One of the loudest statements made on the sidelines of the Army-2018 military-technical forum was the message from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov that, on instructions from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, a prototype of a completely new vertical take-off aircraft was being developed in Russia. Work on this project is included in the state armament program until 2027.
The fact that the Ministry of Defense is discussing the creation of an aircraft with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) first became known last year, at the MAKS air show in Zhukovsky near Moscow. Then Borisov, being the deputy head of the military department, noted that the fighter would be a development of the Yakovlev line of vertical take-off aircraft and would be intended for a promising aircraft-carrying cruiser. “There are such plans, we are discussing them, including, perhaps, these directions will be implemented for a promising aircraft for aircraft-carrying cruisers,” he said.
Let us recall that the Yakovlev Experimental Design Bureau (OKB) began studying the topic of vertical takeoff and landing back in the late 1950s. The first such project in the Soviet Union was the Yak-36 deck attack aircraft, then the serial Yak-38 and Yak-141 were created on its basis. The aircraft were officially retired from Navy service in 2004. In the 1990s, a new project, the Yak-201, was developed on its own initiative, but it remained only in drawings on paper.
Airplane of the future
For a long time, talk has continued about the construction of a new Russian aircraft carrier for the Navy. At the same time, the issue of the composition of the aviation group for such a ship is also being discussed.
Today, naval pilots have at their disposal several dozen Su-33 and MiG-29K/KUB fighters, but these machines are designed to take off from a deck equipped with a springboard, and landing is carried out using an arresting arrester. But this grouping is quite sufficient for the only heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser in our fleet, the Admiral Kuznetsov. The construction of new aircraft-carrying cruisers will require a certain number of not only additional aircraft, but also the creation of a new generation of aircraft. This is in the distant plans of the Ministry of Defense, and these issues are already being discussed with aircraft manufacturers.
According to Borisov, we are talking about creating a new aircraft, and not about developing on the basis of some existing machine.
Of course, this is the future for all aircraft-carrying ships; it will be necessary new park aircraft - this is why various technologies are used that allow for short takeoff and landing, or simply vertical takeoff
Yuri Borisov
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
According to him, “the timing is determined by the technological cycle of creation; as a rule, it is seven to ten years if it goes into series.” The existing Su-33 and MiG-29K/KUB aircraft will gradually become obsolete, as a result of which in about 10–15 years the development of new aircraft will be required.
According to the honored military pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General Vladimir Popov, a vertical take-off fighter was necessary before and is needed now, because operational-tactical tasks require having in the “arsenal”, as a rule, without fail, several types of aircraft. “This plane is really needed, and not because we are “going crazy” or talking about showing someone our fist. No, these are natural processes. They are dictated by operational and strategic tasks,” he says.
“We have the MiG-29 and on its basis the MiG-35 - these are light fighters for gaining air superiority and protecting (defense) objects. Su-27 and its modifications, variants of the Su-30SM, Su-33 created on its basis , Su-35, as well as the Su-34 front-line strike bomber, are long-range escort aircraft and can simultaneously be used in the strike version, says Popov. “These heavy fighters are needed to accompany strike forces already into the enemy’s operational depth or for a long period of combat.” air combat (1–1.5 hours). They are also used to escort long-range Tu-22M3M and Tu-160M when they cross the front line at high speed. Just like in naval aviation, carrier-based aircraft are also used, only takeoff from the ship."
And when we have a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, it will be additional operational capabilities not only at sea, but in limited areas of some local combat operations or when organizing defense. Such an aircraft, in fact, is more related to defensive systems
Vladimir Popov
At the same time, it will not have very large ranges compared to conventional aircraft, the expert believes. “But they will be able to carry out serious operational-tactical tasks. For the purpose of efficiency, maximizing capabilities, that is, to prevent the enemy’s influence somewhere, to prevent this attack during the accumulation, relocation of troops, such aircraft will also be able to do this,” says the general.
Another important point, Popov believes, is that “without a large airfield network, it is possible to use sites such as heliports for such an aircraft.”
We also have missile cruisers that have a helipad. Yes, they are for the purpose of search and rescue or anti-submarine support, but it is possible that they can work as points for attack aircraft. And nearby there will be a flight of Ka-32 helicopters. Naturally, they will complement each other and increase the combat effectiveness of any surface ship many times over. And for reconnaissance, and for defense, and for the air defense system, and for striking
Vladimir Popov
Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General
And finally, one of the important points for the new VTOL aircraft is new technologies of the military-industrial complex. “I’m talking about control system technologies - this is a “glass” cockpit, and new guidance and navigation systems (GLONASS). Then - new weapons are also developing and already have many directions. Third - materials - fiberglass, carbon fiber. It has become technologically easier to manufacture parts from new materials. And, accordingly, surfaces can be created - radio-absorbing and reflective properties can be used, and so on," says Popov.
