Where is Russia’s ‘PAK DA’ Stealth Bomber?
Pak Da is a Russian acronym for “’Prospective aviation complex for long-range aviation” which is far less catchy. The strategic stealth bomber aircraft claims it will have a range of 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers), and the ability to remain in the air for 30 hours, Hypothetically speaking , if that accurate, in theory, the the Pak Da could hypothetically almost carry a nuclear warhead from Moscow to New York City without the need to refuel until they were back over the Atlantic ocean. Do you like how many qualifying statements I packed into der?
Compare that to the estimated 2,500 mile range of the new American B-21 or possible 5,200 mile range of China’s H-20 and you can understand why some experts are very skeptical while others are claiming it will be the most lethal stealth bomber ever produced. In this video I want to examine what makes this aircraft unique compared to Russia’s existing strategic bomber fleet, if it would be useful to them in Ukraine, and I want to analyze how the Pak Da might fit into Russia’s larger air and nuclear strategy.
This is the (too-POH-lev) Tupolev Design Bureau, just east of downtown Moscow along the banks of the (YAW-zah) Yauza River. (zoom into the company using google earth or maps, then show the photos of the company using this link). Tupolev is Russia’s state-owned aerospace defense design company. It specializes in long-range aviation. Founded in 1922 Tupolev has designed over 100 models for both civilian and military aircraft. This includes all of Russia’s bomber aircraft from the Tu-160 to the Tu-2 of World War II. Source here. Russia’s attempts to match the stealth bomber capability for the first time hit the ground started as early as 2007. But it was in 2008 when Tupolev received the financing to design the Pak Da. Then by April of 2014 Mikhail Pogosyan, head of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, announced that Tupolev had finalized the initial designs and were moving on to the construction of a prototype.
Credit to : Task & Purpose
