Contemporary Russian aircraft jet engines

[35_aoa]

I don't work in the Russian aerospace/fighter industry, but my feeling is that (in particular) engine life has not historically been of huge concern to them. If you look back at the Soviet era, they pumped out thousands upon thousands of relatively cheap, technologically inferior jets to arm the whole of the Warsaw Pact/satellite nations. They expected to win through numerical superiority, a strategy that has been well documented, and one that might well have worked had the figurative balloon ever gone up (at least before the nukes ended everything for the whole world a few hours later). Obviously some of that went away with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but I'd be willing to bet that the mindset hasn't changed that much. Clearly they are producing more capable aircraft, and have been since the early 1980's when the USSR still stood, but I also think that due to economic necessity, they continue to find a cost compromise in their designs, even with higher end fighters such as the Flanker family. What is an easy way to shave a little bit off development costs? Throw away engines after a few thousand hours, and they can not only be cheaper up front, but also force international buyers/foreign sales to continue to need engines/create revenue. Just my thought, could be right, could be wrong. If it were me, and I saw the need to 1) present a credible threat to the world, and 2) do it within the bounds of a pretty chronically failed national economy, this sort of design philosophy is actually pretty smart IMO.

[element1loop]

If it were me, and I saw the need to 1) present a credible threat to the world, and 2) do it within the bounds of a pretty chronically failed national economy, this sort of design philosophy is actually pretty smart IMO.

That would be most fortunate (and 'Guild the Lily' a bit) as it's not like they have any choice but to suck up the decades of technological failure.

The Indians seem a bit over it this time.