People's Daily online - There are four spaceports in China: Jiuquan (Gansu Province), Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), Xichang (Sichuan Province) and Wenchang (Hainan Province).

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is mainly responsible for launching return satellites as well as manned programs.

The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center mainly launches satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.

The Xichang Center, being one of the newest spaceports, is responsible for emergency launches.

Wenchang was built in October 2014 and is China's largest spaceport with the best conditions for launching spacecraft. This is China's first coastal spaceport, as well as one of the few space bases located at low latitudes. It is planned that the first launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center will be carried out in June 2016.

Wenchang was built as part of China's strategy for the continued development of China's space activities in order to achieve the goals of launching a new generation of rockets powered by non-toxic and environmentally friendly fuel, as well as launching a new type of spacecraft. This spaceport will mainly be responsible for launching satellites into geosynchronous orbit, massive polar orbiting satellites, spacecraft for large space stations, and for sensing purposes. The Long March 5 launch vehicle is expected to be launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in the second half of 2016.

In 2017, the Chang'e-5 spacecraft is also planned to be launched from this spaceport as part of the third stage of the Chinese lunar exploration program. The probe will fly around the Moon, land on the Earth's satellite, and return back. The main task of this unmanned mission is to collect samples of lunar soil.

The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center is scheduled to play an important role in China's manned lunar exploration program in 2025. “We will be able to land a man on the Moon by 2025. The launch of a manned spacecraft to the Moon will be carried out from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center,” said Long Lehao, a full member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Sciences. Recently, the chief designer of the Chang'e-3 probe, Ye Peijian, also noted that the Chang'e-5 probe will be launched in 2017 from the Wenchang Cosmodrome. This base also has all the conditions for the future launch of Chinese spacecraft to Mars.

According to some experts, after the successful launch of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, China now already has the ability to probe Mars, and devices for studying the Red Planet will also be launched from the Wenchang Cosmodrome.

Chinese Cosmonautics Day established

On March 8, the State Council of the People's Republic of China made a decision: from 2016, April 24 will be considered Chinese Cosmonautics Day.

China began its space activities in 1956. For several decades, the country's astronautics has worked wonders. On April 24, 1970, China's first artificial Earth satellite, Dongfanghong-1, was successfully launched.

In 1992, the implementation of manned space flight projects began. On October 15, 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei made China's first space flight on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. Today, China is the third country in the world to conduct independent manned space activities. In 2007, China launched its first artificial lunar satellite, Chang'e-1.

On September 27, 2008, astronaut Zhai Zhigang successfully walked into outer space. In June 2012, China's first female astronaut Liu Yang and two other astronauts flew into space on the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and successfully completed automatic and manual docking with China's first manned orbital module, Tiangong-1. This event marked the PRC's progress in fully mastering manned docking technology.

In 2013, the fifth manned spacecraft, Shenzhou 10, was successfully launched, laying the foundation for China's future space station. In November 2014, Beidou Satellite Navigation System, Global Positioning System GPS, Global Navigation Satellite System GLONASS and European Galileo Navigation System were recognized by the UN as four key global satellite navigation systems. On December 17, 2015, China launched the world's first satellite, Wukong, to probe dark matter particles.

In 2016, China set itself a number of important goals in the field of astronautics, and the world is looking forward to their implementation.

2016: more than 20 space launches

According to the China Space Science and Technology Corporation, the country plans to carry out more than 20 launches in 2016. Among them, 15 are designated as special or first. In particular, it is planned to test launch the Long March-5 rocket, launch the Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft, as well as the Tiangong-2 manned module into orbit.

AS WELL AS THE CREATION of the Beidou satellite navigation system, the tasks of launching two satellites will be completed to ensure stable operation of the regional system. At the same time, it is planned to launch the Gaofen-3 Earth remote sensing satellite with high-definition equipment to improve the high-resolution observation system of our planet. The first launch of the Long March 5 launch vehicle is of great importance for the implementation of further tasks within the framework of the People's Republic of China's lunar exploration program and the implementation of projects on the space station.

