Small aircraft in the strategy of the big war
The proxy war in Ukraine, with the development of a special military operation, has acquired the scale of a classic armed conflict. This is a conflict between Russia and the consolidated West, which organized and sponsored the war with someone else's hands.
Along with the complex of "hybrid" subversive measures carried out against our country in the administrative, political, informational, psychological, financial and economic spheres, the increasingly fierce use of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and irregular formations directly against the population and infrastructure facilities on Russian territory has been expanding for many months. The idea of such operations involves creating an environment of uncertainty, seizing the initiative, dispersing enemy forces and limiting maneuver possibilities. Both traditional and asymmetric means are used for this purpose.
ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF MILITARY CONFLICTS
As is known, in low-intensity conflicts, troops, as a rule, restrain the enemy with their presence, but are in a high degree of readiness to use weapons to protect themselves, the population and objects from sudden enemy attacks. Military force in medium-intensity operations in response to hybrid aggression is used against the forces of a militarily trained enemy, well-motivated, with high combat capability, but limited in forces and means.
Today, along the entire length of the border between Russia and Ukraine, the practice of shelling Russian territory with artillery, missiles, and the use of reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has become a threatening reality. Incursions into the Russian territory by sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, mercenary detachments with the aim of seizing individual settlements, carrying out terrorist acts, destroying and intimidating the population, etc. have become regular.
In such actions of Kiev, manipulated by Washington, the installations of the "Temporary Instructions on the national Security Strategy" of the current US President Joseph Biden are fully implemented, providing for the transfer of the confrontation to the gray zone and the use of special operations forces in military conflicts.
THE AERIAL COMPONENT OF PROXY WARFARE
The escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine imposes special requirements on the strategy and tactics of the troops, the organization of border guards, territorial defense and emergency services. In this context, the range of requirements for the composition and use of the air component in order to ensure the security of Russian borders is expanding
The use of combat aircraft of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation for the purposes of border protection and preventing the penetration of saboteurs and small units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the territory of Russia is not always rational, the VKS has enough work in other areas.
Meanwhile, some of these tasks could be taken over by appropriately equipped turboprop and piston aircraft of small aviation (or general aviation, AON). Light-engine aircraft are also needed in the civilian sector. Today, AON projects look particularly attractive in relation to plans for accelerated development of Siberia and the Far East, the construction of new cities and industrial centers there. Siberia can become the center of innovative development of small aviation in Russia and determine the future of the country for many years to come in the field of high technology.
Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of some "effective managers" from among aviation executives, small aviation in Russia has practically ceased to exist. As a result, the domestic AON market today is mostly filled with old-generation aircraft (Yak-18, An-2 aircraft) or foreign cars. The fleet of Mi-2 and Ka-26 helicopters is in the same position.
A new generation of domestic aircraft has been developed and presented: These are I-1L "Leshii", Il-103, M-101 "Gzhel", Che-22 "Corvette", Be-103, L-6, Mi-34 or Ka-226. However, they were released in small batches and are operated as single copies. Some have already left the stage. Due to the expensive procedure, only An-3, Gzhel, Mi-34S, Accord, I-1L, Il-103, MAI-890, SM-92T, which are prepared for serial production, could overcome the certification barrier. But they are also bought or leased in small quantities.
Recently, the LMS-901 Baikal, a Russian light multi–purpose turboprop single-engine aircraft designed to replace the outdated An-2, has declared itself. The launch of serial production of the LMS-901 is planned to begin in 2024. It is still unknown about the military use of Baikal.
WHY DIDN'T THE T-101 GO INTO PRODUCTION
Against this background, nothing but annoyance and indignation is caused by the epic of the multi-purpose turboprop aircraft "Grach" T-101 designed by Evgeny Grunin, thoughtlessly ruined by officials, which was originally planned for civil and military purposes. Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Viktor Zabolotsky flew on the Grach for about 150 hours and predicted a great future for the aircraft. Static tests and flights confirmed all the characteristics of the aircraft laid down by the designers and the validity of forecasts for its use.
