Bugger me, the Sukhoi T-50 has flown

[JimWH]

I didn't expect this so soon.

Bets about how long it takes till 'analysts' start telling us about how much better it is than JSF?

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

PAK FA Flies

Posted by Douglas Barrie at 1/29/2010 2:23 AM CST


Maxim Pyadushkin writes

Russia’s fifth generation fighter, Sukhoi’s T-50 prototype, was flown for the first time from Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Russia’s Far East at 11.19 local time on Friday, January 29. After the 47 minutes flight the aircraft landed at the airfield of Sukhoi’s KnAAPO facility which assembles PAK FA prototypes.

The T-50 is intended to meet the Russian air force’s PAK FA requirement for a next-generation fighter.

The first prototype was flown by Sukhoi test pilot Sergey Bogdan. He says it was easy and comfortable to control, and the aircraft performed well on all stages of the flight test program. “During the flight we have conducted the initial evaluation of the aircraft’s controls, performance of the engine and main systems. The aircraft also retrieved and extracted a landing gear”, said Bogdan.

The T-50 design reflects a greater emphasis on low-observable shaping than Moscow's previous fifth-generation effort, MiG’s 1.42 program

Sukhoi started the development of PAK FA in the early 2000s. The first flight was initially scheduled for mid-2009. Three prototypes one of which was delivered to Moscow and is being used for static tests. In December another PAK FA prototype started taxi trials at KnAAPO facility. The third aircraft is believed to be used as a complex full-scale stand intended for ground testing.

Sukhoi doesn’t reveal technical parameters of the new fighter. Nevertheless it’s known that PAK FA prototypes will be powered by a pair of NPO Saturn 117S engines. These engines, a further modification of AL-31F, rated at up to 14.5 ton thrust are now also installed at the new Su-35 multirole fighters.

The T-50’s avionics suite is being developed by Ramenskoe Design Bureau. The company’s head Givi Djanjgava earlier explained that the suite includes six-processor computer, visualization tools and flight instrument system.

According to Sukhoi, PAK FA avionics integrates ‘electronic pilot” function and AESA radar being developed by Tikhomorov NIIP design bureau. NIIP’s full-scale phased array antenna was unveiled at Moscow MAKS in August 2009.

At that time Anatoly Sinany, Tikhomirov’s chief designer, explained that T-50’s radar antenna will have 1,500 T/R modules, produced by Iztok company from Fryazino, near Moscow. The new avionics will give T-50 network-centric capabilities, enable it to exchange real-time data within the air group and with ground command posts.

But the first PAK FA prototype is likely to fly without radar as it’s just passing bench tests. The first radar for the aircraft is expected to be ready in mid-2010.

Sukhoi also reports that the new fighter implies composite materials and innovation technologies that together with the aerodynamic shape of the fuselage and reduced engine’s signature ensure its low radar, optical and IR visibility.

The new aircraft is expected to enter in service in 2015 and will be supplied to the Russian Air Force along with Su-35 fighters. Commenting the start of PAK FA flight trials, Sukhoi head Mikhail Pogosyan also mentioned that India will join the program on later stages.

Picture credit Sukhoi

[buglerbilly]

DATE:29/01/10

SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

Sukhoi's PAK FA fighter completes first flight

By Vladimir Karnozov

Sukhoi has conducted the first flight of its prototype PAK FA fifth-generation fighter, with the aircraft having conducted a 47min sortie this morning.

Flown from KnAAPO’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur site, the PAK FA was piloted by Sergei Bogdan, and “performed excellently”, says Sukhoi.

“In the course of the flight we conducted initial evaluation of the aircraft controllability, engine performance and primary systems operation,” says Bogdan. The aircraft’s landing gear was also retracted and lowered during the first flight.

The PAK FA is powered by two NPO Saturn "Item 117" engines, developed from the Item 117S design already flown on Sukhoi’s Su-35 and a Su-27M testbed. The experimental aircraft’s integrated flight control system controls the engines, along with all other major systems.

Sukhoi says other key design elements include the use of composite materials, advanced aerodynamic techniques and measures to reduce the aircraft’s engine signature, which it claims results in an “unprecedented small radar cross section in radar, optical and infrared range”. The PAK FA is also equipped with an advanced phased-array antenna radar, it adds. Russia's Tikhomirov NIIP displayed an active electronically scanned array design for the fighter at last year's Moscow MAKS air show.

“This is a great success of both Russian science and design school,” says Sukhoi director general Mikhail Pogosyan. “The PAK FA programme advances Russian aeronautics, together with allied industries, to an entirely new technological level.

“These [PAK FA] aircraft, together with upgraded fourth-generation fighters, will define Russian air force potential for the next decades,” he adds.

The first stage of flight trials involving the PAK FA prototype will last until 2012, when the Russian defence ministry and air force are expected to decide on the future of the project. A production version is expected to be designated the T-50.

The new design could also form the basis of a proposed fifth-generation fighter to be produced in collaboration between Russian and Indian companies.

“I am strongly convinced that our joint project will excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and will not only allow strengthening the defence power of Russian and Indian air forces, but also gain a significant share of the world market,” says Pogosyan.

[buglerbilly]

Sukhoi finally unveiled its 5th-generation PAK-AF combat aircraft on Jan. 29, as the first prototype made its first flight. (Sukhoi photo)

Sukhoi Company Launches Flight Tests of PAK FA Advanced Tactical Frontline Fighter

(Source: Sukhoi; issued Jan. 29, 2010)

MOSCOW --- Today Komsomolsk-on-Amur witnessed the debut flight of a prototype of advanced fighter of the 5th generation. The aircraft piloted by Sukhoi test-pilot Sergey Bogdan spent 47 minutes in the air and successfully landed on the factory runway.

The flight went successfully meeting all task assigned. “In the course of the flight we conducted initial evaluation of the aircraft controllability, engine performance and primary systems operation, the aircraft had retracted and extracted the landing gear. The aircraft performed excellently at all flight-test points scheduled for today. It is easy and comfortable to pilot”, said Sergey Bogdan.

Compared to the previous generation fighters PAK FA possesses a number of unique features combining the functionality of both attack aircraft and fighter plane.

The 5th generation fighter is equipped with brand-new avionics suite integrating “electronic pilot” functionality, as well as advanced phased-array antenna radar. This significantly decreases pilot load and allows him to focus upon completion of tactical missions. New aircraft on-board equipment allows real-time data exchange not only with ground based control systems, but also within the flight group.

Composites application and innovative technologies, aerodynamics of the aircraft, measures applied to decrease the engine signature provide for the unprecedented small radar cross section in radar, optical and infrared range. This significantly improves combat effectiveness against air and ground targets at any time of the day in both visible and instrument meteorological conditions.

“Today we’ve embarked on an extensive flight test programme of the 5th generation fighter. This is a great success of both Russian science and design school. This achievement rests upon a cooperation team comprised of more than a hundred of our suppliers and strategic partners. PAK FA programme advances Russian aeronautics together with allied industries to an entirely new technological level. These aircraft, together with upgraded 4th generation fighters will define Russian Air Force potential for the next decades.

“Sukhoi plans to further elaborate on the PAK FA programme which will involve our Indian partners. I am strongly convinced that our joint project will excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and will not only allow strengthening the defense power of Russian and Indian Air Forces, but also gain a significant share of the world market”, said Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Company Director General commenting on the launch of the flight test programme.

-ends-

[Weasel]

What a relief. Finally a reason to have an Air Force and finally a market pressure to control cost.

cheers

w

[Milne Bay]

This aircraft immediately said YF-23 to me as I watched the video.
I bet it will be dubbed the F-22 killer, prompting calls for Block-X upgrades to the Raptor and a resumption of production.
MB

[Gubler, A.]

This aircraft immediately said YF-23 to me as I watched the video.
I bet it will be dubbed the F-22 killer, prompting calls for Block-X upgrades to the Raptor and a resumption of production.

F-22 Killer? How? By looks?

While granted still just a prototype the Su-50 has all sorts of shaping that indicates a limited degree of LO compared to the F-35. Rounded engine bays are going to be reflecting lots of RF to anything other than dead ahead - and judging by the aerodynamic shape of the fuselage the Su-50 will cruise quite nose high exposing these engine bays to every radar at equal or lower altitude.

There is also no evidence that the Russians can provide the same kind of mission systems integration inside the aircraft and between co-operators that is key to the capability of aircraft like the F-22 and F-35. Especially since the Russians say they can get it in service by 2015 which indicates avionics from the Su-27 family. Further where is their RAM technology? Shaping only gets you half way down the LO trail – especially for non-flying wings.

I’m sure Gadaffi and co. are very happy about this development and will order as many as they can when they are available. But this is no superiority over the F-22 and F-35. Maybe superior to the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, Typhoon and Rafale …

[Milne Bay]

F-22 Killer? How? By looks?



Yes, of course.
The f-22 has had no visible competitor since it was introduced.
This looks like competition for the Raptor.
Isn't that all that a media circus needs?
MB

[Gubler, A.]

Isn't that all that a media circus needs?