Among China's numerous launches, the most anticipated are the launch of the manned spacecraft and orbital module Tiangong-2. This year, a new period of practical development will begin for the space country in this area. It is worth noting that Tiangong-2 is considered as a kind of laboratory for China's future manned space station, the construction of which is planned to be completed by 2020.

The assembly of the Tiangong-2 laboratory has already been completed, and it is expected that the launch will take place in the third quarter of this year. The dispatch of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft with two astronauts, according to the plan, should take place in the fourth quarter. It is expected that Shenzhou-11 and Tiangong-2 will dock. The Shenzhou 11 crew will spend 30 days in orbit, which is the international norm for an experimental medium-term orbital watch.

The launch of Long March 5 is next

Ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival, tests of the new generation heavy launch vehicle Long March 5 were successfully completed. The general technical equipment of the device has been approved, and this means that the countdown to the first flight of the launch vehicle into space has officially begun. It is planned that the launch of Long March 5 will be carried out in September from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan Province.

The low-orbit carrying capacity of the Long March 5 rocket is 25 tons, the carrying capacity in the transfer orbit is 14 tons, which is more than three times higher than that of other rockets of the same series. Thanks to these indicators, the Chinese device is considered one of the most advanced in the world. Moreover, the Long March 5 rocket uses non-toxic fuel, which will allow China not to harm the environment.

The first flight of the Long March-5 launch vehicle has not yet taken place, but it has already been assigned 10 major tasks, including launching Chang'e-5, the space station cabin and the Mars probing apparatus into space.

Four spaceports

There are four operating spaceports in China: Jiuquan (Gansu Province), Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), Xichang (Sichuan Province) and Wenchang (Hainan Province). The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is mainly responsible for launching return satellites as well as manned programs. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center mainly launches satellites in sun-synchronous orbit. The Sichan Center, being one of the newest cosmodromes, provides emergency launches.

WENCHANG was built in October 2014, it is the largest spaceport in China with the best conditions for launching spacecraft. In addition, this is the country’s first seaside cosmodrome and one of the few space bases located at low latitudes. It is planned that the first launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center will be carried out in June of this year.

Wenchang was built as part of China's strategy for the continued development of the country's space activities in order to carry out the tasks of launching new generation rockets powered by non-toxic and environmentally friendly fuel, as well as new types of spacecraft. This spaceport will mainly be responsible for launching satellites into geosynchronous orbit, massive polar-orbiting satellites, spacecraft for large-capacity space stations, and for sensing purposes. The Long March 5 launch vehicle is expected to depart from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in the second half of this year.

In 2017, the Chang'e-5 spacecraft is also planned to launch from this spaceport as part of the third stage of the Chinese lunar exploration program. The probe will fly around the Moon, “land” on the Earth’s satellite and return back. The main task of this unmanned mission is to collect samples of lunar soil.

The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center is scheduled to play an important role in China's manned lunar exploration program in 2025. “We will be able to land a man on the moon by 2025. The launch of the device will be carried out from the Wenchang Cosmodrome,” said Long Lehao, a full member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Sciences. Recently, the chief designer of the Chang'e-3 probe, Ye Peijian, also noted that the Chang'e-5 spacecraft will launch in 2017 from the Wenchang Cosmodrome. This base has all the conditions for the future launch of Chinese spacecraft to Mars.

According to some experts, after the successful launch of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, China today already has the ability to probe Mars; devices for studying the Red Planet will also be sent from the Wenchang Cosmodrome.

We remember very well the time when only two countries in the world could compete with each other in the conquest of space. It was so, but now nine more powers are rushing into space, which are not going to be wordless extras there who don’t decide anything. Thirty-seven countries in the world can boast that their country has its own cosmonaut, and another fifty countries are rightfully proud of having been able to launch their satellites into space.

Against such a backdrop of activity in space exploration, is it possible to talk about the end of the space race? Certainly not. At the same time, in addition to the two usual leaders in this area, i.e. Russia and the USA, excellent prospects emerge for India and China. The space programs developed in these countries already have a set of good and even unexpected achievements, and the “portfolio of the future” contains many promising and interesting projects.