Well, engines, today again we took some definite step forward. They just became more economical with us. The manufacturing technology of some parts has made it possible to improve their quality by approximately 10–15% with the same weight characteristics. And they, in turn, also decreased by 10–15%. It turns out that their effect (weight and traction characteristics) is more than 25%. Addressing fuel economy and efficiency
Vladimir Popov
Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General
According to the general, such an aircraft is needed the sooner the better. “You see, one more thing: pilots need to be trained, consciousness needs to be trained, human psychophysiology needs to be used, and this means a lot. The moral qualities of the Armed Forces, including naval aviation, will increase,” Popov concludes.
In turn, TASS military observer Viktor Litovkin emphasizes that VTOL aircraft are only needed if “if we start building aircraft-carrying ships or aircraft carriers.” “Without them, it’s just a waste of money. We already had such aircraft - the Yak-36, Yak-38, Yak-141... By the way, for some reason the drawings of the latter ended up in the USA. And if you look closely at the naval version of the American fighter F- 35, then you can find a lot from the Yak-141 in it,” says the expert.
Forgotten past
Among all the vertical take-off and landing aircraft projects that the world's leading aircraft manufacturing companies have created since the 1950s, only the Soviet Yak-38 and the British Harrier aircraft reached serial production. However, the prototype of the first production aircraft in the USSR was the Yak-36.
In principle, everything is based on the features of the rotary gas jet technology of engines. How does the nozzle change? Making a lightweight rotary mechanism that is durable and reliable in operation is, we believe, half the battle. The engines are basically propulsion engines, made on a jet basis. One engine stands vertically and operates for takeoff (landing), the other two operate by changing the angle of the nozzle - very strong there, 45 degrees - they turn around and give this lifting impulse
Vladimir Popov
Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General
Automation is also important. “Automatic balancing of the aircraft during the hovering process and during the lift-off process - in a helicopter, as we say - these are the most difficult transient processes. And then acceleration and braking again. But these moments are technologically complex, and it is difficult to withstand them in piloting,” - says the pilot.
"Why, when the Yak-36 was made, it was like this, if you look at it appearance, like a flattened frog. It was very flattened, wide-body. And why? - says Popov. - Because large engines and short wings, and at the ends of the wings there are elements of control nozzles, both in roll and pitch, in the tail and in front of the fuselage. This is all done automatically. The higher, more accurate and more reliable the automatic systems work, the more efficient and safe these processes will be.”
The accident rate on the Yak-38 was quite high. Popov says that at one time the ejection system on it was required to be turned on in such a way as to carry out ejection independently of the pilot during the takeoff and landing stages. “There was such a toggle switch - from roll and pitch change. As soon as an extreme roll appeared, say, more than 15 degrees, because above the deck, you understand, the lifting force is immediately lost... The force is reduced by ½. This does not hold the weight of the car, and so that there is no impact from a height of 10–30 meters,” he explains.
Many technological and design solutions were tested on the Yak-38 carrier-based attack aircraft, and vast experience was gained in piloting and operating such equipment. It is noted that, largely thanks to this, both new aircraft-carrying ships and the next generation of Soviet aircraft were created, for example, the Yak-141, which made its first flight in 1987.
The Yak-141 became the third vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft in the world to overcome the speed of sound. It was intended to provide cover for aircraft carrier formations from enemy aircraft, conduct close maneuvering and long-range combat, as well as strike ground and surface targets. Its power plant was combined, consisting of an R-79V-300 lift-propulsion engine with a rotary nozzle and two RD-41 lift engines. One was located in the rear section, and the other two were in the forward part of the fuselage. The round nozzle had the ability to rotate at an angle of 95° to deflect the thrust.
In service Russian army The Yak-141 stood until 2003. The car turned out to be unclaimed. According to open sources, Yakovlev’s company in the early 1990s, when the Russian Navy refused to purchase it, decided to create such an aircraft together with the American company Lockheed Martin. “And she and her companions immediately understood the prospects inherent in the design of such an aircraft. To blame the employees of the Yakovlev Design Bureau for the fact that, in order to save their jobs, they decided at that time to collaborate with the Americans, hardly anyone would raise their hand today,” says the military man TASS columnist Viktor Litovkin.
