A crisis meeting held this month with senior officers and design bureaux officials in attendance paints a grim picture of the air force's operational readiness and the plight of future procurement programmes.
At a special meeting of its enlarged military council, the air force admitted: "The development of fifth-generation aircraft has come to a practical standstill". Mikoyan's Object 1.42, an advanced tactical fighter intended to fulfil the air force's multi-role frontal-fighter requirement, has yet to be flown. The programme's future appears to be increasingly under threat, with Mikoyan admitting that the aircraft as now configured is unaffordable by the Russian air force.
If its future projects are in disarray, there is also no comfort for air force officials considering the near term. Not a single combat aircraft was delivered to operational units in 1995, while the air force estimates the minimum need at 250-300 aircraft a year.
Fourth-generation aircraft, such as the Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum, Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker and Su-25 Frogfoot make up only 15% of the air force's inventory. This is in part because many units equipped with modern aircraft were left in Ukraine and Belorus following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ageing types are approaching the end of their lifetimes, frequently experiencing shortages of spares supply.
Even those aircraft which are in flying condition often remain on the ground because of a lack of jet fuel. Col Gen Piotr Deinekin says: "Because of the lack of money, the situation with jet-fuel supplies has become extremely hard. We are unable to provide a 'civilised' level of flying experience to our pilots."o
Su-27M under test at Ahktubinsk - service entry is being hit by a cash crisis
Source: Flight International
