from the article:
John T. Greenwood wrote in his book, The Designers: Their Design Bureaux and Their Aircraft, that the “Sukhoi’s Su-27 [and] variants demonstrates the wisdom of evolutionary design and design heredity, and component commonality -
no great technological leaps are risked, production is not seriously interrupted for retooling and retraining, and service requirements are met.”
So Russia is going to best the leaders in the industry by not taking any technological leaps?
The PAKFA paradox is this:
It is either a safe, design without technical risk to keep it cheap and easy, using older proven capabilities (heredity design)
or:
It is going to be an expensive, highly researched aircraft with new everything in order to compete with the west. (technological leaps)
It can't be both. You aren't going to have these amazing new engines that don't cost anything, just like you won't have multiple AESA radars that won't add to cost and complexity.
Not to mention that Inflation is hurting the russian defense industry funding.
As for the engines I'm sure they can be fixed, but I am not so simple as to think the airplane can fly without them while they are being fixed (fixed easily, but fixed often) and it will have two of them that most be fixed often, though easily. It can't fly with one. This also means that Russia and its customers must be provided with extra engines in order not to lose flight time. So its an extra consideration in the price, or you have to be ok with the aircraft being down often. Not only that but I have read that Russian engines must still be overhauled.
The The B-2, F-22, F-35... If this is a football match Russia is down 3 goals to nil, in the 65th minute. theoretically they can still tie and even win, but I don't feel they have the players to do it, nor the time.
Wow. What a deep and thourogh analyse. Absolutly fab! How did you come to such conclusion?
Its probably because the US has retired/scrapped more stealth aircraft than Russia has ever produced. You think that Russia isn't desperately trying to catch up even thought the PAKFAs first flight was a full 20 years after the YF-22s? You don't think the whole USSR collapsing and a shaky economy might have set them back a tad?
Kinda put your post in a very moot point. But i think people like you, get off when posting this time and time again.
Maybe people keep mentioning the same things because its reality, and these are major considerations. I didn't think it was news that Russia has been having a rough time lately funding its military and R&D for new equipment and that carries weight.
haavalra I might be able to take you more seriously if you said things like "Russian Aerospace/VVS is hurting, but I believe the PAKFA can overcome that and be competitive with western designs" instead its "No Russia is even/equal with the west" and I'm sorry but the west has a head start, and an incredible amount of funds.
You talk about the good old days of the USSR designs without acknowledging that those minds and the institutions that developed them know reside in other nations. You seem unable to acknowledge that russia is even behind, let alone that its a rocky/challenging path ahead.
For as much as you bash the price of the F-35, the west can
still afford them. It can afford to spends billions in research as well. the US just agreed to spend half of what Russia made in arm exports last year --just on the LRIP F-35s for 2013. If Russia attempts something of this scope and scale we will be able to accurately compare price.