Posted on 01/27/2010 9:21:41 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Russian "stealth" fighter to fly by end-Jan: source
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will test fly by the end of January a new "fifth generation" stealth fighter that aims to challenge the United States for technical superiority, an aviation industry source told Reuters on Wednesday.
This would be the first all-new military aircraft Russia has built since the Soviet Union collapsed two decades ago and is crucial to showing that Moscow still has advanced technologies of its own, defense analysts said.
However, it would probably take five to seven years before Russia's military finally got to fly the first of these fighters, they said.
Fifth-generation jets are invisible to radar, have advanced on-board flight and weapons control systems and can cruise at supersonic speeds. Russia currently builds military aircraft based on designs dating from the Soviet era.
Asked when the new fighter, built by the Sukhoi company, would make its maiden flight, the industry source said: "By the end of this month."
Sukhoi is Russia's largest exporter of military planes and accounts for a quarter of the country's annual arms sales. It has foreign orders worth billions of dollars, with India its biggest client.
A spokesman for Sukhoi said the plane would fly "in the near future."
Interfax news agency quoted a source in the Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where the first prototype plane has been built, as saying its first flight could take place "in two or three days, depending on the actual weather."
DELAYED JET IS MOSCOW'S PRIDE
The warplane is seen as Moscow's challenge to the U.S.-built F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, which first flew in 1997.
"The importance of this project is huge. This is the first and principally new plane built in Russia after the fall of communism," said Alexander Khramchikhin, chief analyst at the Moscow-based
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Vaporware? They’ve been saying this for...2 years? More.
Yeah, yeah, post the picture of it when it actually does fly....by the end of this month.
I don’t think it’s vaporware. They’re supposed to have three prototypes ready (one of which is non-flying IIRC). Also, the Indians are also involved via the related FGFA program, and have seen the fighter. I, for one, can’t wait to see pics. I have to admit, after all the anticipation, I’ll be bummed out if it looks like a Raptor knockoff. I’d much prefer it to look greatly different, or at least be a YF-23 knockoff.
Har har. On a serious note, I wouldn’t expect to hear any public admission of a serious failure like that. Bulava’s embarrassing enough, and IMHO PAK-FA’s much more important from a PR perspective (not to mention a financial perspective).
I’ll go with financial perspective at this point. I have grave concerns with our procurement and R&D pipeline under this administration for continued air superiority.
Me too. I also have concerns about the F-35’s abilities as a jack-of-all trades (from what I’ve read, not that I know that there’s any basis for concern). In the F-16, it has some pretty big shoes to fill IMHO.
It seems like the Russians are always just on the cusp of doing something really great, and it never happens. I wonder why that is?
Since there is very little in the way of positive, actual information being released about the F-35, I will tell you this, when the flight testing is complete and she shows you what she can do, your concerns will be addressed.
The F-16 is a proven platform and history bears this out. But it has been modified to the max. It’s design has limited what can be done to the aircraft, same as the other aircraft the F-35 is destined to replace.
What will you say in 20 years when the F-35 has proven its mettle and its replacement is being discussed? We go through this almost every time a new design is presented.
It is a phenomenal aircraft and has capabilities engineered into it that put most of the current aircraft out there to pasture. It’s no F-22 and isn’t meant to be, but it will do its job extremely well.
The problem people get into in addressing the F-35 is the fact that this society is an instant gratification type of society. They want it now. Nobody seems to have the patience to wait and see the aircraft prove itself. There have only been two deliveries to PAX (STOVL) and they are in envelope expansion mode right now. Flight testing will accelerate once the mission systems ships arrive.
It’s not your daddy’s A-10, F-16, F-18, etc. It is a multirole fighter, similar to the F-16/F-18. It’s the avionics and mission systems that make this aircraft really special.
It’s an aircraft that many militaries obviously have a lot of confidence in. That’s got to say something, or they’d be buying Eurofighters.
SZ
F-25=F-35
Per the thread I’m following here, http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?149828-Sukhoi-T-50-PAK-FA/page135, the first flight was supposed to take place on Thursday (local time (KnAAPO) in the Russian Far East), but this was pushed back a day. They don’t have many days left if they’re really going to make this latest deadline.
>Yeah, yeah, post the picture of it when it actually does fly....by the end of this month.
Pictures??? It’s top secret until first test flight. Photo and video leaks are prohibited.
yeah like sending the first man into space, building the first space station, stuff like that... they never do follow up on their promises, do they
You're talking about the Soviets... That's another matter altogether...
You ever heard the internet saying: No screenshot, did not happen?
No picture(s) of this thing flying, did not happen. :)
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