If we look back at history, China's space exploration officially began in 1956. Naturally, not without the help of the USSR, whose support provided the production basis on which the further space successes of this country were based. Having launched the Dongfang Hong-1 satellite in 1970, which completed all its tasks, China joined the list of space powers as a full member.

China's space program

Of all the space programs today, the most difficult is the preparation and conduct of a manned flight. In solving this problem, China managed to take an honorable third place. On October 15, 2003, the first Chinese taikonaut (cosmonaut, astronaut), Yang Liwei, made fourteen orbits around our planet. He returned in a descent module, but he flew around the planet on one of the replicas of the domestic Soyuz spacecraft, called Shenzhou-5.

Today, the Chinese have already created 4 cosmodromes, each equipped with several launch pads.

The largest and only one in China until the mid-eighties was the Jiutsuan Cosmodrome. It was built back in 1958 in the Inner Mongolia region, located in northern China. Nowadays, spaceships of all types are launched from it, including manned ones belonging to the Shenzhou series.

In 1984, the second most important cosmodrome in the country, Sichan, was built in China. Since 1990, this spaceport has regularly provided commercial services. Here, foreign spacecraft are launched using CZ-3 series launch vehicles. For the needs of China, communication satellites are launched into Earth orbit from the Xichang Cosmodrome. This year, it is from this cosmodrome that the Chinese intend to send their new spacecraft Chang'e-3 to the Moon.

The third most important spaceport in China is the Taiyuan Cosmodrome, which is also known as “Base 25”. Our Chinese friends built it in 1988, both to solve military and civilian problems. The military has tested and is testing intercontinental ballistic missiles of various bases on it, and civilians have used it to launch meteorological and scientific satellites that need to be placed into sun-synchronous orbits.

The most ambitious space program of the PRC, associated with the development of heavy launch vehicles from the Long March 5 series, started 12 years ago. The Chinese expect that the three-stage CZ-5 rockets they created, more than 60 meters long, will be able to launch into orbit a payload weighing up to 25 tons. This year it is planned to complete the construction of the Wenchang Cosmodrome on Hainan Island, from where it is planned to make the first launch in 2014. By the way, as is clear from the previous text, Wenchang will become the fourth, southernmost cosmodrome on Chinese territory.

China's current successes in space are already obvious to everyone, as is the fact that its continued use of outside assistance may no longer be necessary. Since 2000, the PRC has been developing and using a national satellite navigation system, called Beidou/Compass. The frequency at which it operates is 1561 MHz. By 2020, it is planned that the formation of a satellite constellation, as well as the achievement of the estimated capacity, will be successfully completed by the Chinese. Currently, 16 satellites have already been launched into orbit.

In addition, China is generously funding two more projects in parallel. Thus, Tsinghua University is currently completing large-scale work on the creation of its own space observatory HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope), working in this direction hand in hand with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The observatory will begin its work within the next three years.

Five years ago, the Chinese spacecraft Chang'e-1 flew around the Moon. As a result of its work, more than one and a half terabytes of data were transmitted to Earth and a complete and voluminous map of the Moon was obtained. Around the same time, China created interceptor missiles to destroy satellites.

The second Chinese spacecraft Chang'e-2, sent into space in 2010, also successfully completed all its scientific tasks. Thanks to her work, it was possible to increase the resolution of the lunar map to seven meters. Additionally, it was possible to create a map of the distribution of elements of the lunar crust and, in addition, photograph the asteroid Tautatis from a distance of only three kilometers.

In 2011, on the wave of success, China managed not only to make its first docking in space, but also to surpass the United States in the number of completed launches. Another year and a half later, the crew of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, which included the first female taikonaut of the PRC, Liu Yang, docked with the Chinese orbital station Tiangong-1.

Russians, without whom the Chinese, since the times of the USSR, simply could not do for a long time, continue to make contributions to the development of astronautics in this huge country, but calling them successful can only be done with a certain degree of exaggeration. For example, in January 2012, the first Chinese probe for Mars exploration, Yingho-1, burned up in the atmosphere together with the Russian Phobos-Grunt probe. The reason is a failure of the propulsion system.