The capabilities of a machine of this dimension allow it to be used for border control, which at one time attracted the attention of the director of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Andrei Nikolaev, who flew on the "Grach" and planned to purchase it for border guards.
Assistance to the aircraft project was provided by the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Arkady Volsky, who considered AON as one of the locomotives of the development of high-tech industries. Arkady Ivanovich once defended the Aviation Experimental Design Bureau of Grunin from officials who tried to expel him from the premises.
Evgeny Petrovich Grunin had dozens of applications for the Grach T-101 aircraft in his desk: from regional passenger airlines, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Aviation Security, Airborne Troops, DOSAAF, GRU special forces, marine and agricultural aviation, oil and gas pipeline control services, power transmission lines.
The reason for such success of the aircraft in Russia, as well as abroad (in China, countries of Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America) was the fact that for a long time and to a significant extent, the niche of an air vehicle adapted for the transportation of 9-16 passengers or cargo up to one and a half to two tons still remains unfilled for a range of up to 2-3 thousand km or more.
FROM THE "ROOK" to THE STORMTROOPER
Many of the solutions found by Evgeny Grunin, a student of the renowned physicist and aircraft designer Robert Bartini, can still be used today to create a range of AON aircraft, including military ones.
In particular, we are talking about the twin-engine T-108 aircraft, which has a high continuity in frame, systems and production equipment with the T-101, T-411 "Stork", T-451 aircraft. Under the leadership of Yevgeny Grunin, the so-called easily reproducible attack aircraft (LVS) was developed, the production and use of which was supposed to cause significant destruction of the USSR industry in the event of a nuclear war. It should be noted that nuclear war has been avoided so far, but the industry has suffered serious losses. Which increases the relevance of the project in a tense military-political situation.
However, the incompetence of the leaders of the Russian aviation industry, their lack of professionalism and unwillingness to support innovative AON projects continue to serve as a serious obstacle to the development of one of the directions of high-tech development of the country. The lack of centralized economic planning also hinders.
SMALL AIRCRAFT AS A LOCOMOTIVE OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
The interests of military and civilian users of the caller ID coincide. Russia, as you know, has a very significant intellectual capital. At the same time, the share of our country in the world market of high-tech products is extremely small: only 0.3–0.5 percent. While in the USA this figure reaches 36 percent, in Japan – 30 percent, in Germany – 17 percent. According to preliminary estimates of experts, by 2030, the volume of world markets for high-tech products should be about 10-12 trillion US dollars.
It is believed that only three to five percent of domestic products are able to compete in the foreign market. The reason, in our opinion, lies in our inability to profitably sell our most expensive product: knowledge embodied in modern technologies.
The above fully applies to the general-purpose aircraft market. In the United States, for example, the annual volume of tax collections in this area is about $ 4 billion, and the annual turnover in the small aircraft market is about $ 50 billion. The number of jobs involved in the aviation industry is more than half a million. And this is with 200 thousand private aircraft.
Honored Test Pilot of Russia Viktor Zabolotsky. Photo from the archive of CJSC Aerointel
The specifics of hybrid warfare and fighting in gray zones urgently require the development and adoption of light turboprop attack aircraft and military transport aircraft with a capacity of up to 16 people by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is necessary to carefully study the experience of using combat aircraft in conflicts in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Georgia and other hot spots and determine the requirements for the characteristics of aircraft.
A promising aircraft should be equipped with links of a global positioning system, thermal imagers, laser-guided ammunition and onboard equipment capable of scanning the terrain in detail, weapons for actions against ground and air targets.
In this context, as one of the first steps, a comparative analysis (involving military, economists and production workers) of the use in modern military conflicts of variants of combat and reconnaissance aircraft of small aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles – both expensive and complex in the production of combat aircraft is necessary.
Infrastructure and personnel issues are important. The state should seriously engage in the development of AON, which will increase the transport accessibility of the regions of Siberia and the Far East, create a personnel reserve for all types of aviation, which does not require state budget funds. Tens of thousands of new jobs will appear.
