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Russia’s 5th generation fighter aircraft, formerly known as the T-50 and now officially named the Su-57, has been in the news a lot lately. India’s decision to finally walk away from the joint program could be a catastrophic blow to the jet’s future, which followed an abortive deployment to war-torn Syria late last February. Russia’s inability to afford decent sized production lots of the new jets and the aircraft’s ongoing engine saga also have taken their toll on the program. And above all else, the aircraft’s degree of low-observability (stealthiness) has long been in question, as it lacked many of...

The proposal for India and Russia to jointly develop an advanced fighter — the eponymous Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) — has been formally buried. Business Standard has learnt that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval conveyed the decision to a Russian ministerial delegation at a “Defence Acquisition Meeting” in end-February. Doval and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, who attended the meeting, asked the Russians to proceed alone with developing their fifth-generation fighter. They said India might possibly join the project later, or buy the fully developed fighter outright, after it entered service with the Russian Air Force. New Delhi and Moscow...

Unverified pictures and video footage has begun to circulate on social media purporting to show a pair of Russian Su-57 fighters, also known as the PAK FA and T-50, touching down at the country's Khmeimim air base in Syria's Latakia province. The Kremlin has already used the Syrian conflict as an excuse to demonstrate new and advanced weaponry and even if this video turns out to not show operations in Syria, it is likely only a matter of time before the aircraft touch down in the country.

Westerns analysts have concluded that Russia’s fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter is unlikely to enter operational service before 2027. Postponements, cost-overruns and research and development-related problems mar the project. This should come as no surprise. The Su-57 program was never really viable. Back in early 2006, Russian president Vladimir Putin integrated all of Russia’s aviation companies into a single, state-owned holding — the United Aircraft-building Corporation. Over the time, UAC absorbed more than 20 aviation companies, and re-organized these into four aircraft-manufacturing divisions. One for combat aircraft, one for military transport aircraft, one for civilian aircraft and one for aircraft...

According to pictures released on the internet, Russia's Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA fighter aircraft started flight test campaign armed with air-to-surface weapons. These tests took place at the Gromov Flight Research Institute, located at the Zhukovsky Air Base. Russia's PAK FA T-50-2 prototype fitted with two Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles (Credit: Alex S/russianplanes.net) Pictures unveiled on the russianplanes website first showed the T-50-2 prototype fitted with Kh-31 anti-ship missiles. A second series of pictures unveiled a few days before show the same prototype aircraft performing a test flight armed with two Kh-31 anti-ship missiles. The Kh-31, also dubbed X-31 in Russia,...

All the PAK FA armament in a single infographic. Not only does the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA feature stunning maneuverability. As this interesting infographic shows, the fifth generation stealth multi-role combat plane will carry a wide variety of weapons, including air-to-air, air-to-surface and anti-ship missiles. Among those that the PAK FA will be able to carry (internally or externally – hence “stealthy” or not), there are: the Izdelie 810, a derivative of the R-37M designed to kill High Value Targets and AWACS at a distance of 400 km; the K-77M air-to-air missile fitted with an AESA seeker; the KH-35UE anti-ship...

Russia may be coming to the realization that developing a high-tech weapon system is not the same as fielding it en masse, or even in relatively limited numbers. This appears to be the case for both the T-14 “Armata” tank, the T-50 5th generation fighter, and signs are possibly the PAK-DA next generation bomber. The T-14 has been Russia’s most celebrated new weapon system as of late. Regardless of its capability (though it’s by no means a “silver bullet” weapon system), in order to be really effective it needs to be fielded in relevant numbers. Originally the idea was to...

PAK-FA may suffer significant cuts. Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Yuri Borisov, has recently announced that the PAK-FA programme may be halted or adjusted, due to the dire conditions of Russia’s economy, affected by the Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent (proxy war and) EU sanctions. Initially, the Russian Air Force was expected to procure more than 150 PAK-FA next generation stealth fighter jets, with the first examples to be delivered to the active squadrons in 2016. In December 2014, the RuAF plans was to receive the first 55 fighters by 2020. However, as announced by Russia’s MoD last month, the...

The Tactical Missiles Corporation (TRV) is concluding tests on the Kh-58USHK missile designed to equip the PAK FA, also known as the 5th generation fighter or the T-50. “This is absolutely the newest product that has nothing in common with the old X-58, apart from the index: it is half the size of the X-58, and it is equipped with a completely different homing,” TRV Chief Executive Boris Obnosov told TASS. “We are completing the state tests for it just now, and this includes test launches of the T-50 experimental aircrafts.” He added that the PAK FA “is the only...

This profile view of the PAK FA illustrates the extensive shaping that has been done in an effort to reduce the usual radar-returning traps around the air intakes. Source: Sukhoi Details of the Sukhoi Design Bureau's work on the stealthy aspects of the T-50 PAK FA fighter aircraft emerged in late December 2013, when the company's patents were published. According to the patent paperwork, taken together, all of the stealthy measures offer significant improvements over legacy fighter designs. The papers claim that the radar cross-section (RCS) of an Su-27 was in the order of 10-15 m 2 , with the...

