The Issues Of STOVL...

Yakovlev Design Bureau continues to keep the topic "afloat". But then we get this from... Russian Government (Ministry of Transportation) news feed. Yesterday...

02 августа 2024, 21:18

Возобновить работы по созданию самолетов вертикального взлета и посадки, причем на новом уровне (пятого поколения), готова российская авиастроительная компания «Яковлев», которая входит в структуру Объединенной авиастроительной корпорации Ростеха. Андрей Богинский заместитель генерального директора ОАК по гражданской авиации — генеральный директор ПАО «Яковлев» заявил об этом. Российская компания за последние 60 лет накопила богатый опыт и расширила свои компетенции в разработке и обеспечении эксплуатации самолетов такого типа и готова в сжатые сроки воплотить их в жизнь, по его словам. Як-141 — первый в мире сверхзвуковой самолет вертикального взлета и посадки - стал высшим достижением ОКБ по направлению СВВП. 12 мировых рекордов было установлено на этом самолете летчиком-испытателем ОКБ Яковлева А.А. Синициным.
 
К настоящему времени ОКБ им. А.С. Яковлева, точнее, уже ПАО «Яковлев» Объединенной авиастроительной корпорации, не только сохранило, но и приумножило свои возможности в создании самолетов вертикального взлета и посадки. Как отметил Андрей Богинский, оно является единственной компанией в нашей стране, обладающей реальным опытом разработки и обеспечения эксплуатации такого типа самолетов. «Наши конструкторы исследовали перспективы создания еще более совершенных машин, соответствующих уровню пятого поколения боевой авиации. Тема самолета вертикального взлета и посадки была заморожена в трудные 1990-е года, однако научно-технический задел у нас сохранен. Его соединение с новыми авиационными технологиями позволяет достаточно быстро вернуться к созданию самолетов вертикального взлета и посадки», — сказал он.

Translation: 02 August 2024, 21:18 The Russian aircraft manufacturer Yakovlev, which is part of the United Aircraft Corporation Rostec, is ready to resume work on creating vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and at a new level (fifth generation). Andrey Boginsky, Deputy General Director of UAC for Civil Aviation - General Director of PJSC Yakovlev, announced this. Over the past 60 years, the Russian company has accumulated extensive experience and expanded its competencies in the development and operation of aircraft of this type and is ready to implement them in a short time, according to him. The Yak-141, the world's first supersonic vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, became the highest achievement of the design bureau in the VTOL direction. 12 world records were set on this aircraft by the test pilot of the Yakovlev Design Bureau A.A. Sinitsyn. To date, the A.S. Yakovlev, or more precisely, PAO Yakovlev of the United Aircraft Corporation, not only preserved but also increased its capabilities in creating vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. As Andrey Boginsky noted, it is the only company in our country with real experience in developing and operating this type of aircraft. "Our designers have studied the prospects for creating even more advanced machines that correspond to the level of the fifth generation of combat aircraft. The topic of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft was frozen in the difficult 1990s, but we have preserved the scientific and technical groundwork. Its combination with new aviation technologies allows us to return to the creation of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft fairly quickly," he said.

The key here are "new technologies", which, of course, are composite materials, newest avionics and new engines. Speculations abound but keep in mind that six years ago Borisov stated that the order (task) for creation of a newest prototype for VTOVL aircraft was issued by Putin personally and that first flight expected in 7 to 10 years (in Russian). Six years passed by and it is clear that if there is Design Bureau which is capable of doing it--it is Yakovlev. Not even Sukhoi for all its magnificent achievements. It is clear that carrier-borne S(V)TOVL is needed and that it will be competitive in performance to CATOBAR aviation, especially in the role of fleet defender tasked with air defense, including air-to-air combat. 

So, what's the deal with Su-75 Checkmate you may ask. There was a talk of this aircraft eventually going "vertical". I doubt it and, yet again, Yakovlev has a much greater experience in that field. 