Ohh yeah I see your point. The circus is in full swing. Its as loud and blaring as a Devlin-Emmerich disaster movie and just as realistic.

[buglerbilly]

I'm loath to print this but in the interests of open-ness and seeing the sublime with the ridiculous, I post Sweetman's comments...........

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

T-50: A Preliminary Analysis

Posted by Bill Sweetman at 1/29/2010 10:07 AM CST

Well, this brings back the old days when Flug Revue would pop out some over-the-fence shots obtained from the Military Missions in East Germany, and the assembled reptiles at Flight would adjourn to our secret analysis facility to figure out what it all meant.



First of all, for anyone contemplating the use of the word "Raptorski": don't. While this is an airplane that could have been the answer to the Advanced Tactical Fighter requirement, way back when, it's not an F-22 in many important ways.

In a lot of ways, the T-50 reflects the heritage of the T-10 Flanker series - it's much more like them than Sukhoi's last fighter prototype, the forward-swept-wing Su-47 Berkut, ever was. From the Flanker family, the T-50 gets the massive "centroplane" - a wide central body that blends the fuselage and inner wing - three-surface aerodynamic control and true three-dimensional thrust vectoring. The main weapons bay has been seen on a Flanker model, too.

Look at some of these in detail. The centroplane is huge, extending well outside the engines and terminating at the rear in a broad beaver-tail between the exhaust nozzles.



It accommodates a boatload of fuel on the Flanker and will do the same here. After the canard hokey-pokey in the T-10 family (in on the Su-30MK, out on the Su-35) the T-50 has something different: the forward part of the leading edge extension is movable. According to the usually well informed Flateric over at Secret Projects, it is called the Povorotnaya Chast Naplyva (PChN) or movable LEX section.

3-D thrust vectoring is also used on the Su-35. The T-50 and the T-10 family are distinguished by widely separated engines, which is important because that's the only way to use vectored thrust in roll. What's new on the T-50 is that the designers have cashed in on TVC by shrinking the tail surfaces, saving on drag, weight and signature.

With separated engines and a wide body, the T-50 designers have been able to install dual front and rear weapon bays. Added to this are side bays outboard of the engines. Flateric reports that each bay is designed to hold "at least two" missiles and that the outer bays are designed for short-range AAMs. The centerline bays could each hold two large weapons (like R-33s) or three-to-four of the newly announced RVV-MD. The latter has folding wings, as does the RVV-SD development of the R-73 (AA-11 Archer) family - the latter explaining why the underwing bays are small.

The big new feature of the T-50 is stealth. The aircraft that flew today is a prototype - and it does not show visible features like a frameless canopy and panel alignment that you'd expect on a production aircraft. Other not-very-stealthy-looking features include the gaps around the inlet (compare the YF-23) and a spherical infrared search and track housing in front of the windshield. And, of course, the nozzles are round. But it has a chined forebody, edge alignment and (probably) inlet line-of-sight blockage and internal weapons.

Apparently the designers and systems analysts have looked at the thorny question of "how much stealth do we want to pay for?" and have come up with a different answer than the F-22 designers. The fact that the armed forces of potential adversaries don't have S-300 and S-400 missiles may have something to do with that answer.

Supercruise? Definitely. The aircraft has a lot of power, and you would not go with that sharply swept delta wing if that wasn't the goal.


vidcap by Matej from Secret Projects

The big question is how long the aircraft will take to enter service, which is a product of three factors - how much money is available, how many resources industry can muster to get the job done, and where the design, technically, stands at this point.

The first question depends largely on the Russian economy, and on the priority which the military gives to the fighter. At the moment, the strategic rocket forces are the priority and are elbowing all others away from the trough; also, the military could decide that the Su-35 is a good upgrade route for now. The X-factor: whether and when India will join the program, and how much cash it will involve.

The second - industry's ability to execute the program - is hard to estimate. On the downside, Russia has not inducted a brand-new aircraft into service since the 1980s. However, there are signs of a new development strategy at work here: the T-50's engines are outgrowths of the Su-35's and are being test-flown on a T-10 airframe, and the flight control system and (very likely) cockpit and avionics may be similar.

How far along is the program? Russian practice historically has been to start development with a series of prototypes that successively conform more to the production design. That's followed by an early series of aircraft that are "pre-operational" - flown by service units. Today's T-50 is, in US terms, something between a technology demonstrator and a systems development and demonstration aircraft.

Upshot - I would expect to see quite a few Su-35S regiments operational before we see a combat-ready T-50 - but with the caveat that a lot of Indian money could change things.

[buglerbilly]

Russian Fifth-Generation Fighter Gets Airborne

Jan 29, 2010

By Maxim Pyadushkin
Moscow

Russia’s fifth generation fighter, Sukhoi’s T-50 prototype, was flown for the first time from Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Russia’s Far East at 11.19 local time today. After the 47-minute flight the aircraft landed at the airfield of Sukhoi’s KnAAPO facility, which assembled the PAK FA prototypes.

The T-50 is intended to meet the Russian air force’s PAK FA requirement for a next-generation fighter.

The first prototype was flown by Sukhoi test pilot Sergey Bogdan. He says it was easy and comfortable to control, and the aircraft performed well in all stages of the flight. “During the flight we have conducted the initial evaluation of the aircraft’s controls, performance of the engine and main systems. The aircraft also retracted the landing gear”, said Bogdan.

The T-50 design reflects a greater emphasis on low-observable shaping than Moscow’s previous fifth-generation effort, MiG’s 1.42 program

Sukhoi started the development of the PAK FA design around a decade ago. The first flight was initially scheduled for mid-2009. Three prototypes have been built, one of which was delivered to Moscow and is being used for static tests. In December another PAK FA prototype started taxi trials at the KnAAPO facility. The third aircraft is believed to be being used for ground testing.

Sukhoi is not discussing the technical characteristics of the T-50. Nevertheless it is known that PAK FA prototypes will be powered by a pair of NPO Saturn 117S engines. These engines, a further modification of AL-31F, rated at up to 14.5 ton thrust are now also installed at the new Su-35 multirole fighters.

The T-50’s avionics suite is being developed by Ramenskoye Design Bureau. The company’s head Givi Djanjgava earlier explained that the suite includes six-processor computer, visualization tools and flight instrument system.

According to Sukhoi, PAK FA avionics integrates ‘electronic pilot” function and AESA radar being developed by Tikhomirov NIIP design bureau. NIIP’s full-scale phased array antenna was unveiled at the Moscow MAKS air show in August 2009.

At that time Anatoly Sinany, Tikhomirov’s chief designer, explained that T-50’s radar antenna will have 1,500 T/R modules, produced by Iztok company from Fryazino, near Moscow. The new avionics will give T-50 network-centric capabilities; enable it to exchange real-time data within the air group and with ground command posts.

But the first PAK FA prototype is likely to fly without radar as this is just passing bench tests. The first radar for the aircraft is expected to be ready in mid-2010.

Sukhoi also says the new fighter uses composite materials and innovative technologies that together with the aerodynamic shape of the fuselage and reduced engine’s signature ensuring its low radar, optical and infrared visibility.

The aircraft is expected to enter in service in 2015 and will be supplied to the Russian Air Force along with Su-35 fighters. Commenting the start of PAK FA flight trials, Sukhoi head Mikhail Pogosyan also mentioned that India will join the program on later stages.

Read Ares posts: PAK FA Flies and T-50 Traits.

[Gubler, A.]

Apparently the designers and systems analysts have looked at the thorny question of "how much stealth do we want to pay for?" and have come up with a different answer than the F-22 designers. The fact that the armed forces of potential adversaries don't have S-300 and S-400 missiles may have something to do with that answer.

Astounding. Perhaps the worst statement made in relation to defence technology I’ve read in a few years. Of course the Russian’s need as much stealth as they can build because they face something far worse than the S-300/S-400: the AWACS and AIM-120! That they don’t have it is more to do with their technical limitations than anything else.

[Tim]

Astounding. Perhaps the worst statement made in relation to defence technology I’ve read in a few years. Of course the Russian’s need as much stealth as they can build because they face something far worse than the S-300/S-400: the AWACS and AIM-120! That they don’t have it is more to do with their technical limitations than anything else.

The sensible answer would hardly help push Sweetman's barrel of shite along though, would it? It's a win-win statement for him - he gets to wax lyrical on the S-300/400 while also excusing any apparent design deficiencies in the PAK FA.

On that note it must be disappointing for APA and the hordes of fanboys everywhere to see the design they've been absolutely frothing over isn't quite looking like the "Raptorski" they've talked it up to be (not that it necessarily has to be to do what the Russians want it to do, but again it's a question of agendas and bias more than capability).

[McDethWivFries]

This aircraft immediately said YF-23 to me as I watched the video.


ditto, kinda like the bastard child of both the 23 & 22 (o:

[Gubler, A.]

ditto, kinda like the bastard child of both the 23 & 22 (o:

It only looks like these aircraft because of the basic attention to low observable shapping. The T-50 is far more like the Su-27 than any other aircraft. It is very much like the Super Hornet to the C/D Hornet but perhaps taking it a step further in LO shaping. SUPER FLANKER?

[Gubler, A.]

