When the Russian-Ukrainian war entered its second year, the Russian Air Force encountered another unfortunate incident.
An A-50 early warning system of the Russian Air Force crashed near an airfield in Taganrogue, northeastern of the Sea of Azov, on the night of 23 February. Since the 24 hours in Beijing, surveillance footage has been circulating, a missile has been blown away, a missile has been missed, a plane has been hit, the fire generated by **, and the people nearby, can clearly depict how this unlucky early warning aircraft was struggling to support under the bombardment of two missiles.
The three snapshots show a series of jamming missiles, the moment when one missile was detonated and the other hit the warplane.
The Russians have a certain upper hand on land, but they will soon suffer a blow because of the "good cooperation of the Slavic Region", especially the Black Sea Navy and Air Force, which are the biggest "victims", the old Soviet landing ships of the Russian Air Force, like targets, are used as targets by the Russian army. And the latter, although he has just proven his abilities in the battle of Avdeyevka, occasionally does the "whole rotten job". This is why the war between Russia and Ukraine will be called a "turn-based war" by netizens.
In less than two months, the Russian Air Force has already suffered damage to three large aircraft. On the night of January 14, an A-50 early warning system and an I-2 electronic warfare aircraft were attacked in the Sea of Azov. As for the reasons for the attack, there is no conclusion yet, such as the death of the pilot, the pilot was seriously injured and forced to land, and the debate about whether the plane crashed or not has not subsided to this day. On the morning of January 24, a Patriot anti-aircraft missile of the Ukrainian Air Force hit an Il-76 transport aircraft, this time in Belgorod Oblast.
One Il-22 (Wagner's "March for Justice", led by Prigozhin) was destroyed in the Russian-Ukrainian war, and two were seriously injured.
Based on the trajectory before this attack on the A-50, it can be easily seen that after the "night at sea of Azov", the cruising route of the **A-50 was again shifted. Regardless of whether this move is to circumvent the maximum range of the Ukrainian army's long-range air defense missile system, or to completely "draw a line" between Russia's own air defense missile system and reduce its reconnaissance radius in exchange for its security, it will not essentially solve the endless crisis that the Russian Aerospace Forces are currently facing.
A map of the flight trajectory of the A-50 before it was destroyed, it can be seen that only a small part of it was near the Sea of Azov in order to maximize the understanding of the south-west of the front line.
Because the distance between the attack site and the front line is more than 220 kilometers, which is already far beyond the range of the Ukrainian army, it is speculated that there are only two "culprits" that caused the destruction of the A-50, one is the mistake of a Russian anti-aircraft missile, and the other is a higher-level fighter jet from NATO. Compared with "the US stealth plane attacked Putin from a long distance and reminded him to stop", as well as the recent incident in the Russian Air Force where the Su-35 fighter was shot down by its own air defense missile, the "mistaken attack theory" seems to have become a fact, and the rumor that "there are spies in the Russian air defense missile system, and they will ** when they see their own reconnaissance plane" circulating on the Russian Internet is too ridiculous when the entire Ukrainian Air Force is a whole.
Many reasons have led to the emergence of "cup bow snake shadows" in Russian ground guides, such as the American-made air-launched false target ADM-160B (MALD) put into service by the Ukrainian army in the spring of 2023, which has a range of 900 kilometers and a Mach number of 09. With the built-in radar signal enhancement device, even a fighter of the B-52 level can do it. Although the basic model of the MALD does not have the function of transmitting special types of electronic devices, after the deployment on the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine, the United States has assisted Ukraine in improving the MALD system, and has provided effective protection for the "Storm Shadow"** cruise missile, providing valuable reference materials for future operations.
During the "Storm Shadow" attack of the Ukrainian army on the Luhansk region, the remains of Mald were found around it.
Therefore, whether it is an improvement of the existing MALD, or a new ADM-160C (MALD-J) developed by the United States itself, Ukraine can drop MALD-J in the sky of Russia, and use the relatively stable cruising trajectory of A-50 fighters to let MALDS release its own signal at a certain time to lure Russian air defense missiles to intercept, if the response speed of Russian air defense missiles can be accurately judged, then the Russian air defense missiles can be set in advance" shutdown time", so that the Russian air defense missile can fly directly to the huge A-50 without a target, and after the "integration of air defense", the cooperation and cooperation between the Russian air defense forces and the air force have aroused many questions. Whether Russia will carry out stricter control over air defense early warning fighters in the future, and the discipline of the launch of large-scale air defense missiles is also a matter of concern.
