Russia’s PAK-DA and PAK-FA will be the Game Changer of the Future

 

Russia's Tupolev PAK-DA stealth bomber and PAK-FA stealth fighter will be developmental Advance strike aircrafts of 2020’s.

Russia is gearing up for the eventual start of production for the PAK-DA stealth bomber even though the aircraft will not be ready for many years to come. 

"The enterprise is working on the design and organization of the production of a prospective long-range aviation complex," PAK-DA, the director general of the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) told the Russian News.

Tupolev is working under a contract to develop and build a prototype for the new bomber. However, the Kazan factory which will also build the Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack.

Michael Kofman, a Russian military affairs specialist at the Center for Naval Analyses, said that the PAK-DA program is more or less a research and development program at the moment. The key to success for the program depends on Russia’s ability to develop an appropriate powerplant for the new bomber and its ability to build the stealthy surfaces needed for such a machine. If Russia can find the money to pull off the development program, then there is a real possibility of starting PAK-DA production late in the next decade.

The PAK-FA, Su-57 first flew in 2010, but has yet to be mass produced.

The status of the PAK-DA is even more up in the air.

Assuming Moscow builds the PAK-DA, it won't enter Russian service until the 2030s at the earliest.

A proper “future bomber,” PAK DA; the only specification we may be sure about is that it will be based on a “flying wing” scheme. There’s word that some level of unification regarding avionics and weapons will be achieved for new TU-160 Blackjack.

The PAK-DA will probably be able to drop gravity bombs. The aircraft will likely be primarly used as a strategic missile carrier - much like the upgraded TU-160M2.

Tupolev TU-95 and developing more efficient engines for its TU-160 while funding new bomber programs money on a PAK-DA. However, it is not clear that Russia actually needs the PAK-DA or the TU-160M2. It’s better to be both.