Russian Bear bombers in exercise

[alyster]

Over 20 Russian strategic planes in exercise in arctic latitudes (Part 2)

MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Over 20 long-range (strategic) aircraft of the Russian Air Force are currently engaged in an active phase of a tactical exercise that started on Tuesday.

"The exercise is aimed at practicing air patrol missions in arctic latitudes and midair refueling," Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax on Wednesday.

"The pilots will also train flights over textureless terrain and landing at off-base airfields," he said.

Taking part in the exercises are over 20 Tupolev Tu-95MS missile carriers and Il-78 tanker planes. Long-range (strategic) aviation Commander Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov is handling the exercise, he said.

"Special attention will be given to training young pilots, who will practice combat skills at the Dubrovichi range in the Ryazan region and piloting techniques in various weather conditions," Drobyshevsky said. va md

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11966419http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11966419

[alyster]

MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Air Force announced on Wednesday the launch of a tactical exercise involving long-range aviation in "northern latitudes" to rehearse interoperability in air patrol missions.

"The active phase of the tactical exercise has started under the command of long-range aviation commander Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov," said Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, an aide to the Air Force commander.

He did not say exactly where the exercise was being conducted or whether it was in Russia or outside its borders.

The drill, including two heavy-bomber regiments and one aerial tanker regiment, is practicing midair refueling, flights over uncharted terrain and in difficult weather conditions, as well as landings on off-base, alternate airfields.

Over 30 Tu-95 (Bear) strategic bombers, Il-78 (Midas) four-engine aerial refueling tankers, and Tu-22 (Blinder) supersonic bombers are participating in the exercise.

Drobyshevsky earlier said that more than 20 airplanes would participate in the drill.

Last August, Russia resumed long-range patrol missions of strategic bombers, which were suspended in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

It said air patrol areas would include zones of commercial shipping and economic activity and would be conducted on a permanent basis.

NATO has requested that Russia give it advanced warning of military exercises.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080213/99114808.html

Now it's 30 Bears and over 20 planes participating. WTF 

[Webmaster]

30 total maybe.

The second article... man RIAN again... Tu-22 Blinder should be Tu-22M Backfire.

[alyster]

http://www.rian.ru/defense_safety/20080213/99077373.html

This is the russian version of the RIAN. It doesn't mention the 22s anywhere. And the number is 20 

Damn. Lets better wait afew days untill BBC reports it "RAF spotted...."

[Elias]

Here's an interesting article that refers to the Russian armed forces and their reappearance in the world stage.

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/russia/articles/20080221.aspx

[Webmaster]

Well, interesting is one way of putting it. From that article,

China is threatening to offer its copy of the Su-27 (the J-11).

J-11 is not a copy, it is license-produced with Russian supplied parts. The license is bigger than China's production/requirement so far, so I guess they would like to produce the remainder for export, instead of using it themselves. That's probably in breach of the license terms. But this isn't about illegal copying... 

Currently, half of Russian weapons export sales are Su-27s. The Chinese ignore Russian complaints about the stolen technology. To keep Russian weapons manufacturers in business, the Russian military has to buy more, to make up for the lost Chinese sales.

Hahaha, what a joke! Russia is upgrading its Flankers, not producing new ones. Only exception being the Su-34 which is completely different in role and capabilities than those Su-27SK/J-11s.

Now, go figure about the rest of the article.

[tigershark]

Webmaster the J-11A is made from Russian kits I think I read on the Chinese forums that the J-11B is pure Chinese even the WS-10 has been tested already.  The WS-10 is the engine there going to be producing for the J-11B.  Again I don't know if this is true but more on this is out there to find I just don't know about it's sources sometimes.

[Webmaster]

Okay, I stand corrected, although I'm skeptical about the level of indigenous systems/work, I'd imagine that those existing J-11Bs are Russian airframes fitted with the Chinese stuff, that's far from 'pure' Chinese. That WS-10 is still not in production I think. But well, it's China, hard to get reliable info.

Anyway, I don't think they are serious about finding any customers and have little chance of getting orders, unless they want to sell to Iran or North Korea, but I doubt it. At least it won't affect Russian sales, because Chinese market consists generally of the ones Russia does not supply. It may be cheaper and therefore get some sales, but that wouldn't have been a market for the Russian Flanker then anyway.

Getting the WS-10 in full scale production so they can export the J-10 is a bigger priority than for the J-11B to steal the Flanker market.

[Raptor]

Hey about the bomber and tanker force. If you pop a few air-to-ground precision ballistic missiles, like say that "koala" project? They can hit any target in the world... Probably starting with any ICBM and nuclear submarine bases in the world...

[MKopack]

While I have never been the biggest fan of the Soviet and Russian aircraft, or their Air Forces opeartions, I've always liked the Bear and would love to have the opportunity to see one one day.

My only concern with their new flying, is that these are rather old airframes - not that the B-52's aren't - but there have been periods of years where they received little maintenance and were kept in 'less than ideal' storage conditions. I just hope that the young Russians who are manning these old aircraft on the long overwater flights under challenging conditions won't have to pay a dear price in order for the Russian government to 'fly their flag'.

Mike

[Webmaster]

I agree and share your concerns to some extent, but I want to point out that, while the Bear design is about the same age as the B-52's, the last B-52H was produced in 1962, whereas the Tu-95MS Bear-H were produced in 1981-1992. The Navy's Tu-142M/MZ in 1978-1994. I don't know what you consider 'rather old', but I wouldn't call them old. Of course the B-52s have had almost every part replaced by now, maybe even a couple of times, but still I think that this is something often 'conveniently' forgotten by people critizing the Russian Air Force and these patrols. The Bears are outdated (systems/weapons upgrades are underway), maintenance is a worry, however the airframes are not that old! And don't forget that the Bear and its engines are for Russian standards very reliable! I'm more worried about the Tu-160s and its turbofans!

[Raptor]

simple is best.  The less parts there are that can go wrong, the less parts there are that WILL go wrong.  Applies in almost every known field. So i suppose the Bear would be a trustworthy bomber. I've never been very impressed by the B-52 design, myself. It's precise. But it's had so many parts replaced there's bound to be something that goes wrong. It's like putting a sidewinder on a Mustang...