Command posts, MiG trainer, Flankers and Hips

RUSSIA

THE RUSSIAN MoD is considering a major upgrade of the mission avionics suite of its Il-22M11 aerial command post aircraft. The upgrade will make the Il-22 aircraft into multifunctional command-and-control platforms to provide effective battle control over its land, air and space forces.

As many as five Il-22M11s are planned to be cycled through the upgrade, slated for completion by 2021, at a total cost in excess of RUB 1.6 billion. The main contractor is Zhukovsky-based EMZ Myasishchev, a subsidiary of the Ilyushin Aviation Complex.

The aircraft will receive a Sokol relay node to enable connectivity with land and airborne command and control facilities, using secure digital communications. The aircraft will also receive new battle control stations enabling mission crew to exercise command and control of different branches of the armed forces in various large-force exercises and realworld operations.

The command and control system is capable of handling the armed forces assigned to an entire military district, of which there are five, or a frontal group, which comprises several land armies.

The Il-22M11’s airframe and systems will also be reworked to extend their service life. A new room will be fitted for the mission commander and new sleeping compartments for crew members.

The first Il-22M11 was upgraded in 2013 under a programme initiated in 2009.

MiG-AT’s possible revival

The MiG-AT jet trainer could get a second lease of life in Russia, according to an announcement made by Sergey Korotkov, Designer General of the United Aircraft Corporation, the umbrella company holding controlling of the majority of the fixed-wing aircraft design bureaus and production plants. The MiG-AT is a straight-wing, twin-engine trainer originally developed to meet Russian military requirements as a replacement for the Czech-made Aero L-39C.

The aircraft made its maiden flight in March 1996, but then lost the competition against the Yakovlev Yak-130, which was selected for largescale production for the Russian Air and Space Force (RuASF). In the event, it turned out that the more expensive and more complex Yak-130 cannot completely replace the L-39C in the basic flight training role. This gap was intended to be bridged by the SR-10, a lightweight, jet-powered trainer, designed as a private venture by the KB SAT design company. It made its maiden flight on December 25, 2015, but is still in the very early stages of its development.

The MiG-AT is currently being promoted by Korotkov as a welldeveloped solution and he hinted, perhaps too optimistically, that the aircraft’s production could be launched for the RuASF as early as 2021. In 2008 a MiG-AT prototype was tested with the Russian-made Lyul’ka AL-55I turbofan engine. Expectation is such that the aircraft should receive a glass cockpit to replace the analogue instruments used on the prototypes.

During 1999, the type was flown with a fly-by-wire flight control system, which significantly improved its stability and controllability performance. Korotkov noted a review on the possible launch of the MiG-AT into production has been undertaken to meet an order placed by the Russian MoD. The review called for a flight-testing campaign using aircraft configured to the Russian military’s configuration, to be completed within three years. According to Korotkov, this would lead to the start of the aircraft’s production by RSK MiG.

Two MiG-AT prototypes were built, powered by French-made SNECMA Larzak engines. By the end of 1998, both prototypes had racked up more than 400 sorties with a total time of 210 hours. After losing out to Yakolev in the Russian Air force competition, the MiG-AT was offered to export customers, but no interest has been reported and the programme was finally shelved in 2010.

RSK MiG has been hinted to stock some incomplete airframes, which, subject to a firm Russian MoD order, could be rapidly assembled and used for flight-testing.

More Su-30SMs

The Russian MoD is set to place additional orders for two-seat Su-30SM multi-role fighters in the next decade. According to Yuri Slusar, Director General of the United Aircraft Corporation, parent company of Su-30SM manufacturer Irkut, production plans call for annual delivery of 12 to 14 Su-30SMs to the Russian military, under a new contract to be signed later this year. There were no hints from Slusar about the eventual number of fighters to be covered by thus order, but it is believed it would be no fewer than 36, according to information published in the Russian press. In April 2018, the Russian MoD announced that ten Su-30SMs are due to be delivered to the Russian Air and Space Force this year. According to Irkut’s aviation plant deputy director, Alexander Veprev an ongoing development programme is underway to replace imported equipment with Russian-made units together with improvements of the aircraft’s guided weapons suite.

Slusar also expressed optimism for new export orders for the Su-30SM. In addition to domestic orders, Irkut currently holds contracts for Su-30SMs with Kazakhstan (at least 15 on order in addition to eight delivered since 2015), Belorussia (12 ordered), and, more recently, Myanmar with an order for six.

The Russian Air and Space Force is set to receive five upgraded Il-22M11s by the end of 2021. Andrey Zinchuk
Mil’s Mi-8AMTSh-VN is designed with the lessons learned by Russia’s armed forces during its involvement in the devastating war in Syria. Alexander Mladenov

Special ops support

The Russian MoD is interested in ordering another extensively upgraded and armed derivative of the Mi-8 Hip dubbed the Mi-8AMTSh-VN. This awkwardly designated cab is intended for supporting the country’s growing special operations forces, including the elite Airborne Troops branch. Sergey Romanenko, Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant’s Executive Director, says a joint working group has been set up with the special ops community to undertake integration of the new Hip’s equipment with the special force’s systems to further enhance the efectiveness of the type’s deployment and combat use.

This is an advanced version of the Hip, which will be armed with the 9M120-1 Ataka-VM laserguided missile and equipped with two electro-optical imaging systems for day/night surveillance and the targeting of guided and unguided munitions.

Self-protection includes three machine guns, an extensive armour itted to the cockpit, cargo hold and critical systems, and the Vitebsk-8 integrated selfprotection suite to counter heatseeking missiles.

The Mi-8AMTSh-VN will be primarily used for rapid insertion and ire support of special ops troops, and a simpliied armed version is also being touted by Mil MHP to provide air support to the Airborne Troops branch. The latter would not have a guided weapons suite, but would retain all of the self-protection features, and is mainly intended for the battleield transport role.

Production launch of the simpliied battleield version is planned for 2020 at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant in Siberia, while the more sophisticated Mi-8AMTSh-VN version requires extensive testing and is not expected to be launched before 2021.

The MiG-AT is a possible solution to Russia’s requirement for an afordable yet capable replacement of the Aero L-39C to be ielded in service in the late 2020s. Alexander Mladenov
Russia’s domestic Su-30SM order book includes 88 aircraft for the Air Force and 28 more for Russian Naval Aviation. The new order may add at least 36 more for the Air Force, enough to equip three front-line squadrons. Andrey Zinchuk