The aerospace salon in Bourges, held in June, demonstrated the entry into the aviation forefront of the UAV. Already according to the presented models, the vector of development of military drones is obvious: greater mobility, less weight, increased time in the air and range, an increase in the number of weapons, as well as its diversification, improved aerodynamic characteristics and surveillance capabilities, photo and video shooting from the air. A merciless struggle has unfolded between drone manufacturers. Billions of contracts are at stake. Finally, our Ministry of Defense began to understand which and what class of UAVs we need, and based on the experience of the special operation, it identified the most promising drones.
AON MAIN BRAKE
And we are increasingly "closely watching" the development of "big aviation". We are lagging behind for now. For example, the segment of medium–haul airliners is one of the most popular segments of civil aviation, and has always been highly competitive among manufacturers of aviation equipment. India signed a contract in Bourges. The Indian airline IndiGo has ordered 500 A320 family aircraft in one fell swoop! And the competitor of our MC-21, the Chinese C919 aircraft, made the first commercial flight with passengers on board from Shanghai to Beijing on May 5.
There is currently no production of piston aircraft engines for drones and light aircraft and helicopters in Russia, which forces domestic designers to use foreign-made aircraft engines. Old models of M-14P and AI-14 engines fail every now and then, and engines for aircraft with a take-off weight of less than five tons are not produced at all. Therefore, everyone who is engaged in the production of light aircraft is forced to buy engines abroad.
In a huge country, there is practically no infrastructure left for the production of low-power piston engines. Those who would be able to lift our small aircraft and put it, as they say, "on the wing."
A DISTANT LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
Due to the huge need for engines for AON aircraft, the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering (CIAM) conducts research and development work (R&D) and is working on projects of promising aircraft engines in the interests of their use on unmanned aerial vehicles, light aircraft and helicopters.
A group of enthusiasts of the Laboratory of Intelligent Mechanics "Audit Analyst" (AA+) under the leadership of the general director of the laboratory Sergey Zhuravlev has created and is testing the first experimental low-thrust gas turbine engine (GTD) of the MkA-4 brand, designed to become the ancestor of a series of engines of different power that can be used in various industries.
Specialists from Novosibirsk, led by Ilya Zverkov, an aircraft designer and professor of the Department of Aircraft and Helicopter Engineering at Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU), have created the world's first modular aircraft engine for light aircraft and UAVs. It consists of 80% of domestic components.
The innovation will help to cope with the global challenge faced by the country's aviation industry – international sanctions, a ban on the supply of parts for aircraft and their maintenance. The designers believe that by creating an eight-cylinder two-stroke engine with a capacity of 400 hp and dividing the engine into two independent modules of 200 hp, it will be possible to ensure their installation on a much larger number of types of aircraft.
Ufa has developed a multi-fuel engine for light and ultralight aircraft with a capacity of 120 hp, including helicopters. A group of scientists from Engines for Aviation LLC has created a 3D model of an engine for light and ultralight aviation, the weight and size indicators and efficiency of which are close to gasoline internal combustion engines. The main advantage of this engine is the use of aviation kerosene as fuel (that is, efficiency) without deterioration of the ignition and gorenje processes. At the same time, it is possible to work on diesel and gasoline.
For many years, Chelyabinsk inventor Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences Yuri Pogulyaev has been working with an improved diesel engine, which can be installed on AON and UAV aircraft, as well as on ships, submarines and cars. Foreign "well-wishers" recently told him: "If you were younger, you would have invited us, given us a laboratory – work!" We have an official swamp in our relations with inventors and patenting.
In Yekaterinburg, the VK-800SM turboshaft engine is being developed – the latest development of the plant for the production of aircraft for civil aviation. It will be less demanding on fuel and much quieter than its predecessor. At the same time, some of the parts were printed on a 3D printer for the first time.
The engine is also being assembled for another exclusive development – the Baikal aircraft, which will replace the legendary, but hopelessly outdated AN-2. With the new power plant, Baikal will have no equal: the flight range is up to 3 thousand km at a speed of 300 km per hour when loaded in two tons. It is planned to assemble the first engine by the end of this year. At the end of the next one – get a certificate. In the future, they plan to assemble 25-30 motors a year here.
