Approach to the Kerch bridge from the Crimea. Kerch-Yuzhnaya station and approaches to the Crimean bridge
Lockheed Martin completes fuselage assembly of last F-22 Raptor fighter, which will be transferred to the US Air Force in the second quarter of 2012. The F-22 production line will remain for several more years to carry out repairs and upgrades to the fighters in service, which are likely to end up as the most expensive and useless aircraft in US history.
Lockheed Martin, the developer of the F-22 Raptor fighter, considered the most high-tech aircraft in service in the United States, has completed the assembly of the fuselage of the last, 187th such aircraft. According to Defense Aerospace, by the end of 2011, the fighter with tail number 09-4195 will be equipped with chassis, wings, electronic systems and F119-PW-100 engines. The aircraft is expected to leave the assembly line in January 2012 and be handed over to the US Air Force in the second quarter of the same year.
Before delivering the fighter to the military, Lockheed Martin will have to conduct control flight tests of the F-22. How this will be done is still unknown. Currently, there is a ban on flying Raptor fighters in the United States., which applies to all such aircraft with the exception of those assigned to Edwards AFB. These F-22s are taking part in the Upgrade 3.5 software testing. After completing the tests, they will also be prohibited from taking to the air.
According to unofficial forecasts, permission to resume flights will be issued to the F-22 no earlier than the first quarter of 2012. In practice, this means that if the Raptors are not allowed to take to the skies before the beginning of next year, the last plane will go to the Air Force later than planned. However, the military themselves are unlikely to be upset about this. It is curious that the current suspension of flights has already become the longest in the history of the United States, and at the beginning of 2012 it will probably become a record for the whole world.
Flights of F-22 fighters were suspended on May 3, 2011, and two months earlier, the US Air Force command limited the flight altitude of these aircraft to 7.6 thousand meters. The reason for this was the investigation into the causes of the Raptor disaster in November 2010 in Alaska. Then the pilot of the plane, Jeffrey Haney, was killed. Presumably the cause of the disaster was the malfunctioning of the onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS), which caused the pilot to experience suffocation and lost consciousness. Currently, OBOGS is being tested not only on the F-22, but also on all other US Air Force aircraft using a similar system.
Starting in 2012, the US Air Force will spend $ 500 million annually on modernizing F-22 Raptor fighters. In particular, the Increment 3.1 modernization program will begin, involving the installation of new on-board equipment, avionics and software. Thanks to this program, the fighter will learn to map the terrain, select ground targets and use the new SDB bombs.
The implementation of the Increment 3.2 modernization program will begin in 2014. According to unconfirmed reports, as a result of this program, the F-22 will receive an updated software, some new design elements and new computing systems.
Apparently, the history of the F-22 will end happily with the transfer of the last such aircraft to the Air Force. No, the suspension of flights, participation in air shows, military exercises and intercontinental flights will continue, but its main task - to establish air superiority in the course of hostilities - this aircraft will probably never fulfill, forever remaining in the memory as the most expensive and most useless fighter in the world.
Initially, the US Air Force planned to purchase 750 F-22 units. However, with the collapse of the USSR and the disappearance of a strong potential enemy, as well as a sharp reduction in the defense budget, the number of Raptors planned for purchase was reduced. In 2010, the US Department of Defense decided to adopt only 187 F-22 units with the cessation of funding for the production of these aircraft since 2012. Minor funds (within the framework of the current plans of the Air Force - half a billion dollars a year, starting in 2012) will be spent only on the modernization of the fighters adopted for service.
The US General Audit Office (GAO), published in April 2011, the total cost of the F-22 creation and procurement program is $ 77.4 billion... At the same time, the cost of one aircraft in 2010 amounted to $ 411.7 million. By April current year The US Air Force adopted 181 Raptor. In July 2009, the United States Air Force announced that one hour of F-22 flight costs 44 thousand dollars... According to the administration of the US Air Force Secretary of State, the cost of one hour of fighter flight is 49.8 thousand dollars. The Raptor is currently the most expensive fighter jet in the world.
And, so far, the most useless. This fighter, which has been in service with the Air Force for six years, has not yet participated in any combat operations and, with rare exceptions, has not left the United States. The US Department of Defense previously explained that at present there are simply no tasks for this aircraft - for the war in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya, where all operations are carried out either on the ground or on the ground, an air superiority fighter is simply not needed.
In the future, apparently, it will not come in handy either - the United States has not yet announced plans to conduct hostilities with a country with advanced aviation, where the capabilities of the F-22 could be useful. In general, on the account of the most advanced American aircraft there are only a couple of hundred conditionally shot down enemy aircraft during military exercises. No losses from the Raptors.
One could say that the F-22 technology was useful to the United States in creating the promising F-35 Lightning II fighter, but this is mostly not true. The vast majority of F-35 systems are developed from scratch, including on-board computer systems, a visual perimeter control system, and even some of the elements of stealth technology.
Moreover, some of the equipment that will be used on the US Air Force plans to install in the future and on the F-22, including a resistant radio-absorbing coating. Perhaps the only thing that the F-35 inherited from the F-22 is a colossal increase in the cost of the development program and one unit of equipment. But that's a completely different story.
As Kommersant found out, the construction of railway approaches to Crimean bridge encountered a problem, the project will have to be adjusted. One of the reasons is soil problems. This, according to preliminary estimates, will require the allocation of up to 3 billion rubles. from the budget.
