Imagine if the Russians had actually built aircraft in series production that supported one another’s supply chains.
They could have leveraged the NK-32 program to build a MiG-29 class fighter. The Backfire uses two. And the Blackjack uses four. Of the same engine. Instead you have three completely different production lines.
And it would have made more sense to replace MiG-23 with a single Al-31 derived design. The MiG-23 replacement and the T-10 derivatives would have used the same or similar engines. Instead you have yet a fourth and fifth production line, as Al-31 comes in two families.
Russia cannot afford their military because it was never run lean enough to be affordable. The crumbling of the Soviet era war machine continues with every passing day.
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