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Yakovlev Yak-44

1991 COLD WAR

History

During the second half of the Cold War (1947-1991), the Soviet Navy positioned itself to deploy an entirely new fleet of nuclear-powered "supercarriers" (led by Ulyanovsk) to counter sea-based fire from the United States and the West 's enemy. So far, the Soviet Navy has only been able to deploy Yakovlev Yak 38 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter jets from its limited Kyiv-class fleet. To support the supply of incoming supercarriers, Yakovlev was tasked with designing and developing a capable carrier-based airborne early warning (AEW) platform in the late 1970s, which led to the Yak-44 proposal.

However, the Soviet supercarrier program failed with the fall of the Soviet Empire, and the Yak-44 only existed in full-scale models. The program was terminated along with the supercarrier, and there is no prototype.

Ulyanovsk and her ilk will support a total of about 68 aircraft, including Sukhoi and Mikoyan fighter jets, Yak-44 AEW platforms, Kamov anti-submarine and search and rescue (SAR) helicopters. The flight deck was designed more westward, with four catapult launch positions - two on the bow and two on the port side - with a sloping receiving deck from stern to port.

The island's superstructure will be offset to starboard, with three hangar elevators serving the flight deck.

These qualities fleshed out Yakovlev's requirements for his new AEW platform. The resulting design, so similar to the competing American Grumman E-2 "Hawkeye" series, leaves little room for imagination. The design includes a length of 66.9 feet, a wingspan of 84 feet, and a height of 23 feet. The wings can be folded to improve carrier storage space below deck. A large retractable radome (NPO "Vega" Pulse Doppler) was mounted on the fuselage, the same as on the E-2.

A typical operator should be five people, including two pilots and a mission specialist. Loaded weight is reported as 88,200 lbs. Power will be provided by 2 Zaporozhye D-227 series "Profans" of 14,000 hp each, combining a gas turbine with an unshielded propeller assembly.

The wings are mounted on the shoulders to ensure proper spacing of the propeller blades, and the landing gear is a fully retractable tricycle arrangement. Like the E-2, the Yak-44 will have a twin tail configuration. As expected from any naval aircraft, the Yak-44 should be properly coated and sealed to prevent corrosion at sea.

In addition, the structure and landing gear elements for landing on the carrier deck have been strengthened.

Expect performance specs for both engines to include a top speed of 460 mph, a range of 2,500 miles and a service ceiling of 42,700 feet. However, all are estimates as no prototypes have been completed.

Work continued into the 1980s, until the Soviet Union was involved in a bloody and costly war across Afghanistan. This and other internal affairs eventually led to the downfall of the Soviet Empire, with many projects falling prey to extreme budget cuts.

Yakovlev manages the full-scale model mentioned above, but has little else to do until the project is complete. The Yak-44 was eventually abandoned sometime in 1993 as the Russian Navy entered a period of depression and limited funding.