 

Russia was certain from the very beginning that her aircraft would win the tender. Indian experts also estimated Russia' chances for the victory as very high. The MiG-35 fighter jet was taking an advantage over its competitors with its lower price. The jet is well-known on the world market.

 

Russian Sukhoi Begins Test Flights Of Su-35S Fighter Jet

Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer has started test flights of its first series-produced Su-35S Flanker-E multirole fighter, the company said on Tuesday.

The aircraft took off from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur airfield in Russia's Far East, spending one and a half hours in the air testing propulsion and control systems.

The Su-35 Flanker-E superiority fighter is powered by two 117S engines with thrust vectoring. It can effectively engage several air targets simultaneously using both guided and unguided missiles and weapon systems.

Russian Mig-35 Fighter Jet Misses Out Indian Contract Now Have Uncertain Future

Russia’s MiG-35 fighter jet faces an uncertain future after missing out on a lucrative contract with India.

The Asian country, which has long been a major trading partner for the Russian defence sector, had planned the biggest arms contract of the century, ordering 126 mid-range multipurpose fighters at a cost of more than $10 billion.

But the MiG bid was shot down by the French Rafale and the Typhoon Eurofighter, built by an Italian-British consortium.

And apart from the immediate loss of business, the news provokes fears that the Russian jet might now be a hard sell elsewhere in the world.

Unfounded confidence

Russia had good grounds to believe the MiG-35 would win the contract, Kommersant reported.

India Finally Stands Up To Russia's After-Sales BlackMails

India To Get Russian Military System Spares From Global Vendors

The sourcing of spares and consumables for its Russian-built aircraft and weapon systems has sunk to a new low for the IAF, with the government permitting it to issue multiple global tenders for spares across a range of systems. The move marks a striking break from the Indian defense ministry’s traditional practice of contracting spares from original equipment manufacturers via Rosoboronexport. 

 

Now the IAF is turning to vendors in Europe, Israel and the U.S. to respond to an urgent spares call for Russian-built equipment it has in inventory.

There are more than 25 tenders on the street, with more floated each day. The service needs everything from terminals and transformers for its MiG-29 fighters to main wheels for its Su-30 fleet. It also needs multiple spares for its Il-76/-78 transport fleet, Mi-26 and Mi-17 helicopters and virtually all Russian-built ground radars, including its P-19 Danubes. 

The MiG-29 situation may be the most difficult. The aircraft is undergoing an extensive upgrade, which means it needs close to 150 different spare parts, including shield installations, main and nose wheels, video amplifiers and photo diodes, as well as minor items such as transformers, capacitors and resistors. 

India, Russia Plan To Build Futuristic Main Battle Tank

Encouraged by the remarkable success of their pilot co-development defence project, the Brahmos missile, India and Russia are planning to design and build a futuristic main battle tank.

Defence industry experts will discuss the new project when a delegation of the Russian Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) tank-building factory visits India this week to participate in an international seminar on the Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) organised by the Army along with the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The two sides have already had preliminary discussions on the issue, according to UVZ Director General Nikolai Malykh.

"We put forward this idea [of a joint tank project] at the turn of the 21st century," he told journalists in Moscow. "The Indian side has now come up with a similar proposal. We will take the first step when our experts go to India to attend a conference on the future tank and prospects for the tank-building industry."

China Clones And Sells Advanced Russian Fighter Jets

A YEAR after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a cash-strapped Kremlin began selling China a chunk of its vast military arsenal.

The sale included the pride of the Russian air force, the Sukhoi-27 fighter jet.

For the next 15 years, Russia was China's biggest arms supplier, providing $US20 billion ($20.13bn) to $US30 billion of fighters, destroyers, submarines, tanks and missiles. It even sold Beijing a licence to make the Su-27 fighter jet - with imported Russian parts.

Today, Russia's military bonanza is over, and China's is just beginning.

After decades of importing and reverse-engineering Russian arms, China has reached a tipping point: It now can produce many of its own advanced weapons - including high-tech fighter jets like the Su-27 - and is on the verge of building an aircraft carrier.