Some Indian media are reporting a quoted interview with the head of Sukhoi saying the T-50 has only a single order of magnitude reduction in frontal RCS compared to the Su-27. This would mean a RCS of -3 dbsm or a very, very long way from the F-35s -30 dbsm.

[Deks]

Astounding. Perhaps the worst statement made in relation to defence technology I’ve read in a few years. Of course the Russian’s need as much stealth as they can build because they face something far worse than the S-300/S-400: the AWACS and AIM-120! That they don’t have it is more to do with their technical limitations than anything else.

I for one find it highly unlikely that they'll face AWACS / AIM-120. More likely they'll face older russian or perhaps french aircraft, depending on the conflict.

edit: Unless of course you mean, as an opponent for a potential fighter purchase?

[Milne Bay]

Some Indian media are reporting a quoted interview with the head of Sukhoi saying the T-50 has only a single order of magnitude reduction in frontal RCS compared to the Su-27. This would mean a RCS of -3 dbsm or a very, very long way from the F-35s -30 dbsm.

So is the T-50 more of a F/A-18 Eski in terms of performance? Or would it/they have the edge over a flight of networked Shornets?

[Gubler, A.]

So is the T-50 more of a F/A-18 Eski in terms of performance? Or would it/they have the edge over a flight of networked Shornets?

Well its way to early to know for certain what the performance of the T-50 will be and it is a very broad question in relation to a force on force battle.

From what we do know about the T-50 I’ve extrapolated the following information:

Performance: If the range is 5,500km with "a refuelling" then that would imply something like a maximum range of 2,000 NM without refuelling (a single IFR being rarely more than 50% of the fuel tankage). If like the F-22 the fuel consumption difference between supercruise flight and most efficient cruise/altitude is a factor of 3-1 then the T-50 would have an all supercruise radius around 350 NM (total flight time 45 minutes at Mach 1.6). This is an effective tactical mission range for an offensive mission. For a defensive mission this range would allow a cruise speed loiter CAP of four hours with a 15 minute supercruise interception and combat flight.

Low Observability: The T-50 does have the familiar chines and angled surfaces of stealth fighters like the F-22 and F-35 but lacks a range of other important LO features. The front of the engines are exposed to air to air radars as the inlet is only blocked at the top (stopping radar beams from surface based radars due to the angular variation). Also there are quite a few independently moving surfaces in the frontal arc in addition to that of an F-22 and F-35 (the slats in the leading edge extensions, the all moving twin tails, etc) and the engine bays are rounded (circles being the worst shape for LO as they always present a right angle surface to any bearing. It is also a very wide and high aircraft meaning much of its volume is presented to the front via surface area. There is a reasonable attribution to the T-50 having a frontal RCS of only -3 dbsm. If this is false it is also unlikely that the aircraft is in the ballpark of the F-35 and more likely in the order of magnitude of -10 or -20 dbsm. This would mean a radar able to detect the F-35 at 10 NM would detect the T-50 at 30 NM (-20 dbsm) or 50 NM (-10 dbsm). A tactically significant difference.

Sensors and Integration: The Russians claim that the T-50 will be in production by 2015. If this is the case then it must be using the mission systems from current versions of the FLANKER like the Su-30MK and Su-35. The most advanced versions of these aircraft have a lot of attention placed into sensors able to look to the sides. The wing leading edge radar Tikhomirov LEAR and gimballed active array Irbis E provide the T-50 with improved detection into their flanks so hopefully they can detect the approaching F-22 or F-35 (10-20 NM at most) before it fires so they can turn tail and run or turn head to head for a merge rather than continue on their course oblivious until a missile goes PITBULL and blows them up. Such a flank radar configuration is not for supporting target location updates for active homing missiles while separating (ie offensively) because to keep the target within the field of regard there is only a slight reduction in the rate of closure and the threat can simply turn towards them restoring rapid closure while having exposed their own beam for all the disadvantages that brings. If the Russians were trying to improve their lethality they would be putting a big fire control radar in the tail sting not a brake parachute so they could close to missile range, pull a 180 degree sustained turn and maintain separation while the missile closed to the threat with target location updates.

Conclusion: The reliance on speed appears to be part of the Russian strategy of compensation for both a lack of LO and sensor reach and integration (in their overall force not just fighters). Combined with the short range flank detection capability against LO aircraft (Tikhomirov LEAR and Irbis E) this would give them some survivability against ambush by F-35s. Cruising through the battlespace at Mach 1.6ish and with the ability to see an F-35 on its beam a few miles away would give them a chance to turn away and use their speed to hopefully escape missile interception. Of course if they then turn into the direction of another F-35 well… Or go into the merge where their lack of IR LO and high off boresight targeting will mean the F-35 will kill them no matter how fast they can turn. Of course against F-16s and the like it’s a very different equation.

[Milne Bay]

Great answer Abe - much appreciated
MB

[Weasel]

...

and the engine bays are rounded (circles being the worst shape for LO as they always present a right angle surface to any bearing. ...

Not to rain on the parade but circles are the most efficient means of creating LO for a given mass. The shape presents on average the smallest possible all aspect target that can be reflected to a source. Then it is a function of energy aborption, which by definition is easy to do as you have more mass than say a flat plane.

This very trait is why spheres and circles are used to calbrate radar in the first place.

A sphere made of reflective material (a material that has no absorption characteristics) holds true to the sentence you provided.

cheers

w

[Gubler, A.]

A sphere made of reflective material (a material that has no absorption characteristics) holds true to the sentence you provided.

Which is why a B-2 bomber is a very flat long and wide shape – the most inefficient means of enclosing volume in relation to surface area – rather than a perfect sphere – the most efficient in reducing surface area for enclosed volume. Not to mention the whole need to generate lift…

[Unicorn]

Something that goes completely against the orthodoxy of the High Priests of the Cult of the Uber Pig, so of course you must be completely wrong, as no doubt their good friend Colonel Dmitri watsisface will turn up and tell the world (via APA) that the F35 is DOOOOOMED!

[buglerbilly]

NEW DELHI, February 6, 2010

India to open talks with Russia on stealth aircraft

Sandeep Dikshit

Tell me this guy's name is a joke? ROFLMAO!!!

After favouring the U.S. for its recent purchases of hi-tech military equipment, India has now turned to Russia, its old supplier, for the next generation fighter aircraft.

PAK FA, Russia’s fifth generation fighter, which boasts of radar evasion characteristics, made its maiden flight only late last month.

India inked an agreement with Russia for jointly developing this aircraft, but the time taken to complete the paperwork meant that 70 per cent of the plane was already developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Now India has planned to enter the project mid-way. It will discuss the development schedule for the coming years and the number of aircraft it requires with Deputy Prime Minister and Russia’s India point man S.S. Sobyanin when he visits India by the middle of this month, senior government sources said.

Though its force levels are depleting, the Indian Air Force wants to ensure that the replacements are world-class and the best in the region. The 250-plus Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft to be inducted gradually over the next decade fit the bill, and so will the 126 frontline multi-role fighter aircraft, which India plans to buy and for which six vendors are in the fray.

PAK FA, billed as a competitor to F-22 Raptor, developed by the U.S., is expected go into mass production after at least five years. The striking feature of this aircraft is its stealth characteristics: radars will find it tough to spot it. It will also be able to take off from short airstrips and remain in the air for longer than the current fighters in the inventory of air forces around the world. What has attracted India to the project is the cost factor: it will be a lot cheaper to make than F-22.

Besides the talks on the aircraft, the military-technical team accompanying Mr. Sobyanin will hold discussions on more T-90 tanks, the naval version of MiG-29, Sukhoi-30 MKI and the multi-role transport aircraft project, said the sources.

The two sides have agreed on the price for refurbishing the aircraft carrier Gorshkov. Russia is poised to deliver more frigates to the Indian Navy. It will also transfer a nuclear-powered submarine to India by the middle of this year.

Recently India has favoured the U.S. while buying medium and heavy-lift planes and long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. U.S. companies are also in the race for several types of helicopters and refuelling planes. But officials say the list of military ventures with Russia is still longer and more varied.

[Unicorn]

You would have thought that India would have had its fill of Russian arms supply agreements after the Gorshkov fiasco, but...

Unicorn

[JimWH]

Of the many things one could accuse the Indian Defence Procurement system of, 'rationality' is not one of them. Nor is 'ability to learn from past mistakes'.
I'm reminded of a story my housemate tells: his father graduated from engineering in Bombay and got a job working for one of the public utilities. After the first day he came home and told his wife "I need to get a job somewhere outside India".

[Unicorn]

The Goon Platoon speaks! Article on Crikey.com.au

How long has the PAK-FA or T-50 been flying?


One of many T-50 images to 'escape' into the public domain on January 29

Did this PAK-FA or T-50 (above) take to the sky for the first time on January 29, or is there another element to the stealth characteristics of the Russian answer to the Joint Strike Fighter or JSF F-35 on which the future air superiority of Australia depends?

his note is being circulated by Peter Goon, the co-founder of Airpower Australia.