And then some of the developments actually went there. And we see them today, by the way, in the F-35 project. You see how it is adapted: both on land (short takeoff and landing) and on sea (vertical takeoff and landing). Almost everything worked out for them. Even configurationally they are a little similar: the tail section, the control area for the nozzle systems. This is there, it’s caught
Vladimir Popov
Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General
However, the front part of the plane and the lights on the American are different. “Why?” asks the pilot. “It’s clear. They made “invisibility” there, stealth technologies - signal reflection. But we didn’t have such a task at first. But the tail section for supersonic and high speeds - there’s something in it similar to the F-35. Therefore, yes, our specialists left and worked there for money. After all, these were already our potential partners, and not enemies or adversaries - that’s how it was presented to us then.”
The appearance of the Yak-141, presented in 1991 at the Le Bourget air show, “shocked the West, whose developments on supersonic aircraft vertical take-off, apparently, turned out to be surpassed." The British media wrote about this then. At the same time, in the mid-1990s, work was already underway on the preliminary design of the Yak-201, which was supposed to become further development Yak-141. It was envisaged that it would already be carried out using stealth technologies.
Aviation specialists and experts note the high relevance of creating new vertical take-off and landing aircraft. This is important not only for increasing the prestige, but also the defense capability of Russia. At the same time, engineers and designers will be able to fully use all existing developments in this area and modern aircraft manufacturing technologies.
Roman Azanov
The Ministry of Defense is discussing the creation of a new aircraft with vertical take-off and landing, a project for the creation of which was frozen in the 90s. We are talking about the revival of the SVPP series developed at the Yakovlev Design Bureau; when creating a new aircraft, the technological groundwork developed during the development work on the creation of the Yak-141 can be used.
For reference:
The last demonstration of the Yak-141 was its appearance at the Farnborough Air Show; the unique fighter did not receive a single order from either domestic or foreign customers. Potential clients did not see the need to purchase a VTOL aircraft. “Yak” was not very happy.
In 1995, Lockheed Martin, which was working on a 5th generation vertical take-off fighter, provided funding in exchange for technical data and limited design data on the Yak-141 and other domestic VTOL projects.
It is not for nothing that in the Russian information space they are still arguing that the layout and components of the Lockheed Martin F-35B corporation's newest vertical take-off and landing fighter are so reminiscent of our Yak-141.
Why and why is the Ministry of Defense reviving forgotten technology of the USSR?
Great hopes were placed on the Yak-141; it was a truly breakthrough technology. This aircraft holds quite a few world records:
In 2003, when the Yaka project was finally closed, no one could imagine that VTOL technology would be so relevant for Russia. The Russian Navy relied on ship-based MiGs and Su. But now, when Russia is planning to build a second aircraft carrier, a vertical take-off fighter would be extremely relevant.
Is everything new well forgotten old?
Alexey Zakvasin
Several types of ship-based aircraft may appear in Russia. This was stated at MAKS-2017 by Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov. In particular, the military department plans to revive the Yakovlev Design Bureau’s vertical takeoff and landing carrier-based aircraft project. The aircraft could be part of the air wing of new aircraft carriers that will enter service by 2030. Also, the Ministry of Defense does not exclude the creation of a ship version of the 4++ generation light fighter MiG-35. RT found out what the future of Russian carrier-based aviation might look like.
- RIA News
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters that the department is discussing the creation of a promising aircraft for aircraft-carrying ships. We are talking about short and vertical take-off and landing machines. According to him, the Ministry of Defense is considering turning to the Yakovlev Design Bureau for help.
“This is the development of the “Yakovsky” line, which was discontinued. There are such plans, we are discussing them, including, perhaps, these areas will be implemented for a promising aircraft for aircraft-carrying cruisers,” Borisov said at the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS-2017).
The Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense explained that the new aircraft will be needed for aircraft carriers, which are planned to be laid down “at the finish line” of the state armament program for 2018-2025. Borisov emphasized that the development of a vertical take-off aircraft is a matter for the distant future.
12 world records
In Russia, the monopoly on the production of vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) is held by JSC Experimental Design Bureau named after. A.S. Yakovlev." In 1966, the Yak-36 carrier-based attack aircraft made its first public flight. The model became a prototype for more advanced examples of this type.
