A Paper Tender
Although the first vice premier, Sergey Ivanov, was asserting: they were nearly the end of the experimental design work on the creation of the airplane, the developmental firm, the Sukhoy Aviation Holding Company, was confirming readiness for first flight of the prototype at the end of 2008.
Composites and high technology products are used widely in the future tactical aviation aircraft complex (PAK FA), which they call more often a fifth generation flight vehicle. It is recognized as a priority by the state arms program to 2015. Its fate is to be Russia�s basic air force tactical airplane.
In a discussion of the airplane of the future�s appearance, the emphasis is being made literally on each trifle (if there are such things in aviation in general), besides one � with which engine will the PAK FA fly. It has not been resolved through today which engine to place on it or to which enterprise to award this delicate operation.
Until the adoption of federal law number 94-F3 of 21 June 2005, which regulated the allocation of orders, OAO NPO Saturn was the lead developer of the aircraft engine. The enterprise did a lot for defining the appearance of the future engine � it performed the pre-draft stage of development and defined the primary �break-through� and �critical� technologies, the development of which is required before the start of experimental design work on the aircraft engine. The results of this work have been discussed by aeronautical science specialists, the developers of the fifth generation airplane and representatives of the defense ministry. They all came to a singular conclusion: It is not possible to create such a complex and high tech product as a fifth generation aircraft engine with the required characteristics by the efforts of on Russian enterprise. Therefore, it is necessary to create a pool of Russian motor builders.
In March 2007, the defense ministry�s directorate of orders and deliveries of aviation equipment and armament announced the private competition �Development of a Future Turbofan Engine with Afterburner for Article I-21� for the performance of experimental design work (OKR). Having considered that a competition of finished articles for the country is difficult financially, and even the periods for creation of something new will be drawn out, according to the competition�s conditions they decided to determine the winner in accordance with a bundle of documents. A competing enterprise was supposed to present an engineering report which contained the engineering concept of the future engine being proposed, indicate the skilled personnel and characterize the manufacturing and engineering base. However, to make an objective selection of a winner based only on paper proposals for which a wide-scale state project is extremely risky.
There are very painful questions today for the military industrial commission and the customers from the air force, on which the fate of the fifth generation aircraft engine depends on the answer. The main one of them is which of the enterprises has the best results in the development of engines or its individual elements and would be able to be the lead developer of a fifth generation engine, while having headed a pool and the cooperation of the aircraft builders? The real picture today is: FGUP MMPP Salyut � owing to its own funds and OAO NPO Saturn � with essential financing from the state budget � has been performing the upgrade of Russia�s main engine for heavy fighter aircraft, the AL-31F, in recent years. Each of these companies is going its own way, perfecting prototypes of the fifth generation engine�s elements during the upgrade.
Saturn has put forth an ambitious task to create the article 117 power plant immediately in 2 � 3 years which would become one of the fifth generation engine�s prototypes and provide a thrust of 15 � 15.5 tonnes. Let us recall that the thrust of the series built AL-31F is 12.5 tonnes. Salyut chose the tactic of developing a number of sequential engine upgrades. Today this is the AL-31FM1 with a thrust of 13.5 tonnes and increase service life � state tests already have been passed and series production begun. There is the AL-31FM2 modification in the test bench stage with a thrust of 14 tonnes. The design appearance of the next modification � the AL-31FM3 provides for a thrust increase even now to 15.5 tonnes with a specific weight of 0.09 kilograms per kilogram of power. The dimensions remain the same as the basic AL-31F engine, which allows leaving the airplane�s dimensions and structural frame unchanged. The arrangement will maintain a number of design and engineering solutions which will allow lowering the labor of assembling the engine, decreasing its weight and increasing service life and reliability. As a result, the AL-31FM3 in it parameters will come close to the requirements of the fifth generation engine. Today part of the AL-31FM3 components are in the autonomous finishing stage, part are undergoing bench tests, and design work is taking place on the high pressure compressor.
At the same time, without the attraction of budgetary funds, Salyut together with the leading institutes, design bureaus, enterprises of industry and the scientific research foundations of the defense ministry is forming a scientific and technical reserve for the fifth generation engine. Bench tests of the turbine and combustion chamber have taken place within the framework of this work. Salyut is mastering critical technologies which performing scientific research and experimental design work in several directions simultaneously. All this work fully may be assumed a development of the future engine.
It is difficult for the military industrial and competition commissions under these conditions, and perhaps, even impossible to adopt a decision about the lead developer of the fifth generation engine. It is useful to look at how in such cases they resolve the question in other aviation powers. The amount of state funds allocated there is relatively small there in the first stage of the realization of a project. When there are equivalent aspirants for winning a competition, they declare a preliminary competition of prototypes and demonstrators. Financial and technical risks are minimized in this way. Russia also might be able to go in such a way.
FGUP MMPP Salyut is proposing this variant in particular as significantly more realistic. Especially since this stage with a demonstrator is provided for in a draft state contract for the fulfillment of experimental design work. It is assumed with level state budgetary financing to task NPO Saturn and FGUP MMPP Salyut in the creation of a demonstrator prototype of the fifth generation engine by the end of 2008. Changes in the technical requirements for the engine can be introduced at the demonstration stage. Then select the lead developer according to the practical results. And he ((the developer)) should be able to use the best achievements of the competitor, producing real cooperation among the domestic motor builders.
An error in the choice is fraught with consequences, inasmuch as some stagnation in Russian aircraft engine building is obvious even without it. The AL-31 was adopted into the inventory (on the Su-27) 22 years ago. Work on the AL-41 was begun at the end of the �80s of the last century and there and then stopped. Since then, a new engine has not appeared. In order not to lose even the markets she has, Russia needs a break-through engine, which is distinguished in principle from those she has today, inasmuch as the life of the existing engines upgrade is coming to an end.
A new engine, in the opinion of specialists, should have 2 � 3 times greater service life, and this is 2,000 � 5,000 hours, a significantly lower fuel consumption and more modest expenses for usage. And for this new technologies and materials are needed.
Work on the creation of a power plant for the PAK FA has stopped today at Saturn in connection with the lack of budgetary financing, Salyut alone is continuing work � the engine builders are awaiting the results of the tender which was announced a few days ago by the military industrial commission attached to the government of Russia. The question about the degree of state participation in the creation of the power plant also will be resolved,
Meanwhile, the West has pulled far ahead with the EJ-20 engines for the Eurofighter, the M-88-3 for the Mirage and, finally, with the F119-PW-100, which has been on the American fifth generation F-22 for more than 5 years already. By the way, in the U.S.A., a decision on military engines is adopted based on the results of a competition of a program for the creation of a demonstrator engine.
Source: 19.07.07, Vremya Novostey, Correspondent: Nikolay Poroskov
http://forum.warfare.ru/index.php?showtopic=427&st=120
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... os caras vão tomar umas cervejas e depois de umas rodadas as histórias começam e daí cada um saiu com uma mulher melhor do que a do outro... 
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Aonde a maioria das F Aéreas mal possuem 60 caças?