So, will Yak-141 see its rebirth into the state-of-the-art 5th generation aircraft remains to be seen, but the "noise" around it gives some hope.

Let The (Military) Porn Rule...

 ... you cannot change this. Masturbators will masturbate to hardware. And believe me, they are getting really excited. 

It is difficult to explain to them or Western Russia "experts" that Russia is not just awash in cash--there is a new generation of technological geniuses coming online. It is impossible for a single person like me to report on mind-boggling industrial development of Russia taking place as I type this. 

Remember this a year ago?

It is now getting ready for serial production. But keep in mind this, remember, 2020?

В России разрабатывается проект нового самолета с вертикальными взлетом и посадкой, рассказал вице-премьер Юрий Борисов. Он отметил, что по поручению президента проект включили в государственную программу вооружений. В России разрабатывается проект нового самолета с вертикальными взлетом и посадкой, рассказал вице-премьер Юрий Борисов на открытии военно-технического форума "Армия-2018". Он отметил, что по поручению президента проект включили в государственную программу вооружений. 

Translation: A project for a new aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing is being developed in Russia, said Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov. He noted that, on the instructions of the president, the project was included in the state weapons program. Russia is developing a project for a new aircraft with vertical take-off and landing, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said at the opening of the Army-2018 military-technical forum. He noted that, on the instructions of the president, the project was included in the state weapons program.

 

Well, remember this plane?  

This thing was revolutionary--first ever supersonic VTOL with powerful avionics and armament. That is why Gorbachev killed it one of the first, and then Yakovlev Design Bureau gave up technical documentation on it to the US. That is how F-35B was conceived. Well, things never stay the same, you know. And attacks of 404 on Kerch shipbuilding plant recently by using Storm-shadow/Scalp were not about hitting missile corvettes. Nope, they have been about these being built there:

With 40,000 tons of displacement each and capable of launching drones--YES, you already have guessed it--depending on the cover of the flight deck, these guys will be able also to carry STOVL. That what is this all about, and those attacks on Kersch. BTW, if anyone wonders, French Charles de Gaulle nuclear aircraft carrier has the displacement of around 42, 500 tons.  Make your own conclusions.

Damned If You Don't!

If true, this could be vindication of some of my personal (admittedly not always correct) views on naval warfare in general and naval aviation in particular. I always loved STOVL, that is why, with all my criticism of F-35 program (and it is rather embarrassing program), I still follow F-35B STOVL development fairly close because it is the concept that is sound. In the end, some of the technical solutions in F-35B were... Soviet/Russian, borrowed from what promised then, in the end of 1980s, to be a revolution in carrier aviation--Yak-141 Freestyle. 

Now, Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov drops a bomb today when revealed (in Russian) that discussion on development and production of a brand new Yakovlev STOVL (based on the ideas of Yak-141) aircraft is in a full swing and that this new aircraft must enter series production in 2025. Oh boy! This is sensational and without going too deep at this stage into the details of why these are exciting news, I will present here a single (there are many more, of course) pro argument:

Modern naval combat is already deep into the missile paradigm in which any aircraft carrier, including classic American CATOBAR mastodons, are not immune from hyper-sonic weapons. But here is the thing, especially for those who intent on fighting Sea Control/Sea Denial battles--the essence of any aircraft carrier is its flight deck and all infrastructure immediately underneath it which make it so vulnerable--catapults, arresters etc. Once one of those elements is gone, and the probability of a deck suffering a major damage in real modern combat is very high, CATOBAR carrier becomes merely a huge pile of steel incapable to launch or receive its air wing. Well, this issue is mitigated on STOVL carriers--their decks are simply more "survivable": 

Now, considering a level of modern aerospace technologies where it is possible to make parameters of STOVL aircraft comparable to their CATOBAR colleagues, it becomes only natural to explore the venue of much less expensive than CATOBAR, STOVL carriers which in Russia's case would fit really well into her strategic and operational requirements. Knowing what Russians do with aircraft, it could be really fascinating to see what could be accomplished in this field. After all, Yak-141 was so ahead of its time and that is why Gorbachev rushed to close this program. Now, it seems, it is being reincarnated on a completely new technological foundation. We'll see, but this is exciting, after all, US Navy is flying F-35B, despite all of its failures. 

