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Key Points and Summary: Russia’s PAK DA stealth bomber aims to challenge the US B-21 Raider with advanced features, including nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons.

-The aircraft’s stealth design mirrors the B-21’s blended wing-body approach for advanced radar evasion. Russian sources claim the PAK DA will deploy Kh-102 missiles and derivatives of the Kh-47M2, bolstering its nuclear and hypersonic capabilities.

PAK DA Bomber. Image: Creative Commons/Artist Concept Image.

-With a reported take-off weight of 30 tons, the PAK DA could deliver substantial payloads and achieve extended dwell times. While comparisons with the B-21 remain speculative, the PAK DA highlights Russia’s focus on countering US air superiority with cutting-edge technology.

-Nonetheless, there are real questions about whether Moscow will ever be able to field this bomber due to Ukraine war sanctions and technological hurdles. 

Russia’s PAK DA Stealth Bomber: A New Rival for the US B-21?

Russia’s emerging PAK DA stealth bomber will carry nuclear-tipped, stealthy cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons, something which appears intended to rival the US Air Force’s emerging B-21. 

Details of the new Russian bomber are difficult to discern. Yet, the external stealth configuration is recognizable to the observer’s eye, and Russian state-owned newspapers have discussed the aircraft at length.

In particular, Russia’s TASS news cited the prospect of Kh-102 nuclear-tipped stealthy cruise missiles as far back as 2021, a development that does not seem surprising given that the US Air Force intends to arm its B-21 with an advanced, paradigm-changing nuclear-capable cruise missile called Long Range Stand-Off weapon (LRSO). 

Nuclear Russian Bomber

“The PAK DA is expected to deploy Kh-102 nuclear-tipped stealthy cruise missiles, and a number of newer hypersonic designs including derivatives of the Kh-47M2.” a TASS report from 2021 says.

Many of the details regarding LRSO remain unavailable for security reasons. However, the Air Force has publicly discussed the concept of operation informing the tactical intent of the LRSO; the idea is to give commanders the ability to target and destroy enemy air defense from much safer stand-off ranges with an advanced, precision-guided cruise missile. Part of the concept with LRSO is also to, if necessary, hold an adversary at risk of a nuclear response in the event Russia targets the US with a nuclear strike. 

PAK DA Bomber. Image Credit: Artist Rendition/Creative Commons.

PAK DA Bomber. Image Credit: Artist Rendition/Creative Commons.

The Pentagon and US Strategic Command are quite clear that the nuclear capability built into the LRSO is intended to support the US strategic deterrence posture and introduce the prospect of a nuclear response if the US is attacked with nuclear weapons. 

Nonetheless, it seems significant that the Russian papers cite plans to arm the new PAK DA bomber with nuclear weapons, and such an approach is entirely aligned with the Russian regime’s regular threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. 

Hypersonic PAK DA

It is not clear exactly when the PAK DA will be ready for operational service, yet the TASS news statement that Putin intends to arm the aircraft with hypersonics is also not surprising. The exact details of Russian weapons can be complex, and the Russian state-owned newspapers arguably “hype” their nation’s weapons systems quite often. However, Russia is thought to be quite advanced in its development of hypersonic weapons, and it would not be surprising if its PAK DA could carry air-launched hypersonics.

At the same time, despite Russia’s believed hypersonic capability, launching targeted hypersonic weapons from the air can be difficult to accomplish from a technical standpoint. Using a scramjet to propel a weapon to hypersonic speeds from the air has been possible for many years with platforms such as the US Airforce’s X-51 Waverider, yet “sustaining” hypersonic speeds in a way that manages heat challenges and air boundary flow continues to prove quite challenging. It is therefore difficult to know how mature Russian plans may be. 

PAK DA. Image: Creative Commons.

PAK DA stealth bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Stealthy PAK-DA

As far as the PAK DA’s performance parameters when compared with the US B-21, there is simply not much information to analyze, apart from looking at images and renderings of the Russian and US aircraft. Russia’s PAK DA appears quite stealthy as it mirrors the B-21s horizontal blended wing-body design, an approach consistent with advanced broadband stealth. 

The stealthiest aircraft in existence typically operate without vertical structures to minimize or present fewer protruding shapes and structures likely to generate a return signal or render to ground-based radar systems analyzing electromagnetic signal returns. The exact final configuration of the PAK DA may be complicated to know thoroughly. However, some public renderings show an aircraft with small vertical “wingtips,” which may improve vectoring and flight path yet slightly decrease the aircraft’s stealth properties. 

Take Off Weight

There is another difference: should Russian media claims about its PAK DA be correct, it is listed as capable of operating with a take-off weight of 30 tons, twice the reported 15-ton take-off weight of the B-21 Raider.

Such a capability indicates that the PAK DA could indeed drop an enormous amount of ordnance and potentially achieve substantial dwell time over targets. 

Will This Bomber Ever Fly for Russia? 

Clearly, the stats and specs on this bomber indeed look impressive. However, with Western sanctions and technological hurdles looking tough to overcome, this might be a bomber for Moscow that never leaves the drawing board. 

About the Author: Kris Osborn

Kris Osborn is the Military Technology Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.