Since 1977, the USSR Navy has operated the Yak-38, the first Soviet production VTOL aircraft. The attack aircraft was assembled at the Saratov Aviation Plant. The aircraft was based on aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143 “Kyiv”, “Minsk”, “Novorossiysk”, “Baku”.
- Yak-38
- RIA News
In 1985, tests began on a prototype of the Yak-41M, which was supposed to be supersonic, maneuverable and multifunctional. The Yakovlev Design Bureau abandoned the modernization of the Yak-38 and eventually created a fundamentally new machine, better known as the Yak-141.
In September - October 1991, the Yak-141 underwent flight tests in the Northern Fleet. The Yakovlev Design Bureau presented a unique machine whose characteristics were superior to its foreign counterparts. In September 1992, the Yak-141 was successfully demonstrated at an exhibition in Farnborough, UK.
The Yak-141, under the control of test pilot Andrei Sinitsyn, set 12 world records. The aircraft received all the advantages of a fourth generation aircraft. The Yak-141 was capable of covering aircraft carrier formations and striking at surface and ground targets.
Despite its obvious promise, the Yakovlev Design Bureau project was frozen due to unresolved property issues with Ukraine and the course to reduce the Navy. As a result, Russia was left with only one aircraft-carrying cruiser, the Admiral Kuznetsov, which is still home to the Su-33 and Mig-29K/KUB.
There was no practical need for the development of the Yak-141 in the 1990s, but 25 years later it reappeared. At the end of June 2017, the Ministry of Defense announced ambitious plans to build two Priboy-class universal landing ships (UDC) by 2025 and one Project 23000 Storm aircraft carrier by 2030.
Menacing and whimsical
The vertical take-off and landing aircraft is a revolutionary development of aircraft designers. The vehicle takes up little space on the deck, and its striking power and combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the capabilities of a helicopter.
However, like any other military equipment, VTOL aircraft, in addition to its advantages, have its disadvantages.
Rising into the sky requires a vertical takeoff aircraft to have a huge reserve of engine thrust, which at the moment of takeoff from the ground operates at maximum speed. As a result, the plane “eats” an incredible amount of fuel and is sometimes unsafe for use in southern latitudes and in hot weather.
Increased fuel consumption reduces the combat radius and payload capacity of the VTOL aircraft. In addition, an aircraft of this type is difficult to control and expensive to operate. The pilots and technical crew of vertical take-off machines are required to: highest level qualifications.
Pioneers in the development of vertical take-off aircraft were the British company Hawker Siddeley, which has been producing the Harrier family of fighter-bombers since 1967. Despite its apparent slowness, the vehicle demonstrated good qualities in real air combat.
- Harrier GR3
- Wikimedia
In the Falklands conflict of 1982, Harriers performed admirably against Argentine fighters that were forced to take off from continental bases. At the same time, British aircraft could take off from literally any piece of land and justified their use on aircraft carriers.
For new aircraft carriers
World experience in operating vertical take-off aircraft allows us to conclude that they are a necessary link in carrier-based aviation. However, the main role remained with aircraft with a short or normal takeoff due to their less whimsicality and superiority in combat radius. To date, designers have not found an effective replacement for the aerofinisher and catapult.
For example, the US Navy has been trying for several years to determine the combat mission of the fifth-generation ship-based fighter F-35B. It is noteworthy that this Lockheed Martin aircraft was created on the basis of “limited design data” purchased from the Yakovlev Design Bureau and outwardly resembles the Yak-38 rather than the Yak-141.
Considering the plans of the Russian Ministry of Defense to increase the aircraft carrier fleet, Russia will need both aircraft with short and conventional takeoffs, and VTOL aircraft. Current statements by representatives of the military department indicate that the new aircraft carriers could become the base for the Yakovlev Design Bureau aircraft and the ship version of the 4++ generation MiG-35 fighter.
However, practically nothing is known about the situation with the development of the carrier-based version of the fifth-generation T-50 fighter. On the model of the Project 23000 Storm aircraft carrier presented in 2015, smaller copies of the T-50, Su-33 and MiG-29K are clearly visible.
Technological breakthrough
The founder of the Military Russia portal, Dmitry Kornev, in a conversation with RT, suggested that a mixed air wing would be based on the Storm, but doubted the need to deploy the promising version of the Yak-141 there. The expert sees the use of the future Yakovlev Design Bureau aircraft as a strike force on universal landing ships.
