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Visit to get started learning STEM for free, and the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium subscription. Discord: New Channel: Join this channel to get access to perks: When it comes to stealth technology though, USA generally takes the cake. Everything form the original stealth f-117 Nighthawk, to the upcoming b-21 raider - all have put the country on the map - or rather off it, when it comes to clandestine missions across the world. That however, might be about to change as Russia gears up to start flight testing its new top secret bomber project. Now fair warning before we get into it, it can be a little bit hard to discern between fact and ambitious propoganda - so until this plane is cruising in the skies, its specifications might be rather 'up in the clouds' so to speak. PAK DA itself stands for Perspective Aviation Complex for Long-Range Aviation. And long range it will be! With a 12,000 km operational range, it will have the ability to fly from moscow to any city in North America, Rio in Brazil and even Darwin in Australia - G'day mate! It doesn't have to worry about refueling, as it can fly its four crew members subsonically for up to 30 hours to circle targets or to be hidden deep in the clouds until needed. These engines are so powerful, that they can work in minus 60°C to plus 50°C and survive even effects of nuclear explosion! With its 30 ton weapon capacity, it will be able to carry everything from conventional bombs, nuclear missiles and in the future - hypersonic weapons. To understand where we are now, we have to go back to where it all began. The Tupolev Tu-160. The supersonic strategic bomber had been a stable of the russian airforce for decades, ever since it first rolled out in 1981. However, for those viewers who might not have been born in 1981 - this is a long time ago. Warfare has changed since and new strategic bombers are more often doing the role of cruise missile carrier rather than regular bombing missions with guided or unguided bombs. Russians know this and saw how US used their bombers in the recent conflicts, and started learning from their experiences. Main idea was to create a new bomber that will be able to match or surpass all the current characteristics of the Tu-160 with the exception of the supersonic speed which is sacrificed for stealth and maximum load capacity. A number of Tu-160s were lost during the dissolution of the USSR, with them being stationed in Ukraine at the time, and the Russian bomber fleet has been lacking in that segment, which led to both the need for the PAK-DA and for a modernization and renewal of the Tu-160 production line. But more on that in a bit. In 2013, the develop was confirmed to have a subsonic flying wrong design, with emphasis on stealth technology over speed. Kuznetsov design bureau was awarded with the contract to develop the new engines named NK-65, based on the NK-32 engines currently used by Tu-160. By 2019, a prototype has been in the development and the Kazan aviation plant, and it’s expected to have ground testing some time in 2022 with possible first flight in 2023 or 24. But let’s dig a bit deeper in what actually is the combat purpose and future of this aircraft, and is Russian so called Messenger, actually sending a very important message? For the first time in their operational history, Russian bombers have had an opportunity to perform in combat. During 2015 and 2016, Tu-95, Tu-22M and Tu-160 have flown multiple missions to Syria in various roles. Tu-160s performed attacks with new Kh-101 cruise missiles, while Tu-22Ms and Tu-95s performed sorties with both cruise missiles and bombs, testing out the new SVP-24 Hephaestus targeting system, which basically turns dumb bombs into at least semi - guided munition, similar to US JDAM, but still lacking in precision. So what does all of this mean for PAK-DA? First of all, focus will be on missiles as main weaponry. Hypersonic missiles like King-zhal and new Kh-92 will be featured for sure, along with the stealthy Kh-101 and 102 cruise missiles. This all leads to the idea of Russia actually creating a capable preemptive strike aircraft which can hit anywhere in the world. With US and Russian relations getting worse in recent years, especially over Ukraine, this might be a clear sign that Russia wants to be in the same position as the US with first strike capabilities and use this to either further escalate or deescalate current situation.
