Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin has tasked the Russian military with significantly enhancing the combat capabilities of the air force overall. The primary focus is on updating the fleet of fighters and bombers, ensuring their effectiveness in conditions where the enemy deploys the most advanced air defense systems.
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Sergei Dronov, informed the press that the Russian military aviation is currently receiving modern attack helicopters such as Mi-28 and Ka-52, as well as assault transport helicopters Mi-8AMTSH-VN, frontline fighters and bombers Su-30SM, Su-35S, Su-34, various-purpose aircraft Il-76MD-90A, and strategic bombers Tu-160.
Army Aviation
The army aviation fleet includes attack, attack-reconnaissance, assault-transport, heavy transport helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles of various purposes.
Military expert Viktor Litovkin stated, “The powerful Mi-28 and Ka-52 are currently in service, being modernized and equipped with new anti-tank missiles such as ‘Vikhr’ and ‘Ataka,’ with a range of up to 10 kilometers. They are also receiving new detection, fire control, communication, and navigation systems. These helicopters are equipped with ejection seats. They operate in combat in coordination with Mi-8 transport-assault helicopters, which are also constantly being modernized. Our industry produces these machines in sufficient quantities: Mi-28 in Rostov-on-Don, Ka-52 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and Mi-8 in Ulan-Ude.”
Preparation for landing from a Mi-8 helicopter/ Photo: mil.ru
Mi-8 helicopters are designed for direct fire support of ground forces in military operations such as offense, defense, and marching. They are also used in space launches, sending helicopters to observation points along the ground projection of the flight route, searching and evacuating astronauts (after landing), rotating troops, evacuating the wounded to the rear, transporting weapons, equipment, and ammunition. They are suitable for vertical maneuvering (paratrooper landings behind enemy lines). Many experts believe that this maneuver will be used by the Russian Armed Forces in the Ukrainian theater of operations in the near future.
In the army aviation fleet, there are also heavy transport helicopters Mi-26 and flying command posts Mi-9, assault-transport helicopters Mi-24 and its modification Mi-35, as well as artillery fire correction aircraft Mi-24K.
Chief of Army Aviation Major General Igor Romanov told the press that his service is updating its fleet. They have already begun operating newly deeply modernized machines with powerful high-tech power plants TA-14 and new avionics. These include heavy transport Mi-26T2B, attack Ka-52M, Mi-28NM, and assault-transport Mi-8AMTSH-V, Mi-8MTV-5M.
Ka-52 Alligator reconnaissance and attack helicopter / Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
Russian company “Elektroavtomatika” will supply the Russian Aerospace Forces with new command-staff helicopters R-177M. The Russian defense industry is arming attack helicopters with the latest precision weapons of the “air-to-surface” class, including a powerful self-guided missile known as “Product 305.”
Super-heavy transport helicopter Mi-26 / Photo: rhc.aero
Frontline Aviation
Operational-tactical or frontline aviation (OTA) is the most extensive structure of the Russian Aerospace Forces. It is designed for delivering firepower throughout the depth of the enemy’s combat formations, providing direct support for the actions of long-range aviation, covering the flight of transport aircraft, and performing many other tasks.
The OTA fleet includes frontline multi-role fighters Su-27, Su-30SM2, Su-35S, Su-57, MiG-29, MiG-35, frontline bombers Su-24 and Su-34, attack aircraft Su-25, long-range interceptors MiG-31. This type of force also includes reconnaissance, military-transport, special-purpose aircraft, and aerial refueling tankers.
Currently, the OTA is massively equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles of various purposes. They will receive new avionics with artificial intelligence and will soon be taught to act as a swarm.
Chief Editor of “Anna News” Anatoly Matviychuk explained, “Now we are talking about the modernization of the fifth-generation Su-57, which has received second-stage AL-51F engines. The first version of this aircraft has been in serial production since the year before last. In the near future, it will be brought to the level of the 5+ generation. New avionics and weapons are being developed. This fighter will operate accompanied by the C-70 ‘Okhotnik’ supersonic jet drone. In the future, several such jet drones or even a swarm of combat drones will accompany the piloted aircraft, reliably protecting the Su-57 and significantly expanding its combat capabilities.
The armament complex of the Su-57 allows solving tasks at the level of strategic bombers. The aircraft will receive air-to-surface guided missiles with a range of up to 5500 kilometers. In addition, the Su-57 will be equipped with hypersonic weapons. To engage enemy aircraft, this aircraft is armed with a 30mm automatic cannon and will receive precision missiles of short, medium, and long range.
For example, the “R37M” air-to-air missile has been developed, capable of reaching speeds of up to 6 Mach and hitting targets at a distance of up to 300 (according to other data – up to 400) kilometers. There is no analog to this missile abroad. No aircraft in the world will be able to evade such a munition.
In the “air-to-surface” class, there is a high-precision Kh-29T missile with a powerful warhead and an offset from the surface target of only about two meters. Taking into account the experience in Syria, the Russian industry has created a complex that allows turning ordinary aviation bombs into guided and guided bombs. These munitions are now widely used on the front lines.
Russian multi-role fighter of the fifth generation Su-57 / Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
Long-Range Aviation
The long-range aviation includes the so-called air component of the Russian nuclear triad. This, along with the presence of conventional, quite substantial, weaponry, makes this branch of the armed forces the most powerful within the Russian Aerospace Forces. The arsenal of long-range machines includes 16 Tu-160 strategic missile-carrying bombers, 30 Tu-95MS turboprop strategic bombers, 14 Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, as well as aerial refueling tankers Il-78 and aerial reconnaissance aircraft Tu-22MR.
Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, the commander of long-range aviation, informed the press that in 2024, he expects the introduction of new equipment into the park of his department. This involves advanced air platforms for aeroballistic hypersonic missiles “Kinzhal” on Tu-22M3M and MiG-31I; as well as upgraded Tu-160M. The new supersonic missile carrier Tu-160M2 is also on the way, with the first rollout of its experimental model already taking place. Additionally, work is underway on creating a next-generation bomber, PAK-DA.
Supersonic bomber-missile carrier Tu-160 / Photo: tupolev.ru
Among the weaponry in the arsenal of long-range aviation are Kh-32 cruise missiles, with a powerful warhead, reaching speeds of Mach 4/Mach 6 at a combat range of 1000 kilometers; Kh-55 missiles with a warhead weighing about 500 kilograms and a range of up to 3500 kilometers; Kh-101/102: the first with a conventional warhead, the second with a nuclear warhead, with a range of up to 5500 kilometers.
Regarding the Russian Air Force and the Aerospace Forces in general, it can be said in the words of Alexander III that they are the third most reliable ally of Russia after the army and navy.
By Alexander Sharkovsky
Caption photo: Tu-95MS / tupolev.ru