Now having reviewed the many images and videos of the PAK-FA that are now available in the public domain, it is now possible to state, if this image has not been modified by the removal of details on the control surfaces of the aircraft, then the attached photo image is not from the first ‘public’ flight of the PAK-FA T-50 aircraft on the 29th of January, 2010.

Also, due to differences in other details between this image and images from the first ‘public’ flight, there is a distinct possibility this is likely an in flight photo image of a PAK-FA prototype aircraft other than the one that flew the first ‘public’ flight.

This is but one small part of the analysis that goes to show that those who think Sukhoi have a long way to go and many risks to overcome to develop this aircraft to operational status are card bearing members of the “don’t know what they don’t know about things they are not equipped to understand” part of our society.

As ever, the devil is in the details.

In terms of wake-up call for national pride, let alone strategic threat, the advent of the PAK-FA T-50 should rankle at the same level as the radio signals beamed back to earth by the orbiting Sputnik satellite.

The alarms in people’s heads should sound doubly loud given the direction the Gate’s OSD and those who have occupied that office are now taking US TACAIR and overall Air Power capabilities.

What is most curious and one of the sustained harmonics of these ringing alarm bells is the number of those who have passed through the Office of the Secretary of Defense who had worked for and, now, either work in or consult for Lockheed Martin Corporation.

A similar observation can be made for other US Government departments such as Justice and State.

This all keeps getting curioser and curiouser while the alarm bells keep ringing louder and louder.

After reading this note I question whether there is more than one T-50 involved in the full Russian language version of the shorter english language edit included in our initial report, and the animated discussion that followed.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2010/02/06/how-long-has-the-pak-fa-or-t-50-been-flying/

ENDS

Unicorn

[Gubler, A.]

Wow lets not tip toe around the edge of Lack Conspiracy Theory but jump straight in! Even if the T-50 has flown twice, thrice or four times to date it doesn’t matter much. It’s just an aero structure with an engine. Sukhoi themselves have admitted it has no mission systems on board. So it bares as much relationship to an actual combat worthy fighter as the X-35 demonstrator does to the actual F-35A. The real challenges are going to come for the Russians when they start integrating mission systems and actual low observable configurations with their aircraft. Well since they are aiming for much less in this regard than the F-35 is they should have less challenges.

[buglerbilly]

Sukhoi PAK FA: First Observations


Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA prototype takes off for its maiden flight.

Part 1 of a comprehensive overview on Sukhoi’s 5th generation fighter

06:51 GMT, February 10, 2010 On 29 January 2010, the Sukhoi PAK-FA (Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Frontovoi Aviatsy, literally "Future Front line Aircraft System"), which could variously be described as a technology demonstrator, the first prototype of the future T-50 fighter, or an intermediate step between the two, took to the air for the first time from the freezing runway of Dzemgi Air Force Base (shared with the KnAAPO plant) at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East Siberia (see also http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/497/). A fundamental step has at last been accomplished in the development of the long-expected Russian response to the American F-22 RAPTOR air dominance fighter.

(Part two of the article can be viewed here: http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/506/)

The aircraft, with Sukhoi test pilot Sergey Bogdan in the cockpit, remained airborne for 47 minutes, enabling an initial evaluation of its controllability, engine performance and primary systems operation, including retraction and extraction of the landing gear. “The aircraft performed excellently at all flight-test points. It is easy and comfortable to pilot”, said Sergey Bogdan.

“Today we’ve embarked on an extensive flight test programme of the 5th generation fighter,” commented Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Company Director General. “This is a great success of both Russian science and design school. This achievement rests upon a cooperation team comprised of more than a hundred of our suppliers and strategic partners. The PAK FA programme advances Russian aeronautics together with allied industries to an entirely new technological level. These aircraft, together with upgraded 4th generation fighters will define Russian Air Force potential for the next decades.

“Sukhoi plans to further elaborate on the PAK FA programme which will involve our Indian partners”, Mr Pogosyan added. “I am strongly convinced that our joint project will excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and will not only allow strengthening the defence power of Russian and Indian Air Forces, but also gain a significant share of the world market”.

Some Russian sources have suggested that the T-50 will enter service in 2015 (e.g. Russian 5th-generation fighter deliveries delayed until 2015), but this is but wishful thinking. Only another flyable PAK FA prototype and a ground test item exist thus far, while Sukhoi has indicated they will complete five prototypes for initial testing. These are scheduled for completion in 2011-12, with the company expecting to then produce an initial batch of pre-series aircraft for operational trials by 2015. A more credible projected IOC date for the T-50 would thus be towards the end of the decade - i.e. some 12-15 years after the F-22. Such a delay would be roughly in line when not with the scientific and technological potential of the Russian aerospace industry, then certainly with the Russian MoD’s financial muscle and the irredeemable time loss of the “black years” following the collapse of the USSR. There are persistent rumours of the PAK FA programme being largely financed directly by Sukhoi (some 75%, with the remaining 25% being provided by India), and in any case it is quite obvious that it could only progress thanks to the substantial revenues from export sales of Su-27/-30s.

Much has already been written and speculated about this first Russian 5th combat aircraft, but virtually nothing is known for certain. The few photos and the couple of videos documenting the first flight are all that is available for a first assessment of the aircraft’s characteristics, analysing its overall external configuration and trying to deduct the Russian Air Force’s requirements on which the PAK FA design can be assumed to be tailored.

Operational Considerations

As expected, the twin-engine PAK FA is a large aircraft, with roughly the same physical size and weight class as the Su-27/-30 family it is aimed to replace. The aircraft’s general configuration strongly suggests a design optimised primarily for the air superiority role, even though the T-50 will almost certainly eventually go along the same road as the Su-27 and evolve into a very capable multirole fighter-bomber. This emphasis on air-to-air combat is arguably due to both the Russian Air Force perceiving its main roles in a very different way than the USAF, and the fact that the Service’s deep strike requirements are satisfactorily covered by the very capable (although admittedly not stealthy) Su-34s currently being delivered.

Even though it is nearly automatic to think of the PAK FA/T-50 in terms of a direct confrontation vs. the F-22, and this may indeed have been the original goal when the programme was first launched in the late 1980s, in the current global strategic scenario it is perhaps more likely that the Russians are rather interested in maintaining an air superiority edge over China’s current J-11s/SU-27s/-30s and future J-12. Also, the expected future worldwide usage of the F-35 JSF attack aircraft with its low observability qualities requires an interceptor capable to deal with this peculiar threat.

Further considerations can be done as regards the expected future place of the T-50 in the Russian Air Force’s inventory, and thus the overall combat aircraft programmes in Russia. When first information on the PAK FA project started to circulate, the programme was widely reported to be intended to replace both the Su-27 and the MiG-29, thus leading to a single-type combat aircraft fleet not unlike the French Air Force’s with its RAFALE. Whether this was purely “disinformacija”, or the Russians were actually planning in that direction back then, it is impossible to ascertain. The fact is, the T-50 given its size and expected avionics complexity will most definitely be an expensive aircraft both to procure and operate, and it is very difficult to imagine how the Russian Air Force could ever be able to acquire it in large number - not to mention the type, for all of Mr Pogosyan’s rosy forecast, having a rather limited potential export market. Current Western and unofficial Russian estimates are of a production run of some 250 aircraft for the Russian Air Force, and even this may prove to be overoptimistic. The combination of the T-50 as the spearhead of a tactical combat fleet composed largely by modernised 4th generation types, as suggested by Mr. Pogosyan, does certainly make sense - but it is rather doubtful whether it could really last for “decades”, apart from the Su-35. Also, the upgrade programmes currently underway do not involve the MiG-29.

Hence, and although the notion of the Russian MoD and national industry being able to sustain the simultaneous development and eventual procurement of t w o different 5th generation fighters does admittedly defy imagination, the eventual launch of a programme for a smaller and less expensive “lo” fighter in a “hi/lo” mix with the T-50 looks virtually compulsory. Failing to do so would leave the Russian Air Force critically crippled in quantitative terms, and would consign the future export market for “affordable” fighter aircraft to Western and Chinese designs.

>> Part 2 of the article will be published on Thursday, 11 February 2010.

----
By Sergio Coniglio

[buglerbilly]

Sukhoi PAK FA: Technical Analysis


Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA prototype performing its maiden flight.

Part 2 of a comprehensive overview on Sukhoi’s 5th generation fighter

06:53 GMT, February 11, 2010 On 29 January 2010, the Sukhoi PAK-FA (Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Frontovoi Aviatsy, literally "Future Front line Aircraft System"), which could variously be described as a technology demonstrator, the first prototype of the future T-50 fighter, or an intermediate step between the two, took to the air for the first time from the freezing runway of Dzemgi Air Force Base (shared with the KnAAPO plant) at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East Siberia (see also http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/497/). A fundamental step has at last been accomplished in the development of the long-expected Russian response to the American F-22 RAPTOR air dominance fighter.