Regardless of the A-50 "who dies", it has become an established reality that a battle-tested formation of Russian fighters was destroyed overnight. And for the Russian AWACS units, which are more than 200 kilometers away from the front line, they still suffer the same fate, which not only makes their already weak "rotation lineup" more compact, but also greatly affects their morale. Russia is well-known for the construction of air warning systems, which have been developed for many years, but until now, only one aircraft has been sent to the army. With the current equipment and command system, even if it is no longer possible to make "toys" for Ukraine in a short and half a meeting, it will be enough to give the Russian Air Force a headache for a long time.
It is no wonder that some people joke that perhaps in a few years, the Air Force 2000 will surpass the A-50U in numbers.
At a time when Russia's "early warning fighter" business is bleak, Russia has accumulated a lot of money by relying on an ancient method of scientific research.
On 21 February, accompanied by Russia, Putin visited four Tu-160M strategic bombers at the Gorbunov airfield in the capital of Kazakhstan. Putin himself flew on a plane and spent about 30 minutes feeling the pleasure of the plane. This is the second time he has flown the "White Swan" more than 20 years ago, when he flew on the Tu-160.
Two of the four Tu-160Ms were converted from Tu-160s in service, Ilya Muromets (legendary Russian hero) and Alexander Moloch (Soviet Union hero bomber driver in World War II) ridden by Putin, and the Tu-160 was the first Tu-160 to be obtained at the beginning of the 21st century; The other two are newly created, one is Valentina Tereshkova (the world's first female cosmonaut), which also has some stock parts, which made its first flight in 2022, while the most recent Tu-160M will make its first flight in 2023, and it has not given it a name until Putin's arrival.
Together with the four ships to be delivered this time, the number of "White Swan" fighters in Russia has now reached 20, from more than 30 at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, to now it is already miserable.
Interestingly, when the president of Aeroflot, Slyusal, told him that the plane had not yet been named (in fact, it was not painted from the side of the nose), Putin said, "If the plane is in Tatarstan, then we will call it "Mingimel Shaimyev". Slyusar, of course, would follow this line of thought. Who is Shaimyev? This man, the first leader of the Republic of Tatarstan, located at the Gorbunov (Gorbunov) airbase in Kazan province, signed an agreement with Russia** Yeltsin in 1994 to turn Tatarstan into a "state within a state", but it enjoys a special place in the Russian Federation.
Shaimyev signed the agreement with Yeltsin in August 1994.
In the same year, the first person received the Soviet-era Tu-160 (also known as Ilya Muromez) from the Kazan plant, and when "Bush also demanded that the purchase of B-2 be terminated", Yeltsin issued an order to suspend the purchase of Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 through an official document, and the manufacturers concerned could only "fend for themselves". In Moscow, Ulyanovsk, as well as in Samara, a number of factories affiliated with the Tupolev company quickly collapsed.
But in Tatarstan, only the voice is heard, not the person, and Shaimiev has a great influence in Tatarstan, in order to ensure that the three completed Tu-160s, as well as other parts in the assembly shop, can be kept in operation for a long time.
Yeltsin will soon realize this. ”
In just a few years, NATO launched a fierce air raid on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Ukraine carried out a "violent demolition" of 10 Tu-160s left over from the collapse of the Soviet Union. And in the process of restarting the manufacture of the Tu-160 by the Russian military and the Kazan Iron and Steel Plant, the money paid to them by the "Shada Khan" was also returned as part of the "reconstruction project". Finally, the first Tu-160s were delivered in 2015, and the last Tu-160 was refitted in 2015 and completed its first flight in 2018.
Although there are many Soviet traditions in Tatar that "come back to life", Shaimyev and his family have benefited enormously, both economically and politically. But it is undeniable that without the "Sha Khan" who "only hears his voice and does not hear his voice", it is impossible for Russia to recreate an Il-76MD-90A, as the Ulyanovsk space plant did.
Now, Putin has been in Tatarstan for more than 20 years, and he has only one thought in his heart, that is, "no sincerity".
Shaimyev and Tereshkova, both survivors of 1937, are still alive, and both men are named after deceased names in Russian history.
This sentence is actually a sentence from Lao Su: "seeking truth from facts". He also has a sentence that I think the audience of "Watching Chess" is familiar with, that is: "The West is strong, the East is weak, and the East is rising, which is a trend." While we often refer to this phrase as "a slick of little people," it's an apt metaphor for the U.S.-China transport planes standing side by side at the 2024 Singapore Airshow.
Behind the two ARJ21 and C919 produced by COMAC, KC-135 tanker aircraft, P-8A submersibles, as well as American C-17 aircraft were installed, respectively.
It is true that the large aircraft platform of the United States certainly has certain advantages, but the KC-135 and C-17 in this ** have stopped working, the P-8A is still being manufactured, and its 737 also has problems. At this Singapore Air Show, Boeing, which was quite nervous, did not even show a single civil aircraft here. When I was lucky enough to see the first 787 and A350 at the air show in Singapore 10 years ago, I thought it was "Boeing is gone, and Airbus is laughing at the Lion City." ”
In 2014, among the first civil aircraft to be unveiled, the Russian Sukhoi SSJ100 was among them, and now, with the replacement of domestic parts, this aircraft is also waiting for a new life.
