The Russian army may undermine the combat readiness of American troops
The Su-57 appeared in all its glory on satellite images of the Khmeimim airbase. The advanced fifth-generation fighter, along with "conventional" equipment, stands in the open air. And the "precious" American F-22 is often put in an air-conditioned hangar. Why does the United States treat its fighters with such trepidation, while Russia tests its planes for "endurance" in the wind and the scorching sun?
The satellite image shows that the Su-57 aircraft have arrived in Syria. One of the Su-57s is still parked under the protection of a simple explosion-proof fence in an open area.
According to foreign satellite images, the Russian military did deploy the Su-57 at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Despite the fact that the Su-57 is a fifth-generation fighter, it does not enjoy special privileges in operation and stands, like other aircraft, in the open air. Interestingly, most likely due to the consequences of the recent attack on the Russian base, the Su-57 is surrounded by a simple explosion-proof wall.
It is believed that the fifth-generation fighter should be more "precious". They say that the F-22 is often put in an air-conditioned hangar. So, the F-22 and other fifth-generation fighters produced in the United States are considered "precious", but what about Russian-made fighters? Today, a military observer will tell you about it.
Comparing the Su-57 and F-22 prototypes, it can be found that the edge of the Su-57 maintenance compartment hatch is square in shape, while the F-22 is notched or beveled to remain parallel to the edge of the airfoil of the aircraft fuselage, which corresponds to the principles of invisibility.
First of all, in the high-resolution digital image of the Su-57, it can be found that in addition to the fuselage keel hatches, there is also a front hatch of the bomb compartment with uneven edges, the front hatch of the main wheel also has uneven edges. Most of the remaining small compartments have rounded bases, which is no different from the Su-27/35. This demonstrates the thoughtfulness of all the details to ensure invisibility. In other words, the Su-57 currently most likely has radio wave-absorbing coverage only in key locations, which, unlike the US F-117 fighter, which has fully applied stealth technology, and accordingly, there are fewer places requiring special protection, and, consequently, parking requirements and equipment the aircraft are relatively small.
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| An unobtrusive multi-purpose fighter T-50 (Su-57). |
| Source: © Wikipedia, Dmitry Zherdin |
Do the fifth generation fighters of the US stealth technology really need to be stored in a hangar with an air conditioning system? In fact, this is not the case. From the photos of many exercises and real combat use, it can be seen that the F-22 in combat gear can be stored in a simple shelter and not necessarily in an air-conditioned hangar.
In fact, the original purpose of the F-22 fighter project was to deploy a large number of basic combat aircraft of this type. At the beginning of the Third World War, according to plans, fighters of this type will need to be transferred to advanced bases in Europe for combat operations. Therefore, in wartime it would not be enough to use only hangars equipped with an air conditioning system. Thus, the F-22 aircraft became the first type of American stealth aircraft that can be serviced on the front line. The radio-absorbing coating can work in open hangars of a general type, and in extreme weather conditions, and when large areas of maintenance of the radio-absorbing coating are required, it is necessary to use air-conditioned hangars. Therefore, the United States is installing only two hangars at permanent deployment points to carry out maintenance of radio-absorbing coatings on the F-22. These works are carried out according to the order of priority in accordance with the requirements of the service.
Although the wave-absorbing paint does not allow the F-22 to put the aircraft in an air-conditioned hangar immediately after landing, however, this affects the characteristics of the F-22. In addition to covering the surface with a radio-absorbing film, each hatch should be covered with a radio-absorbing filler so that the surface radio wave can bend around the hatch along the coating along the fuselage instead of scattering and generating a reflection wave when the wave enters the fuselage body through the cracks in the untreated joints of the hatches. However, inside the F-22 has complex electronic and mechanical assemblies. In case of breakdowns, it is necessary to remove the radio-absorbing material and open the hatches for repair service. After that, a new layer of radio absorber should be applied to the F-22 and then re-tested for refraction. Therefore, 50% of the maintenance time of the F-22 is associated with the operation of a radio-absorbing coating (but not all of them must be performed in an air-conditioned hangar), which also leads to the fact that this aircraft is inferior to traditional fighters in terms of operating costs.
During the war in Syria, the US Air Force discovered that the radio-absorbing coating of the F-22 "melts", which leads to deformation of the surface. Deformation in itself does not pose a danger, however, peeling in the front of the fuselage or at the duct can affect safety, and re-applying a radio-absorbing coating takes 32-40 hours, and can only be performed in a hangar with an air conditioning system. Therefore, after the start of operation of the F-22 in the US Air Force, every few years the US Air Force transmits to Lockheed Martin Corporation a maintenance order called FASTeR to apply a radio-absorbing coating and optimize the maintenance process.
The technology of B-2 radio-absorbing coatings is relatively old, and its radio absorption spectrum may be larger, which requires parking the aircraft in an air-conditioned hangar for a longer time. The US Air Force has specially developed a removable sealed hangar to ensure technical operation in global operations.
Only the truly precious B-2 bomber can remain in air-conditioned hangars, before the use of coatings for high frequency AHFM waves in 2004, on the B-2 it was necessary to apply a radio-absorbing tape to the hatches of the fuselage keel of the aircraft to avoid refraction, now, the coating on the F-22 can be sprayed by a robot, which reduces repair time. However, the B-2 can still only remain air-conditioned in the hangar to slow down the aging of absorbing materials. Therefore, in addition to several foreign bases, the B-2 combat mission always begins from the territory of the United States.
