| Yak-44 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Carrier-basedairborne early warning and control |
| Manufacturer | Yakovlev |
| Status | Cancelled before prototype construction |
TheYakovlev Yak-44 (Russian:Як-44) was a proposed twin-turbopropAirborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft, resembling theUnited States Navy'sE-2 Hawkeye, intended for use with theSoviet Navy'sUlyanovsk classsupercarriers. Along with theaircraft carrier it would have flown from, the Yak-44 was cancelled after the demise of theSoviet Union. A full-scale mockup with foldable wings was built.
In the late 1970s, theSoviet Navy adopted a plan to build large aircraft carriers capable of operating conventional aircraft rather than theVSTOLYakovlev Yak-38s operated by the existingKiev class aircraft carriers. These new carriers required a shipborneairborne early warning (AEW) aircraft to be effective, and the Yakovlevdesign bureau was instructed to develop such an aircraft in 1979.[1][2] While the AEW would be the primary role for the aircraft, it was also planned to develop versions to serve in theanti-submarine warfare (ASW) andcarrier on-board delivery (COD) roles.[2][3]
The basic layout and size of the final Yak-44E design was similar to that of theGrumman E-2C which operated in the same role from American aircraft carriers, being a twin-engined high-wingmonoplane with a rotatingradar dome (rotodome) above the aircraft's fuselage. The Yak-44 was designed to carry much more fuel, and was therefore far heavier.[2][3] The engines were to be twoProgress D-27propfans rated at 14,000 ehp (10,290 kW) each, drivingcontra-rotating propellers. The crew of five were to be accommodated in a pressurized fuselage, while the aircraft's rotodome, carrying aNPO Vega pulse-doppler radar could be retracted to reduce the aircraft's height when stowed below decks in the carrier'shangar. The aircraft's wings alsofolded upwards, while atwin tail was fitted.[2][4]
The aircraft was stressed to allowcatapult launching andarrested landings, but was also capable of operating from theski-jump ramps of theProject 1143.5 carriers (later to become known as theAdmiral Kuznetsov class).[5]
A detailed full-sizemockup was completed in 1991, and approved with minor changes by theSoviet Naval Aviation (A-VMF). The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in the program being delayed, with the catapult-equippedUlyanovsk being cancelled and scrapped, and the secondAdmiral Kuznetsov class carrier, theVaryag, being left incomplete. The Yak-44 program was abandoned by theRussian Navy in 1993.[5][6][7]
Data from Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924[6]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