China's next major step into space will likely be the completion of the development of the Giant Solar Telescope (CGST). This is the largest telescope designed to observe the sun, both in the infrared and in the optical range. The main goal is to study the magnetic field of the Sun and the phenomena of its atmosphere using high resolution. The cost of the project is truly “Chinese” in scale – 90 million. dollars. It is assumed that the Chinese will be able to begin construction in three years, in 2016.

A trend that is obvious: every year China’s ambitions in space are growing, and the amount of funding is increasing. By the end of the decade, China plans to replace the Tiangong-1 orbital station with a more advanced one. In addition, the Chinese are eager to send their taikonauts to the Moon and then to Mars, and these prospects do not look fantastic.

Indian space program

India, which is the sixth in a row to be included in the list of space powers, today has every chance of displacing such giants as Japan and/or the European Union “on the pedestal” of the space race. Today, Indian engineers working within the framework of the national space program launch communications satellites into geostationary orbit, know how to return spacecraft and satellites, and enter into lucrative contracts with foreigners, providing them with their launch pads and launch vehicles.

The Indian Space Agency (ISRO) plans to send its own Mars rover into space this November. The concept of the Avatar space transport system, which the Indians are also vigorously developing, is no less admirable.

ISRO came into existence through the takeover of the National Space Research Committee in 1969. The first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was built with the help of the USSR and launched into orbit in 1975. However, Indian engineers did not apprentice for long; in 1980 they launched their own satellite, Rohini, launched into orbit by the SLV-3 launch vehicle, created in India.

Subsequently, India managed to develop two more types of launch vehicles. With their help, it consistently launched its satellites into polar and geosynchronous orbits, and not so long ago, in 2008, it sent the PSLV-XL of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to the Moon. Moreover, 6 of the 12 scientific instruments placed on board this spacecraft were developed at ISRO.

Since last year, ISRO has been using the world's top 500 supercomputer SAGA, powered by 640 Nvidia Tesla accelerators. Thanks to it, it became possible to guarantee peak performance of up to 394 teraflops. It is known that in addition to the space race, India is successfully asserting itself in the supercomputer race, investing billions of dollars in it. This country does not yet have a program of its own manned flights, but by 2016, as I plan here, this shortcoming will finally be corrected.

WENCHANG (China), July 3 - RIA Novosti, Anna Ratkoglo. Recent decades for China have been marked not only by economic success, but also by significant achievements in the space sector; the construction of spaceports, ambitious programs for the exploration of the Moon and Mars, and frequent launches of rockets and spacecraft are quickly narrowing the gap between China and the leading countries in this area, such as Russia and the United States.

Launches of rockets and spacecraft are no longer something fantastic and inaccessible; the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) regularly invites not only Chinese journalists, but also numerous representatives of the foreign press to watch launches live from the front row.

The second pancake is lumpy

The second launch of the heavy-class carrier rocket Long March 5 (Long March 5) on Sunday gathered representatives of the world's largest media at the Wenchang Cosmodrome, Hainan Province, for which a special area was allocated on the balcony of the Flight Control Center building from the cosmodrome.

According to CNSA representatives, the distance from the Mission Control Center to the launch pad with the rocket is several kilometers, so the launch of Long March 5 could be observed with the naked eye.

The rocket was delivered to the cosmodrome by sea from Tianjin on May 6, and a week ago it was installed on the launch pad.

© Ruptly Launch of the Long March 5 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center

Journalists arrived at the spaceport on Sunday morning. According to experts, the weather for the launch was favorable, and rocket tests indicated that Long March 5 with the Shijian-18 communications satellite would launch on time. Although it was not possible to see the rocket itself during the day, journalists were shown the assembly building for Long March 5, which is connected to the launch pad by special rails.

At 19.22 local time, the countdown began, and at exactly 19.23, as originally planned, the launch vehicle took off. For the first minutes everything went as normal, and for half an hour there was no information about possible problems. However, the Xinhua news agency later published a report about the failure of the mission, the reasons for which were not specified. They were not received even within 24 hours after the incident.

It is not yet known whether China will publish data about the accident and its causes and what consequences it will entail.

Long March 5 is China's most powerful new generation launch vehicle. Its height is 56.97 meters, the diameter of the main stage is five meters. It is capable of delivering 25 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit. The Long March 5 development project was approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China in 2006. Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are used as fuel for Long March 5.

