An Astounding Technological Gap
Russia is 20-Years behind in Fighter technology and has no idea how to make a 6th generation fighter
Russia is 20-Years behind in Fighter technology and has no idea how to make a 6th generation fighter
In this article we are going to talk about the astounding technological lag between Russia and the rest of the world in fighter design.
The first 5th generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin/ Boeing F-22 Raptor first flew in 1997 and entered service in 2005. For various reasons including cost and proprietary technology the F-22 is not used by any other country than the USA.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II first flew in 2006 and entered service in 2015. The F-35 has been adopted, not only by the US Air Force, Navy and Marines, but by numerous American allies worldwide. Giving America and its allies true stealth ability in an advanced fighter package.
The USA currently has flying prototypes of a sixth-generation fighter under the NGAD program, NGAD stands for Next Generation Air Dominance and is intended to replace the F-22 in US service. The successful candidate aircraft is expected to enter service in the mid 2030’s
In addition a number of other nations worldwide are in the process of developing a 6th generation fighters, like the Tempest and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) each signify collaborative efforts. While the Tempest initiative, involving Britain, Japan Sweden, and Italy, displays promising progress, the German-French-Spanish FCAS project faces hurdles because the parties cannot agree on the basic requirements to the aircraft and their roles in its production.
An interesting point regarding the Tempest is that both Japan and Sweden are involved in the development. Japan on the electronics end and Sweden in the design and capabilities. It should be noted that Sweden independently developed a very potent 4th gen fighter in the Gripen. The Tempest is due to enter service in 2035.
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Which brings us to Russia, and the elephant in the room. We have all become used to the fact that Russia grossly exaggerates the abilities of its weapons systems as the war in Ukraine has so plainly demonstrated.
Incompetence, corruption and an inability to speak truth to power has all but destroyed Russia’s ability for innovative technological advancement. A case in point is Russia’s feeble attempt at a 5th generation fighter, the SU-57.
The Sukhoi SU-57 Felon appears to have been designed with maxim coolness as its priority. The aircraft entered service in Dec. 2020 and yet despite the need for air superiority in the war in Ukraine does not seem to have been deployed there.
Russia claims to have produced 32 of these aircraft. 10 prototypes and 22 of the production variant. There is no denying that the SU-57 looks cool, mission accomplished there. However many experts having examined photos of the aircraft are skeptical of its stealth capabilities. Its radar cross section is massive compared to other stealth fighters and its construction does not appear to use any of the techniques used in western analogs to reduce its radar signature. Bolts and rivets are visible all over the aircraft’s skin.
Additionally much of the electronics either came from western sources or contain western components that are virtually impossible for Russia to source during this war.
However leaving the 5th generation debacle behind, worst of all is the russians admit that they do not even have a concept of a 6th generation aircraft of their own, Defence Express reports.
The confession comes from Yevgeny Fedosov, an academician of the russian Academy of Sciences and scientific director of the State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems (GosNIIAS), in a statement to the state-owned TASS media agency. Despite attempts to maintain a veneer of confidence, the remarks mentioned in the article reflect the genuine status of russian endeavors in modern aviation.
"Currently, we are thinking about the concept of a sixth-generation aircraft, conducting exploratory research, exchanging ideas with military specialists. Such an aircraft should appear sometime before 2050, but we already need to understand what the armed conflicts of the future will look like," writes the russian academician.
Meanwhile other nations are not merely conceptualizing but actively proceeding with the development of sixth-generation aircraft, that are expected to enter service more than 20 years before Russia’s target date.
An astounding technological lag— Grumpy
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