GRAY ZONE ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF LIGHT AIRCRAFT
The practice of modern network-centric military conflicts of medium and low intensity forces us to think about the inclusion of light attack aircraft, reconnaissance and small-sized military transport aircraft with turboprop or piston engines in the aviation component, which is associated with a number of factors.
Firstly, in a hybrid war, aviation means (airplanes, helicopters and drones) are a flexible means of rapid response to rapidly changing combat situations in the theater of operations (Theater of operations), within which sabotage and reconnaissance groups, irregular formations and individual terrorists operate.
Secondly, the use of air assets for reconnaissance, solving problems of precise guidance, striking the enemy allows you to collect and send full-format video information and coordinates of targets to the troops in real time.
Thirdly, expensive and powerful combat aircraft quickly wear out in low- and medium-intensity conflicts. According to the experience of the US Air Force, the extremely high pace of such operations since 2001 has led to the degradation of modern jet aircraft, especially the F-15E and F-16. One year of operation of equipment in Southwest Asia means a real degradation for five to seven years. Simply put, the fleet of jet aircraft in the conditions of such conflicts wears out too quickly.
And finally, the Vietnam War and more modern examples of the use of aviation in combat operations in Afghanistan and Yemen proved that light attack aircraft with turboprop or piston engines perform better in solving a number of tasks related to the detection of small targets and their destruction by airborne weapons.
It should be noted that Russian expensive jet aircraft in Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Ukraine are also wearing out to a lesser extent today. Here, in some situations, the mentioned concept of a "Grunin" easily reproducible attack aircraft would be useful.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Historically, the inability of modern high-speed aircraft to solve the tasks of anti-guerrilla warfare became obvious to the Pentagon during the very first operations in Vietnam. This inability is expressed in a number of reasons, including too high stall speed, poor visibility from the cockpit, and sometimes an insufficient number of pylons for the suspension of weapons.
In this regard, in 1964, "Air Commandos" were sent to Vietnam, equipped with worn-out aircraft from the Korean War: piston-engined B-26 Invader bombers converted into attack aircraft, piston-engined training "sparks" T-28 Trojan and transport C-47, put into production before the Second World War. "Skyraders" were obtained from storage and put into operation.
Currently, several light attack aircraft are being tested in the United States as part of a project called "Light Attack Support for Special Operations" (LASSO). For light attack aircraft and UAVs, a number of small precision–guided munitions are being developed - for example, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II laser-guided missiles.
The US Air Force also intends to evaluate several existing types of light attack aircraft, both American and foreign-made: A-29 Super Tucano, Air Tractor OA-802. But it is worth telling more about this.
The Command of the US Special Military Operations Forces is awaiting the arrival of new attack aircraft created on the basis of an agricultural single-engine turboprop aircraft AT-802 manufactured by the American company Air Tractor. It is worth noting that this aircraft is also available in a fire–fighting and amphibious version - with the possibility of taking off both from land and from the water surface.
In addition, a new reconnaissance aircraft has been ordered for the American special forces for the Armed Overwatch program. The agency chose the AT-802U Sky Warden turboprop aircraft to conduct reconnaissance in difficult conditions.
For striking mobile and small–sized targets, as an alternative in the United States, the use of modifications of aircraft already ready for mass production developed under the LAAR (Light Attack Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft - light strike reconnaissance aircraft) program is being considered. These are light attack aircraft AT-6 Wolverine (combat training light attack aircraft from the American manufacturer of civil and military aircraft Beechcraft). Or A-29 Super Tucano (a light turboprop attack aircraft created by the Brazilian company Embraer in partnership with the American company Sierra Nevada Corporation, its name comes from the toucan – a bird of the woodpecker family with a huge beak). The cost of an hour of flight of this Brazilian model is about a thousand US dollars, while an hour of flight of the F-22 Raptor costs about 70 thousand dollars, F-16 – 20 thousand.