(Part one of the article can be viewed here: http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/505/)

Airframe

The aerodynamic configuration of the PAK-FA maintains a vague reference to the Su-27 as regards the fuselage and the location of the engines, which are installed in widely separated nacelles forming a tunnel with the flat bottom of the fuselage. The general planform is a tailed delta, similar to the F-22, with the all-moving horizontal tailplanes close-coupled and on the same plane to the wing without any gap. The twin vertical surfaces, canted outward by perhaps 25°, are also all-moving. This solution has been used rarely in recent times; in particular the ill-fated Northrop YF-23 had a pair of all-moving butterfly tailplanes. The all-moving verticals however had been fairly used in supersonic designs dating back to the late 1950s or 60s, in particular the SR-71 which used a pair of all-moving verticals canted inward to reduce the induced roll moment when the surfaces were rotated, and most of the North American design of the period - the RA-5C VIGILANTE, its contemporary YF-107 and the unique XB-70 - as well as the British BAC TSR 2 used a similar solution. In the PAK FA design, their reason d’être arguably consists in enabling the smallest possible vertical surfaces for the sake of reduced radar signature and supercruise drag, while at the same time also maintaining (in combination with the 3D TVC nozzles) excellent manoeuvrability.

The underfuselage tunnel between the engine nacelles contributes significantly to the overall aerodynamic lift generation, just as in the Su-27 and MiG-29 as well as in the F-14 - arguably the real originator of the “centreplane lift” concept. This lift is added to that provided by the large wing and should enable excellent manoeuvrability even at high altitude - a potential advantage of the F-22 and now the PAK FA over all their rivals. The widely separated engines also offer much better survivability in the event of battle damage or accidental fire/explosion.

The fuselage sides have marked “chines”, again like the F-22 and its unfortunate competitor, the YF-23. This shaping can be assumed both to contribute toward reducing radar reflectivity and to develop, at high angles of attack, favourable lift-enhancing vortexes flowing above the inner wing upper surface just above the engine nacelles. The wing has dropping leading edges providing for a variable camber airfoil and separate flaps and ailerons, these latter contributing towards enhanced TO/landing performance (this should anyway be very good, given the huge lift generated by the aircraft configuration as a whole). The inner part of the wing leading edges is stepped longitudinally with a much longer chord which blends forming, in part, the engine nacelles’ upper “lips” and then merging into the fuselage to enhance the lift generating characteristics of the overall aircraft configuration, somewhat akin to a lifting body. Possibly for this reason, but also to ease a smooth airflow into the engines at very high angle of attack, the upper intake projecting false “lips” appear to be hinged parallel to the sweep real intake lips, thus providing a variable camber like the wing leading edge. In this way, the upper surface of the air intake contributes to overall lift generation. It is also possible that the movements of these peculiar elements, when linked to the full authority digital flight control system, could contribute in some way to the aircraft’s longitudinal control, acting like a third control surface (in line with the Sukhoi tradition as exemplified in the three-surfaces Su-30MKI). It seem however clear that the “lips” cannot move as fully independent control surfaces, due to their primary role in ensuring a correct airflow to the engines.

The possible rationale behind the fuselage “chines” and wing strakes could be to generate two vortexes over each wing upper surface, thus enhancing lift (via more diffused vortex lift) at high angle of attack (AoA). In particular, the two inner vortexes (those generated by the fuselage “chines”) would energise the airflow over the inner wing upper surface blending with the fuselage above the engine nacelles. The two outer vortexes (those generated from the wing strakes outboard the intakes lips) would transfer their kinematic energy to the upper outer panel wing airflow. Furthermore, given the expected path of such latter vortexes, they would also interact with the upper airflow over the all-moving horizontal tailplanes - thus replicating the superior longitudinal control provided in the Su-27 by its peculiarly located slab tailplanes.*

Summing up, lift appears to be generated by following elements, working in a synergic way:

• Wing outer panels (outside the engine nacelles) with dropping leading edges (variable camber airfoil);
• Engine nacelles upper surface blended with outer wing panels and fuselage with dropping intake upper false lips/leading edges (variable camber);
• Fuselage tunnel between the engine nacelles;
• Vortexes generated from the front fuselage “chines“, enhancing the engine nacelles upper surface lift and possibly the all-moving verticals’ control authority at very high AoA;
• Vortexes generated by the wing strakes outboard the engine nacelles, enhancing the outer wing panels lift and possibly the all-moving horizontal tailplanes control authority at very high AoA.

The fuselage has the already mentioned flat bottom and a straight tapered upper part ending in a flat and somewhat smaller “sting” between the engine exhausts. The installation of a braking parachute in a bay in the upper part of the sting makes room for the rational introduction in the extreme tailcone of a wide-scanning ECM antenna or perhaps a rear hemisphere surveillance/tracking radar (experiments were carried out a few years ago on a modified Su-32FN). The second prototype, which was used for taxi trials on 23 January appears to have a different tail cone, for unclear reasons.

The rear fuselage beavertail appears wider than in the Su-27/-30 albeit with a similar layout, and should offer more freedom of movement to the multi-axis thrust vectoring control (TVC) exhaust nozzles which will most certainly be fitted to the engines of the T-50 (although their current presence on the PAK FA is not certain). This configuration with the widely exposed round engine exhaust nozzles is however detrimental in terms of rear-emisphere IR and radar signature.

The PAK FA is claimed by Sukhoi to offer “unprecedented small signatures in the radar, optical and infrared range”, and this is certainly true as regards Russian combat aircraft and quite possibly all existing non-American designs. At the same time, it is evident that the PAK FA has been designed with a close attention to stealth characteristics, but is not intended to be an uncompromising stealth aircraft à la F-22. When certain design features detrimental to low observability were deemed to be all-important, these were adopted nonetheless. It would be extremely interesting to watch the eventual results of this approach in terms of maintainability and operational availability, particularly in the light of the in-service experience so far with the F-22.

An element which maintains some similarity to the Su-27 family is the landing gear. All the members retract forward, easing the emergency extension which in this way can be accomplished simply by gravity and air pressure. The main tyres, again like the previous Sukhoi design, when retracted lays flat in bays partially above the air intakes and partially inside the thick wing root fairing born out from the air intake upper part and as a continuation of the sweep surface linking the fuselage side to the outer wing, running above the upper air intake lip.

The PAK FA appears to be built with a significant percentage of composites, including most of the wing, horizontal tailplanes and dropping intake lips skin, centre-forward engine nacelles, most of the fuselage skin and the doors of the weapons bays and landing gear bays. Metal parts seem to include the dropping wing and intake lips leading edges (with the exception of the inner sections where the conformal aerials are expected to be installed, and which should thus be built of dielectric material), the engine intakes and the wide fairings blending the outer wing panels to the fuselage. Press reports suggest a 75% (being weight) being made of titanium alloys and 20% by composites, which sounds plausible.

Powerplant

The planned engine for the T-50 is understood to be the new Saturn AL-41F, expected to offer about 17.5 tons of thrust in full afterburning mode and somewhere in the range of 12 tons in dry mode. The latter figure would comfortably enable supercruising (i.e., supersonic cruise flight without afterburner) at around Mach 1.5, thus in the same class as the F-22. The prototype/technology demonstrator now flying was expected to be powered by the Saturn 117S, a much improved version of the AL-31F intended for the Su-35 but still less powerful at 14.5 tons in full afterburning than the AL-41F. There however are some indications to suggest that the aircraft already has the new engines.

The engines are fed by two-dimensional raked air intakes with the upper lip generating an oblique shock wave favourable to dynamic pressure recovery in the supersonic regime, which for the PAK FA could approach Mach 2.3÷2.5. While in appearance of fixed geometry, it is possible that a variable-position upper ramp, to generate multiple oblique shocks is part of the system for a further better dynamic pressure recovery in the high supersonic speed regime.

The tight shape of the engine nacelles and the position of the ventral “venetian blind” auxiliary intakes seem to suggest that the PAK FA does not feature a serpentine air duct to the engine compressors, as typically adopted for low-RCS aircraft. It is possible that the Sukhoi designers have preferred to limit the compressors’ strong radar reflection by inserting a grill in front of them, while optimising the air intakes for higher max. speed and supercruise performance.

The engines are mounted with a slight forward convergence (some 3°). This, in twin-engine aircraft with conventional exhaust nozzles, would typically reduce thrust asymmetry in the event of an engine flame-out - although with the drawback of reduced controllability. Given however the installation of TVC nozzles, the choice of converging axis built into the nacelles could be the outcome of an aerodynamic local airflow optimisation due to interaction of all the aircraft elements.

A large fuel capacity in line with the previous Sukhoi fighters is certainly provided, let’s say in the order of 12,000 litres. A fully-retractable in-flight refuelling probe is installed on the left side of the fuselage in front of the windscreen.

Armament

The standard air-to-air armament is carried internally in two identical tandem weapon bays, which can be estimated at about 5m x 1.2-1.3m. The bays’ position inside the tunnel between the engine nacelles ensures a discrete opening of their doors at weapons launch, otherwise a drawback for a stealth aircraft. In addition, the doors have saw tooth-shaped edges to further reduce radar signature. The size of the bays can be assumed to allow internal carriage of eight R-77-class radar-guided AAMs with folding wings, i.e. the same figure as for the F-22.