Not only have Chinese engineers cloned the prized Su-27's avionics and radar but they are fitting it with the last piece in the technological puzzle, a Chinese jet engine.
In the past two years, Beijing hasn't placed a major order from Moscow.

Now, China is starting to export much of this weaponry, undercutting Russia in the developing world, and potentially altering the military balance in several of the world's flash points.

This epochal turnaround was palpable in the Russian pavilion at November's Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai. Russia used to be the star of this show, wowing visitors with its "Russian Knights" aerobatic team, showing off fighters, helicopters and cargo planes, and sealing multibillion dollar deals on the sidelines.

This year, it didn't bring a single real aircraft - only a handful of plastic miniatures, tended by a few dozen bored sales staff.

China, by contrast, laid on its biggest commercial display of military technology - almost all based on Russian know-how.

The star guests were the "Sherdils," a Pakistani aerobatic team flying fighter jets that are Russian in origin but are now being produced by Pakistan and China.

"We used to be the senior partner in this relationship - now we're the junior one," said Ruslan Pukhov, of the Russian Defence Ministry's Public Advisory Council, a civilian advisory body to the military.

Russia's predicament mirrors that of many foreign companies as China starts to compete in global markets with advanced trains, power-generating equipment and other civilian products based on technology obtained from the West.

Russia To Continue Military Conscription For Next 10-15 Years

Russian Armed Forces will continue using a mixture of conscripts and contracted recruits for the next 10-15 years, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

Russia is in the process of reforming its armed forces by shifting the focus away from a largely inefficient body of conscripted soldiers toward a smaller professional army.

The current length of military service for draftees is one year, while the shortest term of a military service contract is three years.

"I believe that in the next 10-15 years, our recruiting system should combine both conscription and contracting," Medvedev said at a meeting with paratroopers at a military base near Moscow.

"We should do everything possible to make contract service attractive and prestigious."

He said the monthly salary for an entry-level military specialist may be doubled to around 30,000 rubles ($1,000).

In line with the reform, the armed forces will be downsized to 1 million personnel by 2016. Deputy Chief of the General Staff Vasily Smirnov said on Saturday the reformed forces would be made up of 220,000 officers, 425,000 contract servicemen and 300,000 conscript soldiers.

Russia Arms Exports At Record Level Till 2014

Russian arms exports are expected to stay at record levels of about $10 billion a year until at least 2014 as top customer India continues to beef up its armaments, leading military think tank CAST said on Monday. Peddling missiles, submarines and fighter planes, Russia is feeding a hungry market of Asian countries warily eyeing China's growing military might and African nations preparing for the worst in potential regional conflicts.

As the world's second top arms exporter, Russia ended last year with a record $45 billion contract portfolio. Arms exporters signed $15 billion in contracts during the year, CAST estimated.

"The existing portfolio of contracts will be enough to keep Russian arms exports at the current level for another four years or more," CAST said in the report, obtained by Reuters ahead of publication.

Rosoboronexport, Russia's weapons export monopoly delivered $8.6 billion in arms last year. Nearly 20 independent firms make up the difference with sales of spare parts and upgrades. Rosoboronexport generally makes up 80 percent of all arms exports in a given year.

USA Confirms Plans For Missile Defense Base in Poland

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed Washington's plans to deploy missile defenses and Air Force units in Poland.

"As was announced by our two presidents in December, we plan to establish a new permanent U.S. air detachment in Poland, build missile defenses in Poland, and as agreed at the NATO summit, develop a contingency plan in the region," Clinton told journalists ahead of talks with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Washington.

Wikileaks published U.S. cables in late 2010 showing that NATO was drawing up a plan on the protection of Estonia, Lithuania and Poland from external threats on a request from the United States and Germany.

 The Guardian reported that under the plan, reportedly approved by Clinton, the United States, Britain, Germany and Poland would deploy troops in the region in case of a military aggression against the Baltic States or Poland itself.

According to the British newspaper, NATO members approved the draft plan during the alliance's summit in Lisbon in November 2010.