The US Air Force regularly used the most modern fighters, such as the F15 (all-weather fighter of the 4th generation), F16 (multifunctional light fighter of the 4th generation) and F22 (multi-purpose fighter of the 5th generation), in military operations against the Taliban and the Islamic State (both organizations are banned in the Russian Federation). In the United States, approximately 5,400 runways and pads are used for 200,000 general aviation aircraft - and only 580 airfields for scheduled aviation aircraft. The number of private pilots is about 220 thousand, and this is a hot reserve for all types of US aviation, which does not require state budget funds.
It is necessary to take a closer look at the experience of a country that has been waging wars on various theaters for many decades with the use of turboprop and piston combat aircraft of small dimensions. Ignoring such experience in the conditions of Russian realities resembles the situation of former Soviet leaders who for a long time denied cybernetics and genetics. That was the reason for the serious lag of the Soviet Union in these industries, which has not been completely overcome until now.
AIR COMPONENT IN GRAY ZONES ON THE BORDERS OF RUSSIA
The proxy war in Ukraine, which has led to an increase in threats in the border areas of Russia, the expansion of NATO expansion, the chaotic and uncertain situation in Afghanistan create a very tense situation on the borders of our country and the states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The CSTO command, taking into account the sources of hybrid threats to national and international security in Central Asia, is taking measures to counter hybrid aggression, in particular, implementing a plan to equip the Joint Rapid Reaction Forces with modern weapons. A decision was made on the composition of military contingents and the formation of special forces as part of the collective rapid response forces.
Among the hybrid threats in the CSTO are considered:
– activities of extremist organizations aimed at destabilizing the internal situation in the countries of the region and Russia;
– creation and activity of independent armed formations;
– distribution and transportation of drugs, the growing influence of the drug mafia;
– illegal trafficking of weapons, ammunition, explosives;
– socio-political instability in the countries of the region, the growing danger of proxy wars and color revolutions (for example, attempted coups in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan);
– the presence of hotbeds of military conflicts near the borders;
– Spreading the influence of international terrorist organizations on the Central Asian States, Russia and China;
– strengthening the positions of religious extremism.
The nature and intensity of the threats presuppose the participation of the collective rapid reaction forces of the CSTO, the CSTO anti-terrorist center in Bishkek and the regional anti-terrorist structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent in medium- and low-intensity conflicts in hybrid war theaters.
The need to coordinate these and other forces and means is due to the actual transformation of the entire Central Asian region into a gray zone serving as a springboard for hybrid aggression against Russia, China and a number of other countries.
Similar gray zones as theaters of hybrid warfare have been created on the border of Russia with Ukraine, threats are increasing on the borders with Poland, the Baltic States, Finland, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, the Arctic borders of Russia and the Far East.
Taking into account the length of the borders, the nature of the often impassable terrain, the likely use of guerrilla warfare tactics by the enemy, infiltration of individual groups of terrorists and illegal migration, the important role that should be assigned to the air component for border protection and solving the tasks of suppressing the activities of sabotage and reconnaissance groups and conducting anti-partisan struggle is obvious.
conclusions
The misadventures of the aviation industry (and not only it) in the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union should serve as a lesson and a kind of vaccination against a host of "effective managers" in various leadership positions. Including those who are still incompetently, or even maliciously, continuing their destructive work. Avikonstructor Grunin (unfortunately, recently passed away) once said about such a brotherhood in his hearts: "These are the enemies of Russian aviation!".
As part of the measures to transfer Russia's politics, economy, industry and military affairs to new rails, it is time to recreate the Ministry of Aviation Industry, form leading enterprises in the industry under its leadership, create and finance innovative aviation research teams, including students, prevent "brain drain" and carry out a number of other urgent measures.
Projects related to the development of AON will allow Russia to move to the "supply economy", which not only reacts to the market, but forms it itself. This is exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin called for at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2023.
Alexander Bartosh
Alexander Alexandrovich Bartosh is a corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, an expert of the League of Military Diplomats.