Similar to American 5th generation types, for the “second/subsequent” days of war operations, four additional underwing hardpoints can be installed under the outer wing panels. However no wingtip store positions appear to have been foreseen. A dark area to the right side of the upper front fuselage under the cockpit betrays the installation, similarly to the Su-27, of a single cannon (a 30mm GSh-30-1?) for close combat engagements.

Avionics

The combat avionics of the T-50 has been under development for some time, and some elements will almost certainly be installed in the Su-35 interim fighter. The main sensor will be a Tikhomorov NIIP X-band radar with active AESA antenna, which was unveiled at the latest MAKS Air Show in August 2009. The 1m-dia. antenna contains some 1,500 solid stat transmit/receive modules by NPP Pulsar, which places it in the same class as the F-22’s APG-77. Tikhomorov claims an exceptional range of ~400km against a 1m² equivalent radar surface target. The radar entered bench testing in November 2008, and a flyable operational prototype will be completed by mid-2010.

In a very innovative development, the main X-band antenna will be supplemented by auxiliary L-band antennas installed in the wing inboard leading edges. In addition to the obvious IFF/SSR functions, this arrangement (which is also being offered for retrofit on the Su-27/-30 family as well as the Su-35), has a very clear anti-stealth search function. Most current stealth or semi-stealth designs - and most particularly the F-35 JSF, although not the F-22 - are optimised to reduce radar signature against X-band fire control radars as the main threat, and their low-observability features and shapings do not work as well against L-band radars. Of course, the lower the frequency the higher the wavelength the poorer the accuracy of distance and angular measurements, and thus even apart from excessive volume, weight, power and cooling requirements a fighter aircraft could not possibly rely on a main L-band system alone. However, the presence of the additional L-band antennas will provide an important early warning function against at least some low-observable targets, and it may also enable a “mini-AWACS” role. It is additionally conceivable that these antennas could also be used for the detection and disruption of sensors and digital communications systems operating in L-band, including e.g. the all-important JTIDS/MIDS/Link-16.

While the PAK FA has no functioning radar yet, it already sports the protruding head of an electro-optic IRST system in front and to the right of the cockpit’s windscreen. This will maintain the excellent mixed solution (radar/IRST) used in all modern Russian fighters, event tough the IRST seeker’s “ball” is at odds with the search for a reduced radar signature in the front emisphere. The decision to add the L-band antennas while maintaining the IRST reinforces the perception of the T-50 being mainly intended for air defence roles against intruding low-observable strike aircraft.

The Indian Factor

Back in early 2007, Russia and India reached an agreement to cooperate on a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) based on the PAK FA for the Indian Air Force. The programme is officially described as involving a 50-50% split as regards both financing and R&D activities, but it is nearly universally understood to rather cover a scheme, under which India will fund a substantial portion of the PAK FA’s development bill in exchange for access to the relevant technologies.

The Indian Air Force’s requirements do differ rather substantially from the Russian Air Force’s, and are reported to demand a twin-seat configuration as well as possibly a different wing and control surfaces. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is expected to become responsible for some 25% of the total development workload for the FGFA programme, involving modifying the PAK FA single-seater airframe to a twin-seater configuration as well as the mission computer, navigation system, cockpit displays and ECM dispensers. HAL will of course also take care of eventual series production of a tentatively planned total of some 200-250 aircraft.

Indian sources have ventured into suggesting that the FGFA could be in service by 2015, but this is quite obviously not feasible given that development has not yet started. A logical date would be well into the 2020s.

Conclusions

As a first tentative assessment and on the basis of the basis of the scarce information as currently available, the PAK FA (T-50-1?) looks like a mix of well-proven solutions from previous Sukhoi designs married to several new ideas, in particular as regards the still superior quality of Russian aerodynamic research.

It is also possible that the significant delay suffered in developing a Russian counterpart to the F-22 could have turned into a blessing in disguise, giving Sukhoi designers a period of reflexion to generate a well balanced design. This would relate in particular to the decision not to push for extreme low observability characteristics at the expense of everything else, including not only flight performance but also acquisition costs and most importantly maintenance requirements and thus operational availability.

----
By Sergio Coniglio

----
* The Author cannot resist the self-incensing temptation to recall that exactly the same layout for exactly the same reasons - that is, leading edges alignment to reduce radar reflectivity and enhance high AoA lift by generating four separate vortexes spread along the wing span - was presented in the drawings of a notional future fighter in his article, “A New Fighter for a New World” published in MT 3/1993. The plan view showed the same alignment (sweep angle) of fuselage “chines” with the wing strakes outside the engine intakes, and the same alignment of the air intakes upper “lips” with the outer wing leading edges, as now adopted for the T-50.

[buglerbilly]

Russian fifth generation fighter makes 2nd flight

12 Feb 2010, 1648 hrs IST, AGENCIES

Within a span of days, Russia's fifth generation fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi Corporation under its highly secret PAK FA project on Friday (February 12) made its second successful flight in the country's Far East. The flight carried out from the KNAAPO plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur lasted 57-minutes, ten minutes longer than its maiden flight on January 29 and the fighter was painted in the combat colours of the Russian air force, according to Interfax.

This time also it was piloted by test-pilot Sergei Bogdan, who expressed satisfaction at the performance of the aircraft to be inducted by the Russian Air Force in 2015. Indian Air Force, which would acquire 50 single-seater fighters of the Russian version, would induct another 200 two-seater fighters beginning from 2016, according to reports. Under the 2007 intergovernmental agreement Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has been identified as the nodal agency in the project and a commercial deal on setting a JV is expected to be finalised during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit in mid-March.

Yesterday, Chief of the Russian General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov said the new fighter, in which India is a partner, would be superior to the US F-22 Raptor- the only flying fifth generation fighter. "It would have an artificial intellect, almost at the level of human intellect," General Makarov was quoted as saying by agencies. After few more test flights, T-50 would be moved to Flight Trail Institute at Zhukovski near Moscow for further trails and certification. Weapons firing trails would be carried out at Akhtuba range in south Russian region of Astrakhan, before it is transferred the centre of the air force in Lipetsk in 2013 for evolving the combat manuals.

Why do supposedly intelligent people come out with "my dick is bigger than your dick" comments like this? Like watching Kindergarten at play...................

[McDethWivFries]

"It would have an artificial intellect, almost at the level of human intellect," General Makarov was quoted as saying by agencies.

yeah but is it the retarded cousin who runs around in nappies drawing pics on walls with his own poop or Stephen Hawking level of 'human intellect' cos there is varying degrees of 'human intellect' to compare too

[SteveJH]

5 Years from first flight to service entry? They are either kidding themselves or its just a new airframe with upgraded Flanker electronics.....right?

[Gubler, A.]

5 Years from first flight to service entry? They are either kidding themselves or its just a new airframe with upgraded Flanker electronics.....right?

A lot of the airframe looks like its come straight from the Su-27 to the T-50. Either that or its just an amazing coincidence that the wing and tail roots are exactly the same dimensional relationship as the Su-27, the same for the landing gear and a range of other features.

As to it being as smart as a human one must ask why is the Russian air force wasting such computer software on a fighter plane when they could corner the world's entire information processing market which such capability.

[Tim]

God, what complete nonsense. Intelligence approaching the level of a human? Pig's arse.

Is it just me, or are Russian defence articles particularly eager to start the platform-centric games of one-upmanship? Seems like there's always prattle about "our plane is better than their plane"... I know there's spin coming from all sides when it comes to defence news but Russian articles seem to get very specific, in terms of saying things like "the PAK FA will be better than the F-22". I can't remember the last time I read an article about the F-35 or Eurofighter where it was blatantly declared "this aircraft is superior to a Flanker", for example.

[Unicorn]

They get into dick comparison fights like this for domestic consumption.

Real experts know the truth, but the Russian public (and Key Forum posters) don't know any better and swallow all the BS and come back asking for more.

Unicorn

[SteveJH]

They get into dick comparison fights like this for domestic consumption.

Real experts know the truth, but the Russian public (and Key Forum posters) don't know any better and swallow all the BS and come back asking for more.

Unicorn

I read that forum.....then come over here for some clarity and stuff that actually makes sense....

[Tim]

They get into dick comparison fights like this for domestic consumption.

Real experts know the truth, but the Russian public (and Key Forum posters) don't know any better and swallow all the BS and come back asking for more.

Unicorn

I'm glad it's not just me then... I don't think anything will ever top the Ria Novosti article I saw about "anti-stealth radars" (their words not mine)...

[Unicorn]

I'm glad it's not just me then... I don't think anything will ever top the Ria Novosti article I saw about "anti-stealth radars" (their words not mine)...

Give them time.

In the interim, you have the Goon Platoon for world class idiocy.

Unicorn

[Milne Bay]

OK here is a quote from the Air Power Australia Analysis of the T-50:
“How stealthy does the PAK-FA need to be to defeat US legacy fighters? A radar cross section of only -20 dBSM would deny early Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile shots using the AIM-120C/D AMRAAM to all current and planned US fighters. Doing any better, like -30 dBSM or -40 dBSM, simply increases the level of difficulty in prosecuting long range missile attacks.”