Whatever the reason, today's air show in Singapore has always been less political, and the seats of the two major airlines, once the United States and Russia, are parked with COMAC's ARJ21 and C919. As a friend who was present at the time said, "Sometimes, appearance is an effect, a meaning." "The display of this large real aircraft of COMAC has already been flown by a large number of passengers, most of whom are from Southeast Asia; In the near future, the image of China's civil airliners, as well as its image of "reasonable and appropriate", will become clear in the minds of many people.
His growth is not simply "familiar". At present, more than 130 ARJ21 aircraft have been delivered, and another international flight from Nanchang to Jeju Island opened by Jiangxi Airlines also opened on April 6. The ARJ21 has a large inventory, which gives it a lower price compared to newer models.
The author himself is very fond of the paint of Jiangxi Airlines' ARJ21 "Jinggangshan".
At the Singapore Airshow, Henan Airlines signed a contract with COMAC for six ARJ21 derivative aircraft, including fire extinguishers, medical equipment and emergency rescue instructions. The latter two are derivative models that are easier for netizens to understand, but they will have a take-off weight of 43The 5-ton ARJ21 has been changed to a fire extinguishing device, will it be the same as the "Kunlong" amphibious fire extinguisher in the test flight, and the take-off weight will be more than ten tons larger than that of the "Gillian"?
Based on the experience of foreign countries in building firefighter formations, why do you need to use your waterplane, not the only way to solve the problem with water. In the case of low maintenance and maintenance costs, many countries will transform it and use it for fire extinguishing, which is also a common way used by various countries, such as the Il-76, which is responsible for spraying dust and extinguishing fires in the "tank biathlon" competition.
According to Russian ** reports, in 2022, China's Emergency Management Bureau plans to purchase 2 Iraq-76 fire extinguishing bombs; Even if this is true, its logic is built on its cheap purchase and routine maintenance costs.
Compared with the new AG600M, the fire extinguishing system developed based on the existing prototype ARJ21 not only has a shorter response speed and higher flight speed, but can also be used in more airports in China, which is enough to serve as an important auxiliary for the air emergency rescue force. I believe that due to the expansion of the scale of the ARJ21 aircraft, the local civil airliner that should have started but was "tossed" due to the lack of independent support capabilities will be replaced by the "Gillian".
Moreover, he has been on the C919 plane twice, and was ridiculed as a "military fan friend" by his old friend @张中麟, when he was at the Singapore Air Show, he saw that ** Aviation and COMAC signed a contract for 40 C919 high-prototype aircraft and 10 ARJ21 high-prototype aircraft, I suddenly had a feeling that if these planes arrived, it might be the first day I went to Tibet.
Regarding the technical problems of the C919 high prototype, the tutor has also written an article, so I won't say much here.
The "heart of China" carried by the C919, the CJ1000A turbocharged engine of the C919, will be tested on the platform of the Yun-20 early next year, and it has been more than a year now. On February 20, the official WeChat of "AECC" also released an article titled ""Typical Case of "One Success", which introduced in detail the "one-time success" of the CJ1000A field special test team, and made an important contribution to accelerating the research and development process of the subject.
Y-20 airline general flight platform, CJ1000A engine pod test installed on the left side.
Since C929 is out of Russian control, there have been new developments recently. On February 19, Zhejiang Huarui Company's official Weibo released a message, saying that the first prototype of the fuselage in C929 "will be delivered in only 1289 days." "From this point of view, the C929 is very likely to be another important achievement in China's civil aviation field after the ARJ21 and C919 at the 80th anniversary celebration of the National Day in 2029.
Huarui Engineering Management received the first aircraft segment delivery countdown stopwatch on the C929 aircraft.
However, it is precisely because of the development of the ARJ21 and C919 aircraft that many people still have doubts about the future of the C929. @张仲麟师座和他的一名老朋友, "before 2030, we can see C929 on the production line", the professor is of course confident, but his friend insists that the C929 plan must have a corresponding military use before it can be achieved.
The author believes that when C919 is about to take off, C919 can be seen on the runways of major airports across the country, and such controversies are common. Therefore, when there is a choice, everyone will choose to buy the ARJ21 or C919 to support their own civil aircraft with their best efforts. When China's large passenger aircraft industry has developed to the point where "the heroes of the world are only Cao'er", at that time, I can speak to those young people in a condescending tone: "You see, the 919 has been in operation since before our first test flight." You see, this is our first batch of 919 prototypes to enter Tibet! ”