Russian's Future Stealth Fighter

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 flight tested the aircraft's overall integrity and its main engines. The aircraft is making a good impression in all phases of the flying program," Sukhoi said.

The Russian fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, PAK-FA Sukhoi T-50. (Picture from: http://strikefighterconsultinginc.com/)

And on January 17, 2013, the Russian fifth-generation PAK-FA Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter jet conducted its first independent long range flight. The flight consisted of three legs with stops in Abakan, Chelyabinsk and a final landing in Moscow where the aircraft will continue flight testing at the Y.A. Gagarin aviation plant. The flight marked the first time the T-50 stealth fighter had completed a long flight without the assistance of a chase aircraft and the aircraft encountered no problems.

Technical specification of Sukhoi
T-50. (Picture from: http://en.rian.ru/)

The T-50, which will be the core of Russia's future fighter fleet, is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft featuring low-observable technology (stealth), super-maneuverability, supercruise capability (supersonic flight without use of afterburner), and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar.

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/)

The Raptor formally entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 2005 and the final F-22 rolled off the line in December of 2011 with a total of 195 units being built. Long regarded as the first of its kind and favored by fighter pilots, it is now officially no longer the only stealth fighter in the world. Both the Russian T-50 and just recently, the Chinese J-21 and J-30 aircraft are now rivals in the world of stealth fighter design.

A prototype Sukhoi T-50, the 5th-generation fighter took off on its maiden flight. (Picture from: http://www.thereaderseye.com/)

The T-50 has the shapes and curves that are trademarks of a design focused on stealth but it also features an active electronically scanned array radar, super-cruise capability, and high maneuverability, all of which are features of the F-22 Raptor as well.
Sukhoi contends the aircraft will perform significantly better than the F-22 Raptor but given that the Raptor has been operational for nearly a decade, only time will tell if the T-50’s development and performance lives up to the boast from the Russians.

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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