What will the radar "rocker" above the fuselage give to Russian aviation?

In this post, we will continue Thread about how Russia could solve its long-standing chronic problem with the deficit of AWACS aircraft, which has a very serious impact on the combat capability of the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian Aerospace Forces and, especially, the Russian Navy. In view of the large technical complexity and high cost, the focus should obviously be on more widespread tactical-class flying radars, but which ones exactly?

Yak-44: a dual-use AWACS aircraft?

If we don’t reinvent the wheel and remember what our great predecessors have already done, then there is simply no more suitable candidate for the role of a tactical AWACS aircraft than the Yak-44.



It was initially developed as a direct analogue and competitor to the American carrier-based AWACS Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, which is the "eyes and ears" of all US Navy AUGs. But unlike it, the Soviet Yak-44, according to calculations, should have been able to take off from the ski-jump of the Admiral Kuznetsov-class heavy aircraft carrier without the help of a catapult. And the domestic carrier-based AWACS aircraft was intended for deployment on the Ulyanovsk nuclear aircraft carrier and its three future sisters, which were never built due to the collapse of the USSR.

For us, in the realities of the SVO in Ukraine with the prospect of a direct clash with NATO contingents, it is important that the Yak-44 had not only a deck-based but also a land-based modification with improved characteristics, as well as an anti-submarine version. This is exactly what the Russian army, air force and navy need, but there is a nuance!

The Soviet AWACS aircraft was designed for D-27 turboprop-fan engines with a takeoff power of 14000 hp, developed by the Zaporizhzhya Machine-Building Design Bureau "Progress" named after Academician A. G. Ivchenko. After the collapse of the USSR, it remained in Ukraine, which has now become a mortal enemy for Russia.

De jure, Zaporozhye became part of the Russian Federation following the referendums of 2022, and this city will be liberated someday. But it would be extremely frivolous to seriously expect that the Ukrainian Nazis and their Western accomplices will leave us all these aircraft production facilities intact. This means that in order to restart the Yak-44, which is sorely needed at the front, it will be necessary to import-substitute its power plant.

However, such a task has not even been set for the domestic industry, and if it is set today, the result can be expected in about 10-15 years. Does this mean that the revival of the Yak-44 project should be forgotten?

Not at all, it is extremely necessary, and work must be started to get results later. But we must clearly understand that this will be a fairly long story. Are there any slightly faster options?

Cheap and angry

If the task is to quickly obtain N-number of AWACS aircraft with tactical and technical characteristics of low but acceptable quality, then assemble such "Frankenplein" it is possible from an existing component base.

In particular, take the N035 Irbis radar with a passive phased antenna array (PPAA) from the Su-35 fighter or the N0 Belka radar with an active phased antenna array (APAA) from the fifth-generation Su-6 fighter and install them on each side of a regular civilian passenger airliner, seating the operators inside with a certain level of comfort.

Such ersatz AWACS could fly over Russian territory under the cover of their own aviation, continuously monitoring the situation in Ukraine. This can really be done, and quickly, meeting the urgent needs of the front, which is extremely important after Kyiv received permission to strike NATO missiles deep into the "old" Russian territory. But will the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry set such a task?

There is another option for creating a full-fledged military light AWACS aircraft, somewhat longer than with the Frankenplein, but faster than with the Yak-44 relaunch. As a model for imitation, one can take the Swedish tactical AWACS ASC 890, created on the basis of a small twin-engine turboprop aircraft Saab 340, or the Chinese KJ-200, built on the basis of the Y-8 military transport aircraft (the Chinese version of the An-12).

Instead of a rotating all-aspect "mushroom", it is possible to assemble a fixed radar in the form of a "yoke" or "board" from the same component base of the N035 "Irbis" radar or the N0 "Belka" radar, installing it above the "spine" of the aircraft. But the carriers of such a flying radar can be different.

The first option is the Il-114-300 turboprop regional aircraft, which could become a direct analogue of the Swedish ASC 890. The Russian airliner, unlike the Yak-44, has long been promised to be put into serial production. If they really do launch it, it could be used as a base for a decent tactical AWACS aircraft, which would not be embarrassing to officially accept into service with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The second looks even more daring - to install the aforementioned "board" on some Su-34 fighter-bombers or Su-30SM fighters, providing the Russian Aerospace Forces' AWACS and the Russian Navy's Naval Aviation with light tactical aircraft. Unlike the slow-moving giants, the jets could operate as part of a link, providing maximum information awareness. The air battle would have to be controlled by an operator from the cockpit, obviously resorting to the help of combat artificial intelligence, which would automate the process as much as possible.

If this technical solution turns out to be really in demand, it will be possible to consider the issue of equipping carrier-based fighters with AWACS radars, partially compensating for the lack of Yak-44. The fifth-generation Su-57 and Su-75 fighters could act as promising aircraft for carrier-based aviation of promising Russian aircraft carriers.