PAK DA

PAK DA

Status: Under development
Primary user: Russian Air Force

The PAK DA (or PAK-DA), is a next generation strategic bomber which is being developed by Kazan Aircraft Production Association for Russia. It stands for Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Dalney Aviatsyi which means Future Air Complex for Long Range Aviation. The PAK DA will be a new, stealthy, strategic bomber and is expected to enter service in the 2025-2030 timeframe.

Development

The Russian Air Force has tactical and technical requirements for a new generation of strategic bombers, as reported by Interfax. According to some sources, the PAK DA will be based on the supersonic Tu-160 bomber. Later references to the new bomber, including a televised address from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seem to imply the aircraft will be an entirely new design. Some speculation suggests that it might follow the stealthy design of the America B-2 Spirit bomber, but there is little public evidence to support that.

Russian Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev has stated that the new bomber will replace both the turboprop-powered Tupolev Tu-95 and the supersonic Tupolev Tu-160.

Comparable aircraft

Next-Generation Bomber

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Source: WikiPedia