By It will be interesting to see who the Russians plan to export this fighter to:
Russia’s first stealth fighter intended to match the latest U.S. design made its maiden flight Friday, boosting the country’s efforts to modernize its rusting Soviet-built arsenals and retain its lucrative export market.
The Sukhoi T-50′s flight comes nearly two decades after the first prototype of the U.S. F-22 Raptor took to the air, and Russian officials said it will take another five years for the new jet to enter service. Still, the flight marked a major step in Russia’s efforts to burnish the faded glory of its aviation industries and strengthen a beleaguered military.
The sleek twin-engined jet closely resembling the Raptor flew for 47-minutes from an airfield at Sukhoi’s production plant in the Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Friday. Development of the so-called fifth-generation fighter has been veiled in secrecy and no images of it had been released before the flight.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hailed the flight as a “big step forward,” but admitted that “a lot remains to be done in terms of engines and armament.”
Craig Caffrey, an analyst for Jane’s Defense Procurement-Military Aircraft, said the new fighter is “hugely important,” both for modernizing the aging Russian air force fleet and retaining export markets.
“The T-50 should offer the Russian Air Force a significant boost in its capabilities and ensure that it remains one of the best equipped air forces in the world,” he told The Associated Press by e-mail.
Caffrey said the new fighter will attract many foreign customers. “For those countries that don’t traditionally purchase military equipment from the U.S. it will be the only fifth generation aircraft available,” he said. [Associated Press]
9:44 pm on January 31st, 2010 1
Just wait to see the pics/videos of them crashing at airshows.
9:55 pm on January 31st, 2010 2
I looked at several pictures of that aircraft and I would be hard pressed to tell it apart from the F-22 at a distance. The most obvious difference that jumped out at me was the aft engine exhaust section. It seems the Russians gave little consideration to making that area stealthy; protruding tail pipes, open heat source.
I don't know if there is a rating system for stealthiness, but there should be since in the future of international arms sales almost all mobile weapons will be measured by it.
The F-22 exhaust nozzle also has vectoring flaps that are supposed to give it enhanced maneuvering. That may be useful in avoiding missiles but if these aircraft have to get so close to their enemy that they end up in juking-jiving dog fights, then a whole lot of things must not have worked as promised up to that point.
These aircraft are supposed to compete for air superiority, but that raises the koan-like questions: if two fighters are invisible, can they fight each other?
I suspect I already know the answer. Stealth is over-hyped. Nothing is truly invisible .. for too long. We will know how to find and "see" T-50s just as we probably already know how to find and "see" our own aircraft when we need to.
The true value is not what's on the outside. The makers of fifth generation aircraft claim they can reach out and kill an enemy before he even knows he in a fight. The advantage will be in superior sensors and weapons.
We may not know for some time what the Russians have to offer there, but they may be less tight with their foreign military trade restrictions than we are, and at bargain prices, if it means they get to sell more jets.
I suspect the Chinese will roll out their model within the next 2 or 3 years. Competing for foreign sales is the real battlefield.
4:36 am on February 1st, 2010 3
I wonder if South Korea will negotiate with Russia for this airplane.
11:32 am on February 1st, 2010 4
South Korea should buy them. Definitely.
1:10 pm on February 1st, 2010 5
I could be wrong, but I believe I also read today where the PAK-FA would have a number of hard points on its wings, meaning very little stealth.
Another issue was that the required engines were still not available and other engines from older modles would be used in the interum.
I highly doubt the avionics and radar will come close to the F-22, even given another 10 years.
In other words its a wet dream only for the Russians and a few 3rd world countries.
2:12 pm on February 1st, 2010 6
It would be a waste of defense dollars, they may be cheaper than the F22s but neither is needed as much as other systems. Aside from a few decent aircraft the nK Air Force is junk. South Korea needs more tanks, more MLRS, and modern attack helicopters.
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Then there is the quality issue. There is a reason why Russian defense bids failed on the last few South Korean Air Craft bids. They offered bargain pricing, the most comprehenive maintenance/part plans and technology transfer packages but their aircraft underperformed all other bidders significantly.
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Then there are those highly advanced BMP-3s and T-80Us the ROK Army picked up a few years ago in debt swap. Absolute crap, saftey wasn't a consideration in any of the designs and South Koreans are getting a little too tall to avoid losing arms in the auto loaders.
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So sure Tom, Korea should definitely buy them.
4:32 pm on February 1st, 2010 7
@2 JoeC
There is a radar cross section (RCS) that can be used to gauge an aircraft's "stealth rating."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_cross_section
10:46 am on February 3rd, 2010 8
Several things jump to my mind with stealth. Number one is radar avoiding tecnology (that the stealth aircraft can detect and avoid radar I.E. go around it).
Also the addition of a few decoys lighting up everyones radar. Add some active radar jamming from other aircraft, and its going to be very tough to spot a rapidly advancing stealth aircraft and get the word out to those in the air/ ground, who do not have the large sophisticated ground radars that could possibly pick up a stealth aircraft, identify it as enemy, and obtain any possible tracking information, (highly unlikely) much less targeting information. I think by that time it would be too late.
1:13 pm on March 5th, 2010 9
A few years ago two British Intel Agents reported that Russia was manufacturing fighters, missiles and armored vehicles (Tanks) in extremely large numbers and very modern types not seen by the West. They, and others were ignored. Question: What is Russia, maybe secretly getting ready for?
1:37 pm on March 5th, 2010 10
Was that before or after their dismal record on the invasion of Georgia?
2:20 pm on March 5th, 2010 11
"What is Russia, maybe secretly getting ready for?"
The Sochi Olympics?
5:20 pm on March 5th, 2010 12
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has flipped 180 degrees. They now own the 'C' in capitalism. They are being run by billionaires.
While they rile against Georgia, the Ukraine, and missile defense in Poland, I don't think they are preparing for any military threat. Whatever they are manufacturing is most likely for sale.
The names Kalashnikov and Sikorsky still resonates on the arms market.
5:23 pm on March 5th, 2010 13
Oops. Strike Sikorsky. They are a U.S. manufacturer.
2:08 am on March 6th, 2010 14
Funny.