The first flight of Moscow’s new Tupolev PAK-DA stealth bomber has been delayed by about three years. However, according to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov,” The work on the development of the PAK DA strategic bomber (prospective aviation complex for long-range aviation) continues and it will not be stopped.”. Viktor Bondarev said on January 2016 that the advanced strategic long-range aircraft’s prototype may take its maiden flight before 2021. The first PAK DA next generation long-range bomber could be supplied to the Russian Air Force in 2023.
The PAK-DA is the first Russian bomber optimized for stealth. It is expected that the new bomber will be able to penetrate through modern air defenses and suppress them. Flying wings lend themselves well to low observable characteristics—particularly against low frequency radars operating in the UHF and VHF bands—but manufacturing could still be an issue, according to The National Interest.
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