Failures will not be an obstacle

The Wenchang Cosmodrome is expecting another important event this year: China plans to carry out the third launch of the Long March 5 launch vehicle from it in November. This time, Long March 5 will be used to launch the Chang'e 5 satellite, which should land on the lunar surface, collect samples of lunar soil and return to Earth as part of the third stage of China's lunar exploration program.

China's Chang'e lunar exploration program includes three stages: a flyby around the Earth's satellite (Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2), a landing on the Moon (Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4), and a return Moons to Earth (Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6).

Director of the International Cooperation Department of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Xu Yansong, previously told RIA Novosti that the launch of Chang'e-5 is planned for November 30.

It is not yet known whether the unsuccessful rocket launch will have an impact on the timing of other launches; Chinese experts have yet to find out the reasons for the failure of the mission. They have only five months to analyze and fix possible problems with the rocket to avoid a repeat accident. Or Chang'e 5 will fly to the Moon later than expected.

Academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics Alexander Zheleznyakov told RIA Novosti that the incident that occurred on July 2 will not have a serious impact on the development of the Chinese space program.

“The accident occurred during the second launch of this rocket, this is still the stage of flight tests. During flight tests, anything can happen. I don’t want to draw any far-reaching conclusions, because neither the cause of what happened nor the necessary measures to identify and eliminate it are known.” this malfunction is, in general, a fairly normal and ordinary process in the creation of space technology,” Zheleznyakov said.

According to him, “the accident will probably not have an impact on the development of space programs.” “But there may be some postponements in terms of timing. They were going to use the same rocket in four months to launch the Chang’e-5 lunar probe. Since it is quite expensive and critical for the development of the lunar program, perhaps China will undertake additional checks, and the start will be delayed. But it will definitely take place in November or December, or early next year,” the expert added.

New and promising Wenchang

The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center became China's fourth spaceport and its construction was completed in 2014. In addition to it, the country has Jiuquan in Gansu Province, Taiyuan in Shanxi Province and Xichang in Sichuan Province.

The location of the cosmodrome on the northeastern coast of Hainan Island is no coincidence. First of all, access to the sea ensures less expensive sea transportation of Long March missiles from the port of Tianjin, where they are produced, to the launch site. The proximity of the cosmodrome to the equator is also important, which makes it easier to launch spacecraft into orbit.

Currently, there are two launch pads on the territory of the cosmodrome, one for launching Long March-5 rockets, the second for Long March-7.

The first launch of the Long March-5 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Cosmodrome took place on November 3, 2016, then everything went as usual, and 40 minutes after the launch the launch was declared successful.

The Wenchang Cosmodrome is the most modern of Chinese launch sites, which is why it has a special role in China's lunar and Mars exploration programs.

In 2020, as part of the Mars exploration program, Chinese scientists plan to launch a probe to explore the Red Planet using the Long March 5 launch vehicle into the transfer orbit of Earth and Mars.

It was previously reported that in 2025 the spaceport will also be used as a launch pad for projects within the program for manned lunar exploration. It is planned to land a man on the Moon in 2025 and launch a manned spacecraft from the Wenchang Cosmodrome.

I made a slight mistake with the numbers,

Level of pilot training in Russia and the USA.

In modern air combat, the level of training of pilots, despite the saturation of the aircraft with automatic systems, still remains decisive. In this regard, it is worth dwelling a little on assessing the preparedness of Russian (USSR) and US pilots as opposing concepts.

In the USSR, the title of “pilot” is given to a graduate of a special school who has at least 230 flight hours and at least 550 sorties.
A "Pilot 3rd Class" must have at least one year of field experience, 350 flight hours and at least 600 missions. Can fly in normal weather conditions, during the day, with visibility of at least 2.7 km and cloud cover of at least 225 m. Such pilots operate in groups of 4-6 aircraft (flight-squadron).

