Development
In 2008, it was reported that the Russian Air Force had tactical and technical requirements for a new generation of strategic bombers. According to some early reports, the PAK DA would be heavily based on the supersonic Tu-160 bomber. Later references to the new bomber, including a televised address from then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seemed to imply the aircraft would be an entirely new design. Some speculation suggested that it might follow the stealthy design of the American Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber, but there is little public evidence to support that.
Russian Major General Anatoly Zhikharev stated that the new bomber would replace both the turboprop-powered Tupolev Tu-95 and the supersonic Tupolev Tu-160.
In June 2012, it was announced that according to the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin the project was in doubt and the new bomber design might not be needed. The Chief of the General Staff, General Nikolai Makarov, responded by saying that work was still ongoing and that the design was superior to American aircraft. On 9 June 2012, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the PAK DA was confirmed as planned.
The few details speculated to date about the design include a combat radius of around 3,500 kilometers with full payload, a loaded weight of 100 to 120 tons, 4 engines, and the possible use of some equipment from the Sukhoi PAK FA project such as avionics and engines. President Vladimir Putin also said work is to start on PAK DA despite the complex technology and monetary requirements. On 27 August 2012, it was reported that Dmitry Rogozin had recently called for the bomber to be capable of hypersonic speed in order to match and better the air defenses of the United States. It is unclear whether Rogozin's comments refer to the bomber being hypersonic or to its ability to carry hypersonic air-launched missiles. In March 2013, it was reported that the selected PAK DA design would be a subsonic flying wing.
In order to maintain affordability, the PAK DA will be a less ambitious project than the American Long-Range Strike-B.
General Anatoly Zhikharev has said that an unmanned strategic bomber may follow the PAK DA after 2040.
Read more about this topic: PAK DA
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