With Russian tanks said to be rolling down the streets of the occupied Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, and Russia now in breach of the Minsk accords a full-scale conflict in the region is an increasingly realistic prospect.
Thus far, the majority of Western coverage on the Ukraine crisis has focused on the number of Russian troops on the country’s frontiers, with as many as 190,000 said to have been amassed at its borders, whether ready to embark on an all-out invasion or utilized as a bargaining tool.
但是，如果这种情况确实发生了，那么争取空中至高无上的战斗，并否认美国对关键战略资产（其航空母舰）的不受阻碍的诉讼，这一点引起了主流媒体的关注，对其结果也至关重要。。美国和俄罗斯以前曾使用3D打印来改善他们在这一领域的战斗准备，但后者似乎在西部偷走了一场游行，并加上了添加剂升级的MIG-31喷气式飞机。
通过开展UEC-Perm Motors和UEC-Star, an affiliate of the state-ownedRostecconglomerate, these improvements are said to have dramatically enhanced the engine performance of Russian interceptor aircraft. These planes are also able to launch the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles known as ‘Daggers,’ a capability Russia tested just last week, under its “GROM” nuclear triad exercises.
Extending the life of the MiG-31
即使Mikoyan Mig-31在1975年前首次由苏联空军首次飞行，但它仍然是世界上最快的战斗喷气机之一。但是，有Russia announcing plansto extend the aircraft’s length of service by another third in 2020, taking its operation well into the 2030s, the country’s engineers have found themselves forced into finding new ways of preventing them becoming obsolete.
One way the Russian military hasreportedlymanaged to achieve this, is by turning to the 3D printing capabilities of UEC-Perm Motors and UEC-Star. Specifically, engineers at the firms are said to have 3D printed parts of the MiG’s D-30F6 engine, which enable it to perform at ‘a new qualitative level,’ and with further R&D, it’s believed they could build ‘native engines’ that deliver ‘much better performance.’
While neither company has a big public profile, the former advertises the “after sales service of aircraft engines,” including “service life extension operations,” while the latter is a known part of theUnited Engine Corporation(UEC), a Rostec affiliate.
同样，UEC的网站几乎没有提及其服务背后的技术，但是与国有公司的密切联系可能是更好地了解俄罗斯的MIG-31计划的关键。就在去年，Rostec获得了俄罗斯工业和贸易部的许可证serially 3D print aerospace parts, after arayapp0of an additive-manufactured aircraft engine.
早在2018年，该公司也opened its Additive Technologies Center，分配了4450万美元，将其扩展到俄罗斯同类最大的设施之一。Rostec的综合体为其提供了一系列3D打印系统的访问权限，其子公司Ruselectronicshas previously revealed it was developing an aerospace EBAM unit, making it a possible facilitator of Russia’s MiG upgrades.
Russia’s renewed aerial firepower
Worryingly for Ukraine and its allies, the enhancements made to Russia’s MiG-31s are said to have brought their top speed up from the 3,400 km/h they were previously capable of, making them an ideal mule for carrying to the altitude where launching a hypersonic weapon is less impeded by the atmosphere at ground level. For example, atmospheric conditions at 20 km exhibit both lower temperatures and less dense air. Operating in the troposphere reduces some of the challenges associated with ground launch, such as air friction causing aerodynamic heating.
实际上，俄罗斯空军是believed to have test-firedits cutting-edge Dagger missile in ‘unspecified locations’ on February 19, 2022, as well as deploying it by submarine in the Black Sea, just south of Ukraine. Officially named the ‘Kinzhal,’ this next-gen weapon was first unveiled in 2018, when its Mach-12 flight capabilitiesreportedly令人担忧的军事观察在一定程度上声称该导弹使俄罗斯“在大西洋和太平洋的所有船只上都在欧洲罢工”。
Paired with the engine upgrades made to its MiG-31s, the Russian military may now have access to far more potent airstrikes with a much longer range than before. Additionally, the timing and proximity of the country’s Dagger tests could be ominous for those defending Ukrainian positions in the coming weeks, but that being said, Russia’s military is not the only one honing hypersonic technologies.
加强乌克兰的防御？
The美国国防部(DoD) has also plowed a significant amount of funding into projects focused on the R&D of novel hypersonic flight technologies, with many of these proposing the use of 3D printing to achieve this.
Since aDayton Development Coalitionmeeting in 2017, in which a team from the代顿大学提出，高级技术可用于建造无人驾驶”Hypersonic Technology Vehicles,’ theUS Air Forcehas gone on totest HRL Laboratories’ 3D printable ceramicsin their production, whileNASA和达帕have进行了超声飞行测试旁边Aerojet Rocketdyneas well.
Late last year, the DoD went on to reiterate its commitment to this area of research, byawarding another $25.5 million in fundingto 18 related projects. Not long after, the美国海军表面战中心达尔格伦分部also announced plans todouble down on hypersonic missile development, with the aim of using 3D printing to develop a system that establishes it as the clear leader in the field.
All that being said, there’s no doubt that the US has thrown a considerable amount of cash at improving its hypersonic flight capabilities, but where does this fit into the Ukrainian conflict? Well, theUS moved its fighter jets本月初以支持其北约盟友，据说这些飞机是F-15鹰和F-16的混合体，前者的最高速度为3,008 km/h。
在其它地方,美国空军人员,例如that presented at last month’sAIAA SciTech Forum，继续发展countering hypersonic missile threats。Ukraine has also gained military support from the likes of Turkey, Canada, the UK, and more, which could include technologies to this effect, but just like Russia’s MiG program, it’s hard to tell for sure right now what role 3D printing will have to play.
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Featured image shows a Russian Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 fighter jet. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
