TNI: The Russian PAK DA combat aircraft will be better than the American B-21
The United States already has several demonstration copies of the sixth-generation B-21 combat aircraft, and the Russians are only developing the PAK DA stealth bomber, writes TNI. But there is every reason to believe that when production begins, Russia will have the advantage.
Brandon Weichert
A race has developed between the three great powers that rule the world, which has ceased to be unipolar, to create the best long-range strategic stealth bomber. Historically, Americans have long dominated this area. However, this dominance, as well as America's global primacy after the Cold War as such, is increasingly in doubt.
China is not the only country to introduce a series of combat aircraft that can challenge American superiority in stealth technology, but the Russians are desperately trying to interfere in this race.
In fact, the Russians are preparing a counterweight to our newest strategic stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider. The Russians called their plane PAK DA (“A promising long-range aviation complex”), and is being developed by the legendary Tupolev Design Bureau. There is already a heated debate in the West about whether the plane will fly in the near future.
Last October, the Russians announced that work was continuing. But now there are reports that the plane will not take off until the 2030s due to the additional burden placed on the military-industrial complex due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
However, what if the Russians manage to build a PAK DA? And what if the Americans manage to bring their B-21s into the real world in sufficient numbers? Which plane will win in a direct confrontation? We will look at this issue further — and the conclusions will surely surprise you.
PAK YES
It is believed that the Russian aircraft will be subsonic, with a cruising speed of about 800 kilometers per hour. Russian designers probably preferred the range and stealth over the speed of this bird. But the flight range is expected to be from at least 6,500 to almost 12,000 kilometers without refueling. PAK DA will have a practical ceiling of 20 kilometers with a maximum take-off weight of about 145 tons.
At the same time, almost nothing is known for sure about the technical characteristics of the aircraft. It is believed that four Kuznetsov turbofan engines will be used to equip it. However, according to rumors, a new engine will be developed for the PAK DA, so far known as the “Product of the Russian Federation". Such an engine will be specially designed to provide stealth and efficiency.
As for the payload, it is claimed that the aircraft will carry from 27 to 32 tons of weapons. The armament of this aircraft will probably include cruise missiles— in particular, the X-102, X-555 and X-101/102. In addition, the Russians will take advantage of their advantage over the Americans in the field of hypersonic weapons and will deploy derivatives of the Kh-47M2 Dagger and, possibly, hypersonic cruise missiles X-95 on the aircraft.
In other words, the PAK DA will be able to carry many weapons, both conventional and nuclear.
Russian sources have hinted that PAK DA will be accompanied by swarms of drones that will form an auxiliary squadron.
If this aircraft ever takes off from the drawing board into an unfriendly sky, it will provide the Russians with powerful strike capabilities that Moscow's forces would otherwise lack.
B-21 Raider
Meanwhile, the Americans have already developed a next-generation long-range stealth bomber in the form of the B-21 Raider. First unveiled last year in the skies over Palmdale at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the B-21 is built from unique radio-absorbing materials according to the “flying wing” scheme. It is based on the experience gained during the development of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
According to the designers, the B-21 is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads with a wide arsenal of ammunition, just like the PAK DA. The Americans intend to use the B-21 to launch nuclear weapons, including B61 and B83 gravity bombs, as well as long-range missiles outside the air defense zone. The Air Force has also developed a hypersonic cruise missile to compete with those that the Russians intend to equip their PAK DA.
The Americans will also deploy a number of systems from conventional weapons on the B-21. These include high-precision unified ammunition for direct attack of the target (JDAM), which allow it to perform tasks without the need for advanced deployment. Thus, its strategic range and operational flexibility are great.
It is estimated that the B-21 has a range of about 12,000 kilometers, which allows the aircraft to perform missions around the world without the need for forward basing.
As the Chinese, Russians, and even the Iranians develop advanced A2/AD systems that can prevent the United States from demonstrating force in their home regions, the B-21 will be able to effectively break through these “security bubbles” where America's enemies will hide their power.
And, as in the case of the Russian PAK DA, the US military plans to deploy the B-21 in mixed squadrons. Although the B-21 itself will be a manned system, it will work in tandem with unmanned escort systems in a “Faithful Wingman" configuration.
The designers of the B-21 learned the lessons of the B-2 Spirit, which proved to be expensive, cumbersome, and difficult to maintain. As a result, the B-21 was designed specifically for daily flights. It must be constantly ready to perform tasks and, therefore, much easier to operate. The Americans are convinced that over time, the B-21 will become cheaper to maintain than its stealth predecessors.
The B-21 has only one obvious problem — it is extremely expensive. Due to burdensome costs, the Air Force has settled on 150 aircraft, although they really need 300 units to be effective. Considering that each bird will cost 700 million dollars — almost ten times more expensive than the F-35 Lightning II (“Lightning”) — The Air Force will most likely receive several pieces. Moreover, America's military industrial base is broken and not working.
Of course, the Air Force has several demonstration copies of the B-21. But will they receive more such planes on time? And will the hypersonic cruise missiles that the Americans are only developing for the B-21 Raider be ready in the near future — and, again, in any significant quantities?
This seems unlikely.
Who will win?
Neither the B-21 Raider nor the Tupolev PAK DA will fight each other in direct combat. But if Washington and Moscow do come into conflict — hypothetically, if the conflict in Ukraine escalates into a direct war between Russia and NATO — and if the Russians and Americans manage to put these planes into production and send them into battle, their capabilities will be crucial for both sides.
Alas, it seems that PAK DA may have an advantage over his American rival. Of course, we don't know all the details about any of the planes, since both programs are highly classified. Americans have a longer history of operating stealth aircraft. On the other hand, Americans have serious difficulties in creating advanced platforms. It is true that the Russians have begun to give priority to the construction of PAK DA, but on the other hand, their military-industrial base is in much better condition than that of the United States.
In addition, it is assumed that the PAK DA will have a much larger take-off mass. This means that he will be able to carry more ammunition to the target. Moreover, the Russians already have a reliable and constantly replenished supply of hypersonic weapons. Americans don't have it. In addition, thanks to the new START agreement of the Obama era, Moscow also has a more modern nuclear arsenal than America.
Even if the B-21 is much more inconspicuous than the PAK DA (some analysts even believe that it was “sliced off” the older American B-2 Spirit), the Russians can theoretically mass—produce these systems, equip them with more deadly weapons, and attack long-range NATO targets much faster than the Americans can.
Brandon Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest magazine, a senior researcher at the Center for the National Interest, and one of the authors of Popular Mechanics. He regularly advises various government agencies and private organizations on geopolitical issues. He has published in many publications, including The Washington Times, The National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, Asia Times, and countless others. He is the author of several books.
