On Wednesday, December 12, 2012, the Russian fourth prototype of Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter jet took to the skies for the first time in a 40 minute flight at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur factory in Siberia, Sukhoi said.
"The fourth prototype PAK-FA made its first flight today from the Gagarin factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur," Sukhoi said, referring to the aircraft by its project name, an acronym for future fifth-generation tactical fighter.
The Russian PAK-FA Sukhoi T-50. (Picture from: http://www.thehindu.com/) |
The Russian fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, PAK-FA Sukhoi T-50. (Picture from: http://strikefighterconsultinginc.com/) |
Technical specification of Sukhoi T-50. (Picture from: http://en.rian.ru/) |
The first prototype flew on January 29, 2010 and presented to the public at the Moscow Air Show in 2011.
The T-50 is the first attempt at a fifth-generation stealth fighter by the Russians and officially enters Sukhoi into the world of stealth design. Borrowing from American designs of the F-22 Raptor, the T-50 has the same basic shape and the same curved radar evading design of the successful Raptor.
Sukhoi T-50's specification and performance compared to the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor. (Picture from: http://en.rian.ru/) |
A prototype Sukhoi T-50, the 5th-generation fighter took off on its maiden flight. (Picture from: http://www.thereaderseye.com/) |
The Russian Defense Ministry plans to purchase a first batch of 10 evaluation aircraft and then 60 production-standard aircraft after 2015. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | RIANOVOSTI | STRIKE FIGHTER CONSULTING]
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