NEW DELHI: India's quest for a futuristic stealth fifth-generation fighter, which will see the country spend around $35 billion over the next 20 years in its biggest-ever defence project, has zoomed into the decisive phase now. India and Russia are getting all set to ink the full and final design or R&D phase contract for the 5th Gen fighter by this year-end or early-2013, say sources. It will again underline India's firm rejection of the US offer of its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) or the F-35 'Lightning-II'. Ahead of the R&D contract, under which India wants to induct over 200...

Russia Must Build Two Variants of 5G Fighter - Rogozin Russian aircraft manufacturers must develop at least two competitive prototypes of a fifth-generation fighter jet, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Thursday. “Two variants of the future fighter jet must be developed to encourage competition,” Rogozin said at a meeting with Russian lawmakers. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the future fighter must possess all technical characteristics of a fifth-generation fighter, including elements of stealth technology, supersonic cruising speed, highly-integrated avionics, electronics and fire-control systems. The existing T-50 prototype, developed under the program PAK FA (Future Aviation System for...

Russia pulls out of Korea fighter project Sweden mulls taking part in FX-III race with Gripen By Lee Tae-hoon Russia will not enter Korea’s advanced jet acquisition project as none of its aircraft manufacturers including Sukhoi expressed their intent to join the heated competition, officials here said. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) listed Sukhoi’s T-50 PAK-FA in July last year as one of the four contenders to have expressed an interest in joining the open bidding worth 8.29 trillion won ($7.3 billion) along with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS). ``No Russian firm...

Can Moscow regain superpower status? This fighter jet is key. Fred Weir [2]October 11, 2011 06:09 Russia’s military attempts to build a 21st century fighter. But can it? MOSCOW – Russia is desperate for the world to think of it as a superpower again. Last week, Vladimir Putin — the country’s once and presumed future president — proposed the formation of a “Eurasian Union” among former Soviet states. The move was widely seen as a challenge to the West, and a push to reestablish Moscow’s former empire. Putin floated his idea in the context of an unprecedented Russian military renaissance....

The new Russian fighter: shown today, here tomorrow Manu Pubby Posted online: Wed Aug 17 2011, 03:08 hrs Zhukovsky, Russia : For the past two weeks, Sergey L Bogdan has been missing out on his favorite hobby, playing ice hockey with friends in Moscow, a 45-minute drive from this testing facility. It has been difficult to keep away from, he says with a smile, but that is the precaution required to be able to pilot Russia’s new fifth-generation fighter and India’s future mainstay warplane on its first ever public appearance before the world. Bogdan, who is the lead test pilot...

The Russian-Indian joint development of a fifth generation fighter jet will cost some $6 billion, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Financial director D. Shivamurti said Russia and India signed in December last year a contract to jointly develop a design for a new 5G multirole fighter. Russia's Sukhoi holding and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited agreed in early 2010 to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter jet based on the T-50 design. "A detailed design phase, including the cost of the project, is likely to cost more than $6 billion," Shivamurti said. "The work between us and them [India and Russia] will be...

Development and production of perspective multi-role fighter is the largest joint project of Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation. In December 2010 during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to India, the Rosoboronexport, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Sukhoi Company signed a contract to develop a preliminary design project of the new aircraft. This is the first of a series of documents governing the obligations of the parties at different stages of the program. The PMF project includes the design and development of a next-generation fighter, which will have such advanced features as stealth, supersonic cruise speed, high maneuverability, highly integrated...

Indian defence minister AK Antony has re-affirmed his nation's commitment to the fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) being jointly developed by Hindustan Aeronautics and Russia's Sukhoi, while also voicing his optimism about one of its other key military aviation programmes. "The difficulties in joining this programme are over," he says of the first project. "We've signed a deal with the Russians, and we will see the FGFA inducted by 2017." Russia's developmental PAK FA fighter had its maiden flight in early 2010, and late last year it agreed with India to cooperate on a combined project. New Delhi will send engineers...

India on Wednesday ruled out joining the US in developing the F-35 Lightning II fifth generation stealth fighter aircraft. “We have already entered into a partnership with Russia in developing our own fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA),” Defence Minister A K Antony said. “No other country has previously offered such technology to us… There is no question of going back now,” the Defence Minister told reporters during the Aero India 2011 which began in Bangalore on Wednesday. Washington had recently offered New Delhi to join its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme that would have ultimately led India to purchase the...

Should China-Pakistan Counter the Indian-Russian Fighter Tie-Up? Posted by Robert Wall at 2/8/2011 11:44 AM CST India's decision to effectively bar Chinese and Pakistani entities from the Aero India air show in Bengalaru once again puts into sharp focus the strategic gulf that exists in the region. Now, with India cementing relations with western powers -- through the MMRCA competition and other programs -- as well as with Russia -- in the guise of the fifth generation fighter effort and a future airlifter -- the question becomes whether the two countries left on the outside looking in -- Pakistan and...