In 2009, the United States decided to deploy several F-16 fighter jets and Hercules transport aircraft in Poland. Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich has said the United States was also planning to deploy Patriot missile defense systems in Poland at a base just 100 kilometers from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

"We have a full agenda that will concentrate on three essential areas: building our mutual security, expanding prosperity and promoting democracy," Clinton said on Thursday, adding "as we grow our military partnership, we continue to expand economic ties between the Polish and American people."

Moscow has long opposed the deployment of U.S. missile defenses near its borders, arguing they would be a security threat and could destroy the strategic balance of forces in Europe.

The United States scrapped earlier plans in September last year for an anti-ballistic-missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Moscow welcomed the move, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said later that Russia would drop plans to deploy Iskander-M tactical missiles in its Kaliningrad Region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so called Euro missile defense system at the Lisbon summit. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system.

Second Prototype Of the Russian PAK FA T-50 Stealth Fighter made its First Flight

The second prototype of a promising fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA) made its maiden flight, according to Interfax . The plane took off from the runway of Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association. The flight was successful. Fighter piloted by distinguished test pilot Sergei Bogdan Russia, in early 2010 flew the first prototype of the T-50.
According to Bogdan, all on-board aircraft systems worked normally. "Stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air got a good grade. All systems and aircraft engine worked flawlessly," - said an unnamed source agency in the military-industrial complex. Previously, the second prototype T-50 passed ground tests. Parallel tests were carried out and the first prototype of the T-50, which to date has made 40 flights.

As expected, the test airframe PAK FA will be completed in 2011-2012 and in 2013 the Russian Defense Ministry will conclude with the "Dry" contract for the supply of ten aircraft to test the weapons. The first phase of testing T-50 finish before the end of 2013. Continuous buying fighter jets will begin in 2016 and will be implemented under the state program of armaments for 2011-2020. Apart from an experimental batch of ten aircraft in 2016 is planned to buy 60 more such vehicles. On further procurement of aircraft while it is not known.

PAK FA made its first flight on Jan. 29, 2010. Technical characteristics of the aircraft are classified. It is only known that T-50 will be highly intellectualization of the board and be able to take off and landing on runways length of 300-400 meters. The aircraft will be capable of performing combat missions in any weather and time of day, and will also maneuverability.

Made In Germany For Russia’s Army

Germany is joining a scramble among West-European producers of military equipment for Russian orders. NATO and the United States are silent bystanders to this growing trend, which challenges the Alliance’s defense posture and planning, as well as the US’s hitherto trend-setting role in the Alliance.

On February 9 in Moscow, the Chairman of Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall Defense, Klaus Eberhardt, signed with Russian Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, an agreement whereby Rheinmetall will plan and equip a troop training center in Russia. The center is to be co-located with Russia’s main artillery training range at Mulino near Nizhniy Novgorod on the Volga. It will enable Russian brigade-sized units to test combat readiness for combined-arms operations, using Rheinmetall’s state-of-the-art equipment to simulate realistic battlefield conditions and assess troop and staff performance.

In addition, Russia’s defense ministry and Rheinmetall agreed to negotiate the establishment of a joint enterprise on Russian territory for “maintenance, servicing, and modernization of armaments and military vehicles (‘tekhnika’)” (Interfax, RIA Novosti, February 9; www.rheinmetall.de).

Rheinmetall becomes the first Western company to endow Russia with a modern center for troop training. According to Igor Korotchenko, chief editor of the Natsionalnaya Oborona [National Defense] journal and member of the advisory Public Council of Russia’s Defense Ministry, Russian forces will gain access to best-practice German training methods thanks to the Rheinmetall-equipped center (RIA Novosti, February 14).

Rheinmetall, one of Germany’s largest producers of military equipment, was also approached by Russia’s defense ministry in 2010 for the possible sale of a manufacturing license for armor plate. This may have some connection with the February 9 decision (see above) to negotiate toward a joint enterprise in Russia for modernizing military vehicles (the Russian military term “tekhnika” customarily denotes armored vehicles).

