PAK DA prototype under construction

According to Tass, so as always, YMMV.

Tass

Expected to be complete sometime in 2021. Sounds.... Erm, ambitious... Prototype engines are set to begin bench tests.


Bonus points for Google Translate calling it "PAK YES" at one point in the article.


This follows the news a month or so back from Zvezda that it had passed CDR and production contracts had been signed for components.

We shall see, I suppose...

a reply to: RadioRobert

B-1 ish. Slightly. A little.

Form does follow function.

a reply to: Phage

Just fan art. It does look cool, though.

It'll end up being a "normal" flying wing, I'm sure.

Can Russia afford this type of thing, or is this just a project to keep engineers employed?

Russia has - over the last couple of years - been scaling back, or cancelling various programmes e.g. T-14 Armata, Su-57 et al.

a reply to: paraphi

Money makes the world go 'round. On the other hand, Germany undertook a massive military build up in the thirties while everyone (including themselves) was in bad shape economically. Where there's a will, as they say...

Oil war with the Saudis, probably didn't help.

Oh look rivets...Sooooo 20th century...

originally posted by: Blackfinger
Oh look rivets...Sooooo 20th century...

It's a Tu-160, if you're talking about the picture.

And rivets are a lot easier/cheaper to manufacture/inspect/repair than composites...

Everyone still uses rivets, like h ere during F-35 assembly. Lots of rivets in an F-35. Basically only the skin is a composite, and it's fastened to the substructures and fuselage. B-2, and Raptor have rivets. I'm sure the Raider will have plenty of rivets in the structure.

Russia will need this if they want to keep the Great Red Dragon at bay.

Article popped up on Sky now.

news.sky.com...

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: RadioRobert

B-1 ish. Slightly. A little.

Form does follow function.

Where?

a reply to: Sublant

there is a pictre of a blackjack in the story


they could come out with something good if they can manage quality issues and if they figured out some cool stealth stuff for targeting but staying in the dark

they have been watching and taking or stealing notes from the US so you never know what they are going to put up

a reply to: solidshot

But but I though stealth was overrated and didnt work and all that ****. I mean, Russia would just defeat all our steal with IRST right???

This is probably a bit more worrying to the UK than America as the Bears and Blackjacks already probe our defences, I wonder if/when the Russians get to the point of deploying any in any kind of useful force (not the state of blackjacks) what the defence CONOPS will look like?

F-35’s guarding E7’s...or maybe just F-35’s...which are directing Meteor missile’s fired from a safe area by loitering A380/A400 “Missle Trucks”...😎a reply to: Forensick

Found the latest regarding the construction of the prototypes of the PAK DA:
glas.ru...
twitter.com...