South Korean media: Why can't the destroyed Russian strategic bomber be rebuilt?

[What&Why] Manufactured during the Soviet era, design drawings lost

It is reported that in Ukraine's "Web Operation" drone air raid on the 1st, about 20% of Russia's more than 120 long-range strategic bombers were unable to sortie. Russia originally retained these bombers capable of nuclear strikes for nuclear deterrence, but recently they have been used to launch missile attacks against Ukraine's rear areas and have become targets of Ukraine's strikes.

The Russian government stated its position as follows: "The losses are not severe (as claimed by Ukraine and Western media), and they can be repaired and reused." However, it is said that under the current situation in Russia, it is difficult to produce new bombers to replace the damaged ones. Some analysts even believe that Russia's air force will inevitably undergo strategic adjustments. So why is it difficult for Russia to produce new bombers?

This batch of bombers was produced before the 1990s during the Soviet period and has been in continuous use for over 30-40 years. It is impossible to replace them with new models. This is because after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Russia's economy was in dire straits, resulting in the loss of a large number of design, production facilities, and personnel for bombers. During the Cold War, the state-owned military industry rapidly expanded due to the arms race with the United States, which directly impacted it when military spending and fiscal tightening occurred. Most enterprises responsible for developing bombers faced severe financial difficulties, and key talents scattered like birds and beasts.

In 1992, the Tupolev Design Bureau, responsible for designing bombers, suspended most of its military aircraft development work. Military aircraft assembly plants and parts factories scattered across Kazan, Kuibyshev, Ulyanovsk, Omsk, Taganrog, and other places were either closed or changed their lines of business. The largest factory in Kazan underwent mass layoffs and transformed into a civilian aircraft manufacturing plant. It is reported that some of the departing engineers joined South Korean companies such as Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries, and Hyundai Space Aerospace at that time, imparting their skills.

In 2000, after Vladimir Putin became the President of Russia and stabilized the government finances through energy exports, military production facilities began to be restored. The Tupolev Design Bureau was incorporated into the Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which had taken over the original state-owned aircraft enterprises, and resumed the manufacture of military aircraft. However, due to low demand for bombers and incomplete production facilities, no new developments were initiated. The only exception was the improvement and reproduction of the Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber based on the original model.

In addition, the high price is also an obstacle. The manufacturing cost of supersonic strategic bombers such as Tu-22 and Tu-160 exceeds $200 million (approximately 270 billion won). Currently, there is no need for large, fast, long-range strategic bombers because the latest missiles and drones are sufficient to replace the role of bombers. There is also concern that such bombers, costing several tens of billions of won each, cannot withstand attacks from drones costing only $2,000 (approximately 2.7 million won). This worry also hinders additional production of bombers.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834452313545163/

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