Rheinmetall can look back at a tradition of military cooperation with Tsarist and Soviet Russia, including on training ranges. In 1904-1905, the company supplied artillery ammunition for the Russian army during the Russo-Japanese war (www.steinhaeusser.info). Following the 1922 Rapallo Treaty and 1924 Berlin Treaty of Friendship between Germany and Soviet Russia (both documents directed against Poland), Rheinmetall became one of the German concerns that started producing battle tank prototypes, for testing at Russia’s training range near Kazan on the Volga. Those prototypes led to mass production of German tanks after 1933 (www.achtungpanzer.com)

Concurrently with the Rheinmetall deal, Moscow has announced the intention to put Ka-52 combat helicopters on the French Mistral-class warships it plans to procure. France and Russia signed the inter-governmental agreement on procurement of the Mistrals on January 25 (EDM, January 26). Moscow made clear all along that it was interested in procuring the Mistrals as an offensive platform for Russian armored vehicles and helicopters. Russia’s military is currently testing Ka-52 helicopters for take-off and landing aboard amphibious platforms, preparatory to adapting that helicopter type for use aboard Mistral-class ships. The Ka-52 is equipped to carry 23 millimeter (mm) and 30 mm caliber cannon, anti-tank guided missiles, air-to-air missiles, and gravitational bombs of up to 500 kilograms. The Russian military has chosen to provide these details via a television channel specifically dedicated to Russia’s “near abroad” (NTV “Mir,” February 13).

Under Russia’s military doctrine and organization, naval forces are auxiliary to ground forces, to be used in support of ground operations in the event of hostilities. This indeed was the role of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the 2008 invasion of Georgia. In a hypothetical crisis or possible hostilities at some future time, Mistral warships would enable Russia to threaten some Black Sea or Baltic country with a coastal landing, in addition to a ground force attack. The mere prospect of opening a second front from the sea would tie down some defending forces there, thinning out the defenses against a ground attack. Essentially, the Mistral can become an instrument for maritime supremacy and intimidation vis-a-vis Russia’s maritime neighbors, including NATO member and partner countries. All this belongs in the realm of military hypothesis and contingency planning, which the Mistral deployment in the Baltic and Black Sea would significantly complicate for NATO.

While announcing the Rheinmetall deal, Russia’s defense ministry reconfirmed the go-ahead to implement the agreement with Italian Iveco to set up a joint enterprise in Russia for serial production of Lynx light multi-purpose armored vehicles (Interfax, February 9). These are gradually to replace Russia’s own BTR-80 and Tiger armored vehicles. Apart from the Mistral deal, France is negotiating with Russia over the “Felin” “soldier of the future” combat kit and Safran-Sagem avionics for Russian fighter planes. These deals would involve sale of batches of the French equipment to Russia, along with licenses for joint serial production on Russian territory (EDM, January 3, 4).

Some in NATO take comfort from assumptions that Russian personnel lacks the necessary training or even overall military competence for using advanced Western equipment effectively; or that the Russian military is incapable of waging a major war, or conducting two local wars simultaneously. This assessment was offered for discussion in NATO following Russia’s 2009 Zapad and Ladoga major offensive exercises near Poland and the Baltic States. The same assessment noted, however, that Russian forces are undoubtedly capable of conducting one conflict at a time on Russia’s western peripheries. According to documents just made public through WikiLeaks, however, a group of Allies including Poland, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, and Romania criticized NATO’s passive response to Russian military exercises, and called for steps to reinforce the credibility of NATO defense guarantees. The US ambassador reported sympathetically to Washington about the Central European allies’ concerns, according to the WikiLeaks material (Die Welt, February 14).

However, West-European sales of advanced military equipment to Russia will further strengthen the latter at the expense of NATO members and partner countries, which Moscow regards as its “near abroad.” NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, steadfastly opposes debate within NATO on military sales to Russia. The Obama administration seems to avoid this issue in order to protect its “reset” of relations with Russia. The  US Congress can, however, step into this vacuum of authority, and consider the impact of West European military sales to Russia on the security of US allies in NATO and partners in Europe’s East.