“The consequence of this is that missile combat will be compressed into shorter distances and shorter timelines, putting a premium on the stealth, supersonic persistence and close combat agility of US fighters. A larger portion of engagements will be at visual range, and most BVR engagements will end up taking place inside 30 nautical miles.”5
Of course here Dr Kopp is quoting himself, but my question is this:
Is there the slightest grain of truth to this statement?
MB

[Gubler, A.]

Is there the slightest grain of truth to this statement?

Not really.

-20 dbsm is a very generous practical frontal RCS attribution for the T-50 (the radar signature of a bird of 155mm artillery shell). Bearing in mind practical means across at least the frontal 60 degrees (30 degrees to either side of the centreline). The T-50 is such a clunky stealth aircraft its lowest area of RCS is likely to be very tight (10-20 degrees) to the centreline meaning if it ain’t pointing right at you it’s a barn door.

But if the T-50 had such an RCS then it would effect detection in the following way. The APG-81 should detect a -20 dbsm target at 32 NM; based on a rough benchmark of 100 NM detection of a 0 dbsm (1 m2) target. This is 58 km which is way above visual range given that it is very hard to see a fighter at over 10km in good visibility. This is a lot shorted distance than detection of a FLANKER or smaller fighter but still good enough warning for interception.

Of course this doesn’t take into account other sensors on the JSF, networking radar measurements, AEW&C like the Wedgetail and of course the T-50s poor all round stealth meaning it will be detected as it manoeuvres.

Part of the house of cards ideas of APA is the assumption that the F-35 can only spar with a FLANKER by keeping it distant. If the T-50 is foolish enough to merge with a F-35 then it will just be subject to its EO DAS and LOAL HOBS IR guided missiles. While the T-50 is busy turning and burning the F-35 is shooting over the shoulder. Of course if you truly believe hard enough you can first attribute this capability to a rebuilt F-22 and then change your argument and say it doesn’t work…

[Milne Bay]

Thanks for the clarification Abe.
It helps put the whole article into perspective.
MB

[Glenn Levick]

Well, well, about TIME!! When I saw this article in my search I was like a kid in a candy store.... I must admit. Good to see the Russians weren't too far off their predicted first flight time. And at least to me it does indeed resemble some of the earlier concept drawings that were drawn by speculators. I must say also, that from certain angles it is kind of Raptor-like in design, shape, and general appearance without looking overly revolutionary as a 5th gen design. I would not have expected something topping the Raptor's lines and obvious multi-spectrum signature reduction traits from the Russian designers as they are still technically behind the US, even today.
I think, looking at this design, that despite the obvious move to reduce RCS etc., they still value agility and speed (as they have done for decades) as their primary fighter design philosiphy. I may wrong but I guess time will tell with further testing and when they fly it up against an Su-27 or even a MiG-29.

[Glenn Levick]

Also first flight predictions were made for 2009 if I recall correctly, so I guess its a little late if anything.

[buglerbilly]

India, Russia to sign agreement for development of FGFA

Vinay Shukla/PTI / Moscow

March 09, 2010, 16:43 IST

India and Russia are expected to sign the first of a series of agreements for the development of fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to meet futuristic requirements of the Indian Air Force during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi later this week.

"We expect to ink the agreement for the development of FGFA design and its technical parameters after March 10," sources in the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said.

The comments come ahead of Putin's two-day visit to New Delhi begining Thursday.

The twin-stick two seater version of the futuristic multi-role fighter jet for the IAF would be developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and 'Sukhoi' Corporation, which is part of the Russian integrated aircraft manufacturer UAC on the parity basis.

"India would be the only partner in the FGFA project and the two sides have agreed to share the proceeds from the sale of the fighters to third countries keeping in view their intellectual property rights," the sources said.

The design of the FGFA for IAF would be based on Sukhoi's T-50 PAK FA technology demonstrator, which after making its maiden flight on January 29 is beginning a series of trials.

According to local media reports, the cost of the project would be around $8-10 billion and would be shared by India and Russia on parity basis.

The aircraft would carry a price tag of $85-100 million and would be available in the global market after India and Russia meet their initial requirements.

[pdf27]

Yesterday, Chief of the Russian General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov said the new fighter, in which India is a partner, would be superior to the US F-22 Raptor- the only flying fifth generation fighter. "It would have an artificial intellect, almost at the level of human intellect," General Makarov was quoted as saying by agencies.
In other words, Russian pilots are really, really dumb and hence not quite as intelligent as humans elsewhere in the world? Because even if true the fact remains that all other fighters have a human intellect on board :p

[buglerbilly]

Russia to make 1,000 stealth jets, eyes India deal

Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:58pm IST

By Gleb Bryanski

Another "my dick is bigger than your dick" statement from Russia..........they have no idea at all at this stage how many they are going to build never mind over the next 40 years!!!

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Russia will build more than 1,000 stealth fighter jets within four decades, including at least 200 for its traditional weapons buyer India, the head of plane maker Sukhoi said on Friday.

Sukhoi test-flew its long-delayed fifth-generation fighter at the end of January, and Moscow said it would be able to compete with its U.S. F-22 Raptor rival built more than a decade ago.

Sukhoi said last week it hoped the fighter, codenamed T-50, would be ready for use in 2015.

"If you talk about warplanes of this type, there is definitely a market for it if we produce more than 1,000 jets," Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan told reporters on the sidelines of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to India.

"We have all grounds to believe that there will not be tough competition on the world market," he said.

He said Russia would produce more than 1,000 of the planes within 35 to 40 years.

After the test flight, Putin said Russia had plenty of work to do on the plane.

Analysts say Russia's plans for a joint venture with India to produce the stealth fighters will likely be watched with unease by India's uneasy neighbour Pakistan and regional rival China.

Pogosyan said an agreement on joint output of the jet with India was still in the works and did not say when a deal might be signed.

"I believe that more than 200 planes will be delivered (to India)," Pogosyan said.

"I think (Russia's) defence ministry will buy no less than this amount," he said. About 600 of the planes would be sold elsewhere, he said.

Analysts say several nations, including Libya and Vietnam, have already expressed interest in the fifth-generation fighter.

"Apart from America, the only other fifth-generation project is Russia's, while the Europeans have given up such plans," Pogosyan said.

"Probably the Chinese will try and promote such a product, but I think they face an immense amount of work to make their product competitive," he said.

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Paul Tait)

[Gubler, A.]

1000 over 40 years is a production rate of 25 per annum. Hardly something to aim for or consider impressive...

[ADMk2]

If we discount China, Russia hasn't been able to sell 600 Flankers on the export market so why would they have more success with this?

China won't be sold this aircraft and so I'll state that apart from India, I can't see more than 200 of these aircraft hitting the export market...

[Weasel]

If we discount China, Russia hasn't been able to sell 600 Flankers on the export market so why would they have more success with this?

China won't be sold this aircraft and so I'll state that apart from India, I can't see more than 200 of these aircraft hitting the export market...
Digg, you are forgetting the premise of "silence is acceptance" so therefore all the JSF customers (including Australia) would be interested in the PAK-FA.

I also had it on good authority that Dr. Carlo Kopp is considering running for Prime Minister next election.

The boys in defense would really enjoy that, if he won.

cheers

w

[Simon9]

I'd like to know how much, if any, information of practical use for the T-50 was obtained from the F-117 the Serbs shot down that the Russians got their hands on.

I don't suppose they learned anything much in the geometrical sense but presumably they'd have been able to do some chemical analysis of the RAM which probably filled in some gaps in their knowledge.

[battlensign]

I thought it was significant when it was stated that the bay doors were given saw-edges.......it was a very distinctive feature of the F-117 (confirming 'stealth' tech a generation behind?)

Brett.

[buglerbilly]

More Sukhoi T-50s To Fly In Next 12 Months

Mar 12, 2010



By Alexey Komarov
Moscow

Sukhoi intends to add three more T-50 development aircraft to the test program within the next 12 months, with further details of Russia’s next-generation fighter leaking out from a high-level gathering here.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held a cabinet meeting last week on developing the aerospace and defense industry at Sukhoi’s Moscow headquarters. Putin was also shown the T-50-0 static test rig airframe along with a cockpit simulator for Russia’s fifth-generation fighter.

Putin and Sukhoi’s chief, Mikhail Pogosyan, maintain that the T-50 should be ready to enter service with the Russian air force during 2015, to meet its PAK FA fighter requirement. Putin says, however, that “before the jet goes into serial production, it should complete more than 2,000 test flights.”

Given what is already an highly demanding schedule, Pogosyan is quoted in the Russian press as saying: “By the end of 2010 or in early 2011, we must add three more prototypes to the test-flight program.”

Sukhoi executives suggest the second prototype will likely enter testing this year, while the third and fourth prototypes will appear in 2011. The first two will not be fitted with radar or weapon control systems, and will be used primarily for flight performances and major systems evaluations.

Sukhoi designers are trying to compress the T-50 development through the extensive use of specialized system-integration test benches. The development of previous aircraft types was supported with the use of “iron bird” rigs for complex flight control system checks and an “electronic bird” for the avionics package testing, coupled with stationary engineering simulators used for “man-machine” interface development.