F-35 In National Review. The STOVL Issue-I

I never was a fan of National Review, a rather neocon leaning rag, but when even National Review has had enough with F-35 program it is time to see it for what it is--it is a corporate welfare.

The F-35: Throwing Good Money After Bad. 

I will abstain here from "analyzing" this bird as a weapon system. First, I am neither a military aerospace analysts with the intimate knowledge of aircraft design, nor a military pilot, but it is kinda self-evident by now that F-35 program is becoming increasingly an embarrassment, despite the stream of opposite views (by hacks and biased observers mostly) praising F-35 for what it certainly is not. I am not even talking here about this stupid obsession of many with the so called "stealth" whose real utility was blown out of proportion, until it was blown out of the skies, especially against modern signal processing and power of radar capable of seeing it just fine. My thing with F-35, since I pretend to be a sort of "analysts" (in reality a free-time dispenser of my, not always precise, thoughts) was not in the fact that it is a "fifth generation" flop, after all, United States has an impressive history of producing a world-class cutting edge weapon systems, in general, and combat aircraft in particular. My spiritual doctrinal connection, as a former Soviet naval professional, was with namely F-35B STOVL. On paper, this Short Take Off Vertical Landing bird looked very promising. Yes, it is not SU-35 but as a carrier aviation this looked extremely attractive. Forget my personal bias towards STOVL carriers--it is understandable since Project 1143 "Krechet" Kiev-class aircraft carrying cruisers were just that  and, despite initially having a mediocre Yak-38 as the backbone of their air wings, they had a really monster of a fighter, V/STOVL Yak-141 Freestyle, coming to them instead of Yak-38s. That is until Soviet Union collapsed. Later, some Yakovlev Design Bureau's technologies, including nozzles' design, were used in F-35B.   

But the issue with Yak-141 and, now, with F-35B were not just some advanced technologies. It was in the fact, that after rather clumsy and fairly limited in their performance, however legendary and rightly so, Harriers, Yak-141 (and later F-35B) offered performance comparable (range, speed) to a regular carrier-borne aircraft. That had a major strategic implications, this time for ships or, rather, aircraft carriers. In the end, since the end of WW II the only carriers which saw an actual combat, not being parked outside some third world hellhole's shore blowing this hellhole's shit with impunity, were Royal Navy's small STOVL carriers of the Invincible-class. They actually fought a battle with more or less competent adversary who had a viable Air Force and, actually, bloodied Royal Navy pretty badly. Yet, British jump-jets came away from their Falkland battlefield bathed in totally deserved glory. They also left a lesson which today remains as relevant as ever. This lesson I would like to ponder in coming weeks, especially against the background of old-timer Admiral Kuznetsov leaving her Syria station and setting sail back home to Severomorsk. She did her job, earned awards but raised the issue of CATOBAR against STOVL carriers yet again and that issue is survivability--Kuznetsov's arresting wires performed dismally and, at some point, forced the whole wing of  her Su-33s and MiG-29Ks to redeploy to the Khmeimim Air Base. The pondering starts with this question: whatcha gonna do when your arresting wires are gone and the deck is partially damaged in real combat, with real opponent?   

    

In the end, Royal Navy decided to go with STOVL F-35Bs for its brand new carriers. Hm, I wonder, why the devil, those bloody Britons went with STOVL option. What do they even know about naval combat. I am being facetious, of course. Royal Navy can tell us a lot about carrier operations...I wouldn't disregard the lessons they can teach. 

To Be Continued....