“Storm” will be quite large, and therefore it makes sense to place a full-fledged air group there. Let me remind you that the Yak-38 was developed for cruisers, and I think that Yakovlev’s aircraft would be logical to be placed on new UDCs, Mistral-type ships and, probably, on Admiral Kuznetsov,” says Kornev.
At the same time, Kornev emphasized that the VTOL aircraft will not be able to be based on Soviet-made naval landing ships due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure on them. Yakovlev's promising aircraft will be adapted only for new floating platforms, although it will be able to land on all ships with a helipad.
“In general, the news about the possible revival of the Yak-141 project is positive. Undoubtedly, this will be a technological breakthrough and will improve the quality of our design and flight schools. But it’s too early to draw any conclusions, since information about the military use of vertical take-off aircraft needs to be specified,” Kornev said.
The Dornier Do.31, which was developed in the 1960s in Germany by Dornier engineers, is a truly unique aircraft. This is the world's only vertical take-off and landing transport aircraft. It was developed by order of the German military department as a tactical jet transport aircraft. The project, unfortunately, never went beyond the stage experimental aircraft, a total of three Dornier Do.31 prototypes were produced. One of the prototypes built is today an important exhibit at the aviation museum in Munich.
In 1960, the German company Dornier, under conditions of strict secrecy, commissioned by the German Ministry of Defense, began designing a new tactical military transport aircraft with vertical take-off and landing. The aircraft was to receive the designation Do.31; its feature was a combined power plant of lift-propulsion and lifting engines.
The design of the new aircraft was carried out not only by Dornier engineers, but also by representatives of other German aviation companies: Weser, Focke-Wulf and Hamburger Flyugzeugbau, which in 1963 were merged into a single aviation company, designated WFV. At the same time, the Do.31 military transport aircraft project itself was part of the German program to create vertically take-off transport aircraft. This program took into account and revised NATO tactical and technical requirements for military transport VTOL aircraft.
In 1963, with the support of the German and British Ministries of Defense, an agreement was signed for a period of two years on the participation in the project of the British company Hawker Siddley, which had extensive experience in designing the Harrier vertical take-off and landing aircraft. It is noteworthy that after the expiration of the contract it was not renewed, so in 1965 the Hawker Siddley company returned to developing its own projects. At the same time, the Germans tried to attract US companies to work on the design and production of the Do.31 aircraft. The Germans have achieved some success in this area; they managed to sign an agreement on joint research with NASA.
In order to determine the optimal design of the transport aircraft being developed, the Dornier company compared three types of vertically taking off aircraft: a helicopter, an aircraft with rotary propellers, and an aircraft with lift-and-propulsion turbofan engines. As the initial task, the designers used the following parameters: transportation of three tons of cargo over a distance of up to 500 km and subsequent return to base. The studies have demonstrated that a vertically taking off tactical military transport aircraft equipped with lift-and-propulsion turbofan engines has a number of important advantages compared to the other two types of aircraft under consideration. Therefore, Dornier focused on working on the selected project and began calculations aimed at choosing the optimal layout of the power plant.
The design of the first Do.31 prototype was preceded by quite serious testing of the models, which were carried out not only in Germany in Göttingen and Stuttgart, but also in the USA, where they were carried out by NASA specialists. The first models of the military transport aircraft did not have nacelles with lifting turbojet engines, since it was planned that the aircraft’s power plant would consist of only two lift-and-propulsion turbofan engines from Bristol with a thrust of 16,000 kgf in afterburner. In 1963, in the USA, at the NASA Langley Research Center, aircraft models and individual elements of its design were tested in wind tunnels. Later, the flying model was tested in free flight.
As a result of research carried out in two countries, the final version of the future Do.31 aircraft was formed; it was supposed to receive a combined power plant of lift-propulsion and lifting engines. To study the controllability and stability of an aircraft with a combined power plant in hovering mode, the Dornier company built an experimental flying testbed with a cruciform truss structure. The overall dimensions of the stand were the same as those of the future Do.31, but the total weight was significantly less - only 2800 kg. By the end of 1965, this stand had gone through a long test path, in total it completed 247 flights. These flights made it possible to build a full-fledged vertical take-off and landing military transport aircraft.
At the next stage, an experimental aircraft, designated Do.31E, was created specifically for testing the design, testing piloting techniques and checking the reliability of the new device’s systems. The German Ministry of Defense ordered three similar machines for construction, with two experimental aircraft intended for flight tests, and the third for static tests.