As sources told Kommersant, during the implementation of the project for the construction of railway approaches to the Kerch bridge from the Crimea, problems arose with the soil used for the construction of the roadbed. The project was developed by St. Petersburg "Lenpromtransproekt" by order of the FSUE "Crimean Railway" (KZD), which was directly subordinate to the region, but, emphasizes one of the interlocutors of "Kommersant", the document was "poorly prepared." As a result, Roszheldor turned to the general contractor Stroygazmontazh (SGM) with a proposal to make adjustments. The maximum cost of work to solve this problem reaches 2.9 billion rubles, the real amount and sources of funding "will be known later."
The Ministry of Transport confirmed to Kommersant that the need for repeated engineering surveys was caused by the poor performance of the work of JSC Lenpromtransproekt, in connection with which Roszheldor sent an appeal to the prosecutor's office. Repeated surveys, added the Ministry of Transport, will be carried out by Stroygazmontazh.
Lenpromtransproekt clarifies that the fault lies with the subcontractor. The general director of the company Rostislav Shkurko reminded Kommersant that the company received a positive opinion from Glavgosexpertiza in June 2016, “all work was performed with high quality, as evidenced by the positive conclusions both on the technical and price audit, as well as on the technical and estimated part of the project.” Engineering surveys in geology were subcontracted by Krymsetenergoproekt LLC both on the railway approach and on the road, says the top manager. Based on the received drilling materials and laboratory tests, design solutions were developed, the construction time in accordance with the construction organization project was 29.7 months, but the contract with Stroygazmontazh was signed only in April 2017, Mr. Shkurko notes. At the start of construction, he explains, according to the results of control drilling, it was revealed that the actual properties of the soil differ from the materials of the surveys carried out by LLC Krymsetenergoproekt and used for the design. The soil is partially unsuitable for the construction of the embankment, it can be used by stabilization, which requires additional time, says the top manager. “Considering the importance of the facility, social significance and construction time, it was decided to replace the soil, which requires at least RUB 500 million,” says Rostislav Shkurko, adding that there are no building materials in Crimea now and the question of where to bring the soil is being decided.
“As part of the fulfillment of warranty obligations, Lenpromtransproekt applied to Roszheldor in May and received permission to re-conduct geological studies at its own expense. Today geology has been re-done, all studies have been carried out, and a re-Glavgosekpertiza is to take place in the near future, ”the top manager notes. According to him, Roszheldor, KZD and Lenpromtransproekt submitted materials to the Prosecutor General's Office, and the company also filed a lawsuit against Krymsetenergoproekt LLC.
2.9 billion rubles associated not only with an error in the project on soils, additional funds are required in connection with changes in the project for electrification, signaling, transport security, etc., concludes Mr. Shkurko.
In "Stroygazmontazh" they say that the construction and installation work does not stop. “The company has developed and is implementing a mechanism of action that involves adjusting certain sections of the existing project, which will not affect the overall completion date for the project and the launch of traffic on railway approaches to the bridge on time,” the company emphasized, assuring that the additional volume of work will not will affect the timing of the construction of approaches to the bridge.
The head of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, notes that the choice of a subcontractor for soil works was potentially small due to the limited number of companies operating in Crimea. The company's mistake led not only to the risks of Lenpromtransproekt losing the contract, but also to possible legal costs, the expert said. Taking into account the fact that it was decided to bring the soil, the amount of 2.9 billion rubles. looks absolutely adequate, Mr. Burmistrov believes. According to him, if the situation drags on for another couple of months, there is a risk of failure to meet the deadline. Perhaps, it is precisely in this connection that Roszheldor proposes to adjust the SCS project on its own, notes Mikhail Burmistrov. If the situation drags on for another couple of months, there is a risk of a shift in terms, which is not beneficial to anyone, the expert emphasizes.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak (in charge of Crimea) Ilya Dzhus noted that the issue of the need to adjust the project documentation on approaches was discussed with Mr. Kozak, including at a meeting last week in Simferopol. Mr. Juice confirmed that there were serious complaints about the quality of the project documentation, and did not rule out that the work of the designer on this project could arouse the interest of law enforcement agencies.
Adjustment of the project will not affect the delivery time of the railway approaches, said the representative of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Final decisions on possible adjustments to the cost of construction of approaches can be made only after the finalization of the design documentation, concluded Ilya Dzhus. This will not affect the cost and delivery time of the Crimean bridge itself.
A Kommersant source in the KZD said that they are not engaged in the construction of approaches to the Crimean bridge, but will take on their balance a ready-made railroad when it is built. “Therefore, these questions are not for KZD. There is a customer - "Stroygazmontazh". There is a designer - "Lenpromtransproekt". Whether the project will rise in price, whether the deadline for its implementation will move - these are questions for them, ”the source told Kommersant. The press service of the KZD “Kommersant” confirmed that the design documentation for the construction of railway approaches to the transport passage through the Kerch Strait, provided by JSC “Lenpromtransproekt”, has a number of shortcomings and errors. FSUE "KZD" does not have information regarding the timing and changes in the cost of construction of approaches ”. The Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office has not yet received a response to an official request from Kommersant.
Anastasia Vedeneeva; Vadim Nikiforov, Simferopol