Russian stealth fighter makes maiden flight

[shooter521]

Yahoo! News Photos

In this photo released by the Sukhoi Company Press Service and taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, a Russian-made Sukhoi T-50 prototype fifth-generation fighter jet is seen at a test airfield near the Siberian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia. Russia's new fifth-generation stealth fighter made a successful maiden test flight on Friday, the manufacturer said.

 

[rambone]

For the Motherland!!

 

[El Cazador]

If that's the plane pictured, I wonder how it's supposed to be "stealthy"? It violates about every rule of stealth technology I've read, with the wide open intakes, "pressure wave piercer" nose, sharp points for the wing ends, tall vertical tailpiece, etc.

 

[leftsock]

There, I fixed it.

 

[LEaSH]

They have money to produce a bunch of those? We'll have to wonder and wait.

They only produced a handful of the SU47s (as far as anyone knows). Maybe it was all a ruse.

 

[SavageEagle]

It looks like the sterile offspring of an F-22 and a Mig 31.

 

[shooter521]

The article:
________________________

Russia's first stealth fighter makes maiden flight - Yahoo! News

MOSCOW – 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.

The NPO Saturn company said in a statement that the jet has new engines, but military analysts suggested that they were a slightly modernized version of the Soviet-era engine powering the Su-27 family of fighters.

"It's a humbug," said independent military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer. "It's just a prototype lacking new engines and a new radar. It takes new materials to build a fifth-generation fighter, and Russia lacks them."

Putin said Friday the first batch of new fighters is set to enter an Air Force evaluation unit in 2013 and serial production is set to begin in 2015.

Caffrey said the task looks "very challenging, given the amount of new technology that is being incorporated into the new aircraft."

Russian military analysts were also skeptical, pointing at a history of delays in the program and other Russian weapons projects.

"The schedule will likely be pushed back as usual," said Alexander Konovalov, the head of the Moscow-based Institute of Strategic Assessment, an independent think tank.

Russia's prospective Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile has failed in at least eight of its 12 test launches, dealing a blow to Russia's hopes of making it a cornerstone of its nuclear arsenal. Officials have blamed the failures on manufacturing flaws resulting from post-Soviet industrial degradation.

Felgenhauer and other observers said the fighter program, which depends on hundreds of subcontractors, has been dogged by similar problems.

Russian officials have said the new fighter, like the Raptor, will have supersonic cruising speed and stealth capabilities. Its pilot, Sergei Bogdan, said in televised remarks that it was easy and pleasant to fly.

While officials saw the new fighter as essential, some analysts said the country has more pressing needs.

"There is no mission and no adversary for such plane," Konovalov said, adding that the Russian military lacks a modern communications system and satellite navigation. "It would be more expedient to fit modern avionics to older generation jets."

The U.S. administration decided to quit buying the F-22 Raptor, the world's most expensive fighter jet at more than $140 million apiece, effectively capping its production at the 186 already ordered.

 

[shooter521]

Now with video:
Russia tests 5th generation fighter jet

Evidently the plane is being developed in cooperation with India.

 

[IndyGunworks]

I dont support any other country having stealth technology

 

[Bigum1969]

Honestly, it will be a POS if it really goes into production.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Looks very F-22 like, but like Savage says, look just enough like all the other Migs and Sukoi's of the 80's and 90's to be clearly Russian.

Makes you wonder what we've got running around out in Area 51. The F22 and F35's we building now were developed a decade or more ago. By the time the Ruskies get their new Stealth "fighter" into production (which I'm sure they'll be eager to export), we ought to have some stuff even better ready to take it on.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Looks very F-22 like, but like Savage says, look just enough like all the other Migs and Sukoi's of the 80's and 90's to be clearly Russian.

Makes you wonder what we've got running around out in Area 51. The F22 and F35's we building now were developed a decade or more ago. By the time the Ruskies get their new Stealth "fighter" into production (which I'm sure they'll be eager to export), we ought to have some stuff even better ready to take it on.

I agree and hope similarly. We should have the next thing by the time the Russians catch up.

I do disagree with other posts however: The Russian economy is getting better and they have a bit more money for arms development. Their equipment is getting better and more refined day by day. Their small arms development is a prime example of this. They have a different military doctrine than us, their equipment is usually simpler in appearance and function.

They are trying to catch up after a 10 year gap due to civil war and the fall after communist went belly up. But they are gradually catching up, at least in military tech. We should not rest on our laurels. We keep mentioning the Cold War and still think of the Russians in that light, but today's Russia is learning quick and adapting to the rest of the world, something the US is learning at a painful pace IMHO.

 

[22lr]

Its going to flop, just like every other Russian fighter. Good design, very crappy materials. Id put money on the "Silent" eagle over that Russian flying junkyard anyday. To compare this to the F-22 is like comparing a turkey vulture to a Bald Eagle, just plain wishful thinking. Russian stuff is only good for about 10 years, after that you start looking at serious frame issues, and major engine problems. Ive seen reports that spare engines (as in not used) go bad after 10 years because of such low grade gaskets. On the other hand they tend to be cheaper and so more people buy them, but that just means we get more American Aces if a shooting war breaks out.

FYI, the F-22 is old technology, Russia is still stuck in the rut of trying to copy all our old tech and calling it the best. They didnt learn their lesson from the B-29 and from the looks of this they arent going to learn anytime soon. The future is unmanned, I want to see a design that will actually challenge the US, not this junk that is inferior before it even enters production. Lets see some unmanned, stealth, hypersonic stuff.

I dont support any other country having stealth technology

I would go so far to say I would like the US to keep a monopoly on it, not possible but I wish it could. Russia is going to sell these to anyone with cash. Time to focus on making radar that can detect these things.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Russia is going to sell these to anyone with cash. Time to focus on making radar that can detect these things.

This! In fact, I think that this particular aircraft is less intended for use to defend the motherland, and more for export. I'm guessing that there are more than a few enemies of the US that would like to have some newer stuff and technology.

 

[Blue Tile Spook]

I miss Kelly Johnson.

Clarence L. Kelly Johnson Biography

 

[22lr]

I miss Kelly Johnson.

Clarence L. Kelly Johnson Biography

One of my favorite quotes from Kelly

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]About Designing Aircraft:[/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]"If I didn't get the Hell scared out of me once a year, I would not have the proper balance to design future aircraft".[/FONT]

And I found this interesting

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]About UAV's:[/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]"Fighters will get rid of the men and become drones with the ability to do everything a man-operated plane can do."[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]

 

[Blue Tile Spook]

Johnson was almost ahead of his time. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all about him as he surrounded himself with some amazing engineers, but man was that guy smart.

 

[edsinger]

Honestly, it will be a POS if it really goes into production.

Not necessarily the Russians can make some good jets.

 

[Jstier]

Even if it is a Good aircraft they will not be able to afford to fly it enough to get pilots trained.

No Training + Good aircraft = Downed jet

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

To the Skunk works !