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| Russia Will Fly a New Heavy Bomber in 2024 ... If Sanctions Don't Kill It First (from August 2020) |
| 2024-02-24 |
| [Popular Mechanics] [WRONG!] Moscow sorely needs the new bomber, which would be its first in more than 40 years. A new report claims Russia is making progress on a new nuclear-capable bomber, PAK-DA. Moscow sorely needs the new bomber, its first in more than 40 years. While Russia could field prototypes, full production remains uncertain as Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine will deprive Russia of technology it needs to build the aircraft. Russia’s much-delayed PAK-DA strategic bomber—the country’s first large combat jet in decades—may finally be on track for a 2024 test flight. Still, despite more than a decade of intermittent progress, designers and engineers could see their hopes dashed for the new plane as a result of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The failure of the bomber program could spell the eventual end of the Russian bomber fleet. The PAK-DA program began in 2009, when Moscow held a competition to design a new long-range bomber. Tupolev, a Moscow-based aircraft design bureau with roots going back to before World War II, won the competition. Tupolev designed Russia’s entire fleet of heavy bombers, including the Tu-95 (NATO code name: "Bear"), Tu-22M3 ("Backfire"), and Tu-160 ("Blackjack") bombers. |
| Posted by:DooDahMan |