For the T-50, in addition to these tools, Sukhoi seems to have built an additional prototype not intended for flights—the so-called T-50-KNS. This airframe is fitted with operational systems, equipment and engines.

Sukhoi’s production facility in Komsomolsk has used the T-50-KNS for checking the use of new manufacturing technologies, while designers were able to examine all wiring, ducting, equipment and engine installation within the actual dimensions of the aircraft. The T-50-KNS and other test-bench checks ensured the initial flights of the T-50-1 prototype. Pogosyan says a 24-deg. angle of attack was reached on the T-50-1 after only three flights.

The company’s T-50 chief designer, Alexander Davidenko, says almost 70% of the outer surface— 25% of the aircraft’s empty weight—consists of composites . Introduction of the materials allowed the number of structural parts to be cut four-fold compared with the Su-27 Flanker.

As for the cockpit, Davidenko notes that the aircraft’s avionics use smart digital systems to reduce pilot workload in terms of flying and combat operations.

The T-50’s digital flight control system is around 30% lighter than the Su-27’s and can reconfigure in case of failure or combat damage, says Pogosyan.

The T-50 will be tested and enter air force service, with the engine being used for the “first phase of development.” The engine is already installed in the prototype, says Pogosyan. “This is a completely new engine,” he contends, “developed especially for this aircraft. It has a modern design, which is able to ensure the T-50’s long-term operation.” A completely new powerplant could be developed in the next 10-12 years, he adds.

In April, the T-50 flight-test program likely will shift to the Gromov Flight Test Research Institute in Zhukovsky, near Moscow, according to company executives.

The T-50 development is being viewed by the government as a confirmation of the industry’s ability to meet the military’s future equipment needs and to revamp its present inventory.

In 2008, Moscow began to increase procurement of combat aircraft and systems, in an attempt to roll back more than a decade of neglect and stagnation. Contracts to supply the air force with 130 combat aircraft were signed in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, 27 aircraft, more than 50 helicopters and five S-400 missile system divisions will be purchased for the army.

The nation’s armament program calls for the delivery of more than 1,500 aircraft and helicopters and about 200 air defense systems through 2020. At least 80% of the air force procurement and 75% of the air defense systems will be new hardware.

Discussing industry priorities, Putin stresses that the sector had received substantial support from the government and should now concentrate on efficiency. It must fulfill its obligations in terms of deliveries and weapon-cost parameters.

Putin also reinforced Russian ambitions to develop a next-generation strategic strike aircraft—the PAK DA—as well as a next-generation surface-to-air missile system.

Photo: Sukhoi

[Gubler, A.]

I thought it was significant when it was stated that the bay doors were given saw-edges.......it was a very distinctive feature of the F-117 (confirming 'stealth' tech a generation behind?)

There are two elements of lowering radar cross section: shape to reflect away from the transmitter/receiver and materials for the level of reflectivity/absorption. The saw tooth design feature of doors and other potential reflecting lines is part of shaping the aircraft. The science behind understanding this phenomena was first understood by Ufimtsev in ‘Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction’ (1962). While Ufimtsev was a Soviet researcher they never caught up on the importance of his work until the late 80s when the basics of US stealth technology was unveiled. Now in order to take advantage of this part of stealth you don’t need a sample from a F-117 or similar you just need a good understanding of reflectivity shaping and a super computer to crunch the design. So that the T-50 has saw toothed lines on SOME and angled surfaces is not something they would have learnt via technical exploitation of the Serbian F-117. What they would have learnt from the F-117 is a lot about the second element of radar low observability materials and probably interior design for reflectivity.

[Weasel]

There are two elements of lowering radar cross section: shape to reflect away from the transmitter/receiver and materials for the level of reflectivity/absorption. The saw tooth design feature of doors and other potential reflecting lines is part of shaping the aircraft. The science behind understanding this phenomena was first understood by Ufimtsev in ‘Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction’ (1962). While Ufimtsev was a Soviet researcher they never caught up on the importance of his work until the late 80s when the basics of US stealth technology was unveiled. Now in order to take advantage of this part of stealth you don’t need a sample from a F-117 or similar you just need a good understanding of reflectivity shaping and a super computer to crunch the design. So that the T-50 has saw toothed lines on SOME and angled surfaces is not something they would have learnt via technical exploitation of the Serbian F-117. What they would have learnt from the F-117 is a lot about the second element of radar low observability materials and probably interior design for reflectivity.
Having done some analysis, I'm not impressed. If you have seen the F-22 internal and external structures and then take a look at the high res images of the T-50 floating around, you might wonder what the Russian's are crowing about.

In fact, I'm more inclined to believe that this T-50 prototype is a pure aerodynamic airframe and is not intended to test LO capability , simply because, if was a LO prototype then I couldn't think of a more dumbass way to put it together.

cheers

w

ps.. seeing as I am having trouble uploading images.. take a look at your friends at APA website.. There is a photo that strongly suggests that the russians do not have the industrial capability to match the F-22, let alone the F-35. It is titled
"T-50-Inlet-Facets-1.png" and is the one that they have doctored with nice little white lines highlighting angles. Ignore that and take a closer look. The answer is in front of your face as to why this particular aircraft is limited in combat capability against a platform like the F-15 Silent Eagle, F-22 or F-35.

[Weasel]

ps.. seeing as I am having trouble uploading images.. take a look at your friends at APA website.. There is a photo that strongly suggests that the russians do not have the industrial capability to match the F-22, let alone the F-35. It is titled
"T-50-Inlet-Facets-1.png" and is the one that they have doctored with nice little white lines highlighting angles. Ignore that and take a closer look. The answer is in front of your face as to why this particular aircraft is limited in combat capability against a platform like the F-15 Silent Eagle, F-22 or F-35.

the missing worked photo

[Gubler, A.]

I'm sure if the T-50 looked like this:



APA would still be saying its a stealthy, high performance platform.

Despite some shaping the T-50 does not 'look' like a more than Gen 4.5 low observable platform. Those big round engine mould lines will be visible to the forward sector with nose up cruise. The front end itself has so many big hot spots they would have to be doing some pretty amazing RAM and/or interior shaping to get the signature down over a frontal arc.

However I'm sure the Russians have designed in some advantages within the limits of their technology for at attempt at survivability against Gen 5 fighters. Which is of course very different to all the fanbois and polemicists claiming it is an air superiority platform.

[Tim]

ps.. seeing as I am having trouble uploading images.. take a look at your friends at APA website.. There is a photo that strongly suggests that the russians do not have the industrial capability to match the F-22, let alone the F-35. It is titled
"T-50-Inlet-Facets-1.png" and is the one that they have doctored with nice little white lines highlighting angles. Ignore that and take a closer look. The answer is in front of your face as to why this particular aircraft is limited in combat capability against a platform like the F-15 Silent Eagle, F-22 or F-35.

Would you mind elaborating? I'm seeing a few things that look awfully detrimental to LO (and probably missing a whole lot of others) but I wouldn't mind hearing it from someone who knows what they're talking about.

[Weasel]

Would you mind elaborating? I'm seeing a few things that look awfully detrimental to LO (and probably missing a whole lot of others) but I wouldn't mind hearing it from someone who knows what they're talking about.
Thanks for the patronizing note but no, I won't. The reason being that the devil in achieving LO is in the details and if they (Sukhoi) haven't figured it out, I'm not going to tell them. But I am confident that even if Dr. Kopps' rosey review of the T-50 comes to pass that (to use land based parlance) the "kill zone" aka M1A1 vs T72, will remain sufficient to rapidly assist in the T-50's demise.

The key to my comment is the term "Industrial Capability". There is Capability and Capacity. The Russians have demonstrated capacity to produce a prototype aircraft and basically you have an embryonic (and I am sure exciting for at least some of those working on it) program.

What they have not demonstrated is Capability and that is knowing how to create a low observable platform. I see a very cool looking plane that has no LO features on it all. I think Mr. Gubler is being all too generous.

I also think Carlo Kopp and Mr. Goon have some pre-conceived notions and bad habits in their writing style that make it difficult for them to present a thorough analysis on anything, whether it be a T-50 prototype or chicken soup. Meaning they could be the nicest people on earth, work extremely hard and create lots of material but they continually generate the same errors, over and over and over again that invalidate their findings. They have a systemic problem that is dragging their efforts down and unfortunately it might be caused by the very environment (at least the environment surrounding Dr. Kopp) they work in.

Statements like;

"...
If the United States does not fundamentally change its planning for the future of tactical air power, the advantage held for decades will be soon lost and American air power will become an artefact of history.
..."

What does that mean? It means nothing, so why write it? And this is written as a conclusion of an abstract on a program that is just starting. The Australian Chief of the Air Force ( don't know him, but I figure he is the audience that APA wants), even on a base intuitive level will lower his estimation of the content of the following report because of this superfulous statement. Again, Why do it? It baffles me...

There are also multiple inconsistencies in 2nd tier T-50 sources e.g. It only takes a cursory analysis of the T-50 program head's press releases to see that the effort is in serious leadership trouble. Raising the question of how close to the coal face the head actually is to the program. If he is close then there is a higher probability of the program tanking altogether.

There are many