Tactical military transport aircraft Dornier Do 31 was made according to a normal aerodynamic design. It was a high-wing aircraft, equipped with propulsion and lifting engines. The original concept featured two Bristol Pegasus turbofan engines in each of the two inner engine nacelles and four Rolls-Royce RB162 lift engines, which were located in the two outer engine nacelles at the wing tips. Subsequently, it was planned to install more powerful and advanced RB153 engines on the aircraft.
The fuselage of the semi-monocoque aircraft was all-metal and had a circular cross-section with a diameter of 3.2 meters. In the forward part of the fuselage there was a cockpit designed for two pilots. Behind it was a cargo compartment, which had a volume of 50 m 3 and overall dimensions of 9.2 × 2.75 × 2.2 meters. The cargo compartment could easily accommodate 36 paratroopers with equipment on reclining seats or 24 wounded on stretchers. There was a cargo hatch in the tail of the aircraft; there was a loading ramp.
The aircraft's landing gear was retractable, tricycle, and each rack had twin wheels. The main supports were retracted back into the nacelles of the lifting propulsion engines. The nose support of the landing gear was controlled and self-orienting; it also retracted back.
Construction of the first experimental aircraft was completed in November 1965, it received the designation Do.31E1. The plane first took off on February 10, 1967, performing a normal takeoff and landing, since lifting turbojet engines were not installed on the plane at that time. The second experimental Do.31E2 was used for various ground tests, and the third experimental transport aircraft Do.31E3 received a full set of engines. The third aircraft made its first vertical take-off flight on July 14, 1967.. The same aircraft made a complete transition from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight followed by vertical landing, this happened on December 16 and 21, 1967.
It is the third copy of the Dornier Do 31 experimental aircraft that is currently in the Munich Aviation Museum. In 1968, this aircraft was first presented to the general public, this happened as part of the international aviation exhibition that took place in Hannover. At the exhibition, the new transporter attracted the attention of representatives of British and American companies who were interested in the possibilities of not only military, but also its civilian use. The American space agency also showed interest in the aircraft; NASA provided financial assistance for flight testing and research into optimal landing trajectories for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
The following year, the experimental Do.31E3 aircraft was shown at the Paris Aerospace Show, where the aircraft also enjoyed success, attracting the attention of spectators and specialists. On May 27, 1969, the plane flew from Munich to Paris. As part of this flight, three world records were set for aircraft with vertical take-off and landing: flight speed - 512.962 km/h, altitude - 9100 meters and range - 681 km. By the middle of that year, 200 flights had already been carried out on the Do.31E VTOL aircraft. During these flights, test pilots carried out 110 vertical takeoffs followed by a transition to horizontal flight.
In April 1970, the Do.31E3 experimental aircraft made its last flight, funding for this program was stopped, and the program itself was canceled. This happened despite the successful and, most importantly, accident-free flight testing of the new aircraft. At that time, the total cost of Germany's expenses for the program to create a new military transport aircraft exceeded 200 million marks (since 1962).
Some of the technical reasons for the collapse promising program one could name the aircraft's relatively low maximum speed, its payload capacity and flight range, especially in comparison with traditional transport aircraft. The Do.31's flight speed was reduced, among other things, due to the high aerodynamic drag of its lift engine nacelles. Another reason for the curtailment of work was the growing disappointment at that time in military, political and design circles with the very concept of aircraft with vertical take-off and landing.
Despite this, the Dornier company, based on the experimental Do.31E aircraft, developed projects for improved military transport VTOL aircraft that had greater lifting capacity– Do.31-25. It was planned to increase the number of lifting engines in the nacelles, first to 10, and then to 12. In addition, Dornier engineers designed the Do.131B vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which had 14 lifting turbojet engines at once.
A separate project for the civil aircraft Do.231 was also developed, which was supposed to receive two lift-and-propulsion turbofan engines from Rolls Royce with a thrust of 10,850 kgf each and another 12 lifting turbofan engines of the same company with a thrust of 5,935 kgf each, of which eight engines were located four in gondolas and four, two each, in the nose and tail of the aircraft fuselage. The estimated weight of this model of aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing reached 59 tons with a payload of up to 10 tons. It was planned that the Do.231 would be able to carry up to 100 passengers at a maximum speed of 900 km/h over a distance of 1000 kilometers.
However, these projects were never implemented. At the same time, the experimental Dornier Do 31 was (and remains at present) the only vertical take-off and landing jet military transport aircraft in the world built.
Flight characteristics of Dornier Do.31:
Dimensions:
– length – 20.88 m,
– height – 8.53 m,
- wingspan - 18.06 m,
- wing area - 57 m 2.
Empty weight – 22,453 kg.
Normal take-off weight is 27,442 kg.
Power plant: 8 Rolls Royce RB162-4D lift turbojet engines, takeoff thrust - 8x1996 kgf; 2 lift-propulsion turbofan engines Rolls Royce Pegasus BE.53/2, thrust 2x7031 kgf.
Maximum speed – 730 km/h.
Cruising speed – 650 km/h.
Practical range – 1800 km.
Service ceiling – 10,515 m.
Capacity - up to 36 soldiers with equipment or 24 wounded on stretchers.
Crew – 2 people.
Information sources:
— www.airwar.ru/enc/xplane/do31.html
— igor113.livejournal.com/134992.html
— www.arms-expo.ru/articles/129/67970
MOSCOW, August 21 - RIA Novosti. Russia is developing a project for a new aircraft with vertical take-off and landing, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said at the opening of the Army-2018 military-technical forum. He noted that, on the instructions of the president, the project was included in the state weapons program.
"Currently, work is underway on a conceptual model and prototypes. Of course, this is the future. All types of aircraft-carrying ships will require a new fleet of aircraft. This is why various technologies are used that make it possible to provide short takeoff and landing or simply vertical takeoff. Conceptually, such work is underway to the Ministry of Defense since last year,” he said.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the timing of the creation of a new aircraft is determined by the technological cycle.
“As a rule, it’s seven to ten years if you go into series,” Borisov explained.
The USSR had already produced vertical take-off and landing aircraft - the Yak-38 fighters, which were put into service in 1977. These aircraft were based on the Project 1143 aircraft-carrying cruisers Kyiv, Minsk, Novorossiysk and Baku, which were then sold abroad. The Yak-38 was supposed to be replaced by the Yak-141, but in 2004 the program was canceled.
"Exceptional combat resilience"
Borisov announced that work on creating vertical take-off aircraft for aircraft carriers was already underway in November last year. Then he noted that the current MiG-29 and Su-33 will become obsolete in ten years and the creation of a new aircraft will be required.
According to military expert, captain first rank Konstantin Sivkov, such a machine is vital not only To the Navy, but also the Air Force.
“The main problem of modern aviation is that a jet fighter needs a good runway, and there are very few such airfields; it is quite easy to destroy them with a first strike. Vertical take-off aircraft in a threatened period can be dispersed even across forest clearings. This system of using combat aviation will have exceptional combat stability,” he told RIA Novosti.
In addition, Sivkov believes, to begin work on creating such an aircraft, it is not necessary to wait for new aircraft carrier ships, since they can be based not only on aircraft carriers.
“For example, a tanker is equipped with a ramp and becomes a kind of aircraft carrier; in Soviet times we had such projects. In addition, VTOL aircraft can be used from warships capable of receiving helicopters, for example from frigates,” the expert said.
Convertiplane and "flying SUV"
In Russia, other work is underway to create vertical take-off aircraft. Thus, in early August, the rector of the Kazan National Research Technical University (KNRTU), Albert Gilmutdinov, spoke about the successful testing of an unmanned tiltrotor, developed by order of the Ministry of Defense.
A tiltrotor is an aircraft that combines vertical takeoff and landing with horizontal flight at high airplane speeds. KNRTU specialists developed the “stuffing” of the new drone, software and conducted tests.
“A tiltrotor, which takes off like a helicopter and then flies like an airplane, has been tested, actually flies, made by order of the Ministry of Defense. The flight range is one hundred kilometers, the cruising speed is about 100-140 kilometers per hour. It can hover like a helicopter, then there is a combination of a helicopter and an airplane,” Gilmutdinov said.
The take-off weight of the unmanned tiltrotor is 6.7 kilograms, the payload is only a kilogram (for example, it can lift video and photographic equipment, a thermal imager and similar devices). It is assumed that the device can be used in the field of energy and communications, road and agriculture, and the oil and gas industry. Among the advantages of the convertiplane are the absence of the need for a launcher and a runway, modular assembly, which reduces the cost of service, technologies oriented towards mass production, and the ability to perform tasks automatically.
In addition, at the end of May, the Advanced Research Foundation (PRF) reported that, together with the PromService company from Istra, they had prepared a preliminary design of an aircraft with ultra-short takeoff and landing.
This “flying SUV” will be able to take off and land on an area measuring 50 meters with obstacles on the border up to 15 meters high.
“The flight range will be one thousand kilometers at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the maximum speed is 315 kilometers per hour, the payload weight is up to 500 kilograms. The aircraft can be piloted either by the operator or in autonomous mode, and the operator does not require special flight skills,” explained the FPI.
Later, the foundation said that the work of the first stage of the project to create demonstrators had already been completed and now preparations were underway for the creation of their large-scale analogues. The first flight of the vehicle demonstrator is scheduled for 2022.
Despite the wave of criticism of the vertical take-off concept used in the aircraft, the need to resume production of aircraft of this class in Lately increasingly spoken in Russia December 15, 2017, 11:33
One of the Pentagon's most expensive "toys" - the F-35B fighter-bomber - this week took part in joint US-Japanese exercises aimed at cooling the DPRK's nuclear missile fervor. Despite the wave of criticism of the vertical take-off concept used in the aircraft, the need to resume production of aircraft of this class has recently been increasingly discussed in Russia. In particular, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov recently announced plans to build vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL). About why Russia needs such an aircraft and whether the aviation industry has enough strength to create it.
The most popular domestic combat aircraft with vertical take-off and landing was the Yak-38, which was put into service in August 1977. The aircraft has earned a controversial reputation among aviators - out of 231 aircraft built, 49 crashed in accidents and aviation incidents.
The main operator of the aircraft was the Navy - the Yak-38 was based on the aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143 "Kyiv", "Minsk", "Novorossiysk" and "Baku". As veterans of carrier-based aviation recall, the high accident rate forced the command to sharply reduce the number of training flights, and the flight time of Yak-38 pilots was a symbolic figure for those times - no more than 40 hours per year. As a result, there was not a single first-class pilot in the naval aviation regiments; only a few had second-class flight qualifications.
Its combat characteristics were also questionable - due to the lack of an on-board radar station, it could only conditionally conduct air battles. Using the Yak-38 as a pure attack aircraft seemed ineffective, since the combat radius during vertical takeoff was only 195 kilometers, and even less in hot climates.
Supersonic multi-role vertical take-off and landing fighter-interceptor Yak-141
The “problem child” was supposed to be replaced by a more advanced vehicle, the Yak-141, but after the collapse of the USSR, interest in it disappeared. As you can see, the domestic experience in creating and operating VTOL aircraft cannot be called successful. Why has the topic of vertical take-off and landing aircraft become relevant again?
Naval character
“Such a machine is vital not only for the Navy, but also for the Air Force,” military expert, captain first rank Konstantin Sivkov told RIA Novosti. “The main problem of modern aviation is that a jet fighter needs a good runway ", and there are very few such airfields; destroying them with a first strike is quite simple. Vertical take-off aircraft during a threatened period can be dispersed even across forest clearings. Such a system for using combat aircraft will have exceptional combat stability."
However, not everyone sees the feasibility of using VTOL aircraft in the land version as justified. One of the main problems is that during vertical takeoff the aircraft consumes a lot of fuel, which greatly limits its combat radius. Russia is a large country, therefore, to achieve air supremacy, fighter aircraft must have “long arms.”
“The implementation of combat missions of fighter aircraft in conditions of partially destroyed airfield infrastructure can be ensured by short take-off of conventional aircraft from a section of the runway less than 500 meters long,” says Oleg Panteleev, executive director of the Aviaport agency. “Another question is that Russia has plans for the construction aircraft carrier fleet, here the use of vertically taking off aircraft will be most rational. These may not necessarily be aircraft carriers, they may also be aircraft-carrying cruisers with the lowest cost parameters."
F-35 fighter
By the way, the F-35B today is a purely naval aircraft, its main customer is the US Marine Corps (the aircraft will be based on landing ships). British F-35Bs will form the basis of the air wing of the newest aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, which was recently commissioned.
At the same time, according to Konstantin Sivkov, Russian design bureaus do not have to wait for new aircraft carriers to begin work on creating a Russian analogue of the F-35B. "Vertical take-off and landing aircraft can be based not only on aircraft carriers. For example, a tanker is equipped with a ramp and becomes a kind of aircraft carrier; in Soviet times we had such projects. In addition, VTOL aircraft can be used from warships capable of receiving helicopters, for example frigates,” our interlocutor said.
We can if we want
Meanwhile, it is obvious that the creation of a Russian vertical take-off aircraft will require impressive resources and funds. The cost of developing the F-35B and its horizontal take-off cousins, according to various estimates, has already reached $1.3 billion, and several countries participated in the creation of the vehicle.