A "Pilot 2nd Class" must have at least three years of field experience, 450 flight hours and at least 770 missions. It can fly in difficult weather conditions, during the day, with visibility of at least 2.7 km and cloud cover not lower than 225 m, as well as in simple conditions at night with visibility of at least 5.4 km and cloud cover not lower than 450 m. Such pilots can independently conduct maneuverable air combat. After one year, they receive a 15%-25% increase. As a rule, they were members of the CPSU. Currently, there are more than 1000 pilots of this class in the Russian Air Force.

A "Pilot 1st Class" must have at least six years of field experience, 550 flight hours, and at least 1,200 missions. It can fly in difficult weather conditions, day and night, with visibility less than 1.6 km and cloud cover not lower than 225 m. Currently, there are more than 300 pilots of this class in the Russian Air Force. It should be noted that the number of hours and sorties includes both training and combat aircraft.

To obtain a fighter pilot certificate, the United States Air Force requires at least 800 hours of flight time. All modern aircraft are equipped with navigation systems that ensure flight in adverse weather conditions both day and night. Therefore, in the US there are no specific weather requirements, but rather a requirement that some of these hours be completed at night. Along with flight training, training on full-scale “sensory” simulators plays an important role.

Thus, even an ordinary USAF pilot has 1.5 times more experience than a Russian 1st class pilot and more than twice as much experience as an ordinary Russian fighter pilot.

However, this is only according to the standards. In reality the lag is much greater. For example, operating costs per flight hour for a light twin-engine fighter of the MiG-29 class is about $3,000. And for its single-engine combat American analogue F-16 - about $2000. These costs are determined by the large amount of fuel for two engines, the greater labor intensity of their maintenance and the overall costs of diagnostics, prevention and maintenance. American systems and units have a much greater degree of electronic diagnostics. For example, an F-16 pilot has diagnostic results for critical systems such as an engine or radar directly in flight. In Russia, such diagnostics are not available even at field airfields and are available only at large air bases. But even there, the process of diarnostics is difficult due to the great complexity of the work and the limited experience of the operating personnel. The situation at the base in Keskemet (Hungary), where the Mig-29 regiment is based, is indicative. There are 3 diagnostic stands at the base, but none of them work. The reason is the lack of training of personnel, the cost of a training course is about $100,000.

However, operating costs are far from determining the total cost of an hour of flight. Much higher depreciation costs. For them the gap is even greater. In 1994 - 1996, the price of the Mig-29 was about $25,000,000. The price of the F-16 in 1994 was $18,600,000. The service life of the Mig-29 airframe is 2500 hours. Or $10,000 per hour. The service life of the F-16 airframe is 8000 hours. Or $2,325 per hour. For other important nodes, the difference in resources is no less. So the Mig-29 engine is 800 hours, and the F-16 is 2000 hours. It must be said that Russian equipment does not always even meet the stated characteristics. So the service life of Mig-29 engines in Malaysia is 750 hours. In Hungary and Hermann there are 700 hours. And in India it even drops to 200 hours. As a result, the cost of 1 aircraft in India already exceeds the initial one by $490,000. Taking into account the above figures, the total cost of one flight hour will be about $15,500 for the Mig-29 and about $5,900 for the F-16.

Modern American fighters, such as the F-16, have a greater degree of automation than their Russian opponents and are easier to control. This lowers the requirements for the number of hours required to master this aircraft. Thus, for a National Guard fighter pilot with about 500 hours of flight time, mastering the F-16 at the level of independent mission completion requires an average of 168 flight hours. And the corresponding Russian pilot of the 2nd class - 220 hours. Thus, the cost of flight training alone for a modern fighter pilot in Russia is $15,500 * 220 = $3,440,000. And in the USA - $5,900 * 168 = $991,200.

It is quite obvious that the USSR (Russia) could not withstand such a load. Cost reduction was necessary. It happened in two directions. Reduced level of training and number of pilots. Recently, due to the worsening economic situation in Russia and cuts in the military budget, the number of flight hours has sharply decreased. The total flight hours of the Air Force decreased from 679,800 hours in 1991 to 132,000 in 1998. The flight time per pilot was 29 hours in 1997 and approximately 20 in 1998. Here it must be recalled that to maintain the required level of aerobatics, about 100 hours of flight time per year are required. Taking into account the need to fly for training, this means that only 10-15% of pilots in Russia can fully maintain the required shape. Compared to 100% in the USA (average flight time - 212 hours).

In addition, a greater degree of automation largely eliminates the difference in the class of pilots. The Americans note that if only 1 pilot out of 5 won victories in BB2, then modern technology makes it possible to increase this figure to 2-3 (50% of pilots). Of the Russians, 15% of the pilots are still only 1 out of 5. 3% of the number of pilots can win. Or at least 15 times less than the Americans with equal numbers.
Just based on the given example of the F-16, the Americans have at least 2000 pilots with more than 1000 hours of flight time on this model and at least 300 with 2000 hours. 18 people have more than 3,000 flight hours and one has more than 4,000. In the Russian Air Force, there is not a single pilot with more than 2,000 hours of flight time on a modern fighter.

*********************************************************************************************************************

The data presented took into account the situation in 1998-1999. We now have information for 2000. The “REPORT on the state of combat training in the Armed Forces” is prepared annually by the General Staff and the Main Directorate of Combat Training and is presented to the Supreme Commander, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff. Such a report by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Colonel General V. TOPOROV in the department “3.2 AIR TRAINING” contains the following data:

“During the organization and conduct of tactical training events in the aviation units of the Air Force, there were elements of formalism. Commanders, trying to fulfill the plan at any cost, to the detriment of the quality of combat training of units and military units, attracted 2 - 4 crews to participate in the training and technical training, instead of the combat training courses established training 75% of the unit's payroll crew or 90% of the regiment's regular number of aircraft.

For information

The average flight time of combat unit pilots is decreasing from year to year and this year was, at minimum scientifically based standards, 60-70 hours:

In fighter aircraft - 8 hours;

In attack aircraft - 32 hours;

In bomber aviation - 15 hours:

In long-range aviation - 10 hours:

In military transport (VTA) - 28 hours:

In army aviation - 18-27 hours.

This significantly affected the level of combat readiness of the flight personnel, which continues to decline steadily. The actual level of training of flight crews of permanent readiness units does not meet the requirements determined by the order of the Minister.

During the training of troops, little use was made of practical experience in the combat use of aviation in the North Caucasus region. The training plans for command and control bodies and troops (forces) did not include joint training with ground forces. Aviation control bodies, from forward air controllers to the command of the Air Force unification, are not ready for the joint, large-scale use of all types of aviation, both in terms of training and in terms of equipment with modern means of command and control.

The analysis of the state of flight personnel qualifications indicates a steady trend towards a decrease in the number of highly qualified, trained pilots and navigators. Pilot training in complex types of flight training has been discontinued.

The training of young pilots who join the troops after military aviation institutes with an extremely low level of flight training is limited (the total flight time of 50% of graduates of military aviation institutes in 1999 is 50-60 hours instead of the established 190), which makes their training inappropriate in energy-consuming, complex aviation technology. Young pilots averaged 8 hours of flight time in 1999, and 2 hours in the 2000 academic year. Out of 1099 pilots graduated from 1995 - 1999. Only 583 flew in combat units, and in 2000, 513 young pilots did not take to the air.

A situation has arisen where, with a high natural loss of flight personnel, there is no prepared reserve to replace them. Thus, the proportion of pilots with 1st class since 1998 has decreased from 80 to 50%, the average age of pilots in this category is 38-41 years. There are practically no 1st class pilots under the age of 30 in combat units. It takes 15-20 years to train 1st class pilots at the current level of logistics. In the near future, we should expect a sharp decrease in the number of 1st and 2nd class pilots, due to their retirement and reduction in organizational and staffing measures and the complete loss of combat effectiveness of aviation regiments...

In 2000, there was an increase in accident rates in military aviation. 10 aircraft were lost in accidents and catastrophes (7 in 1999, 6 in 1998). The severity of aviation accidents has also increased sharply. This year, 105 people died, of which 16 were crew members (in 1999 - 14, in 1998 - 8). The main causes of incidents were the human factor. From 83 to 100% of accidents occurred due to poor organizational work and low demands on the organization of flight training in subordinate units on the part of the leadership of the Air Force Civil Aviation Administration. The average flight time per incident due to human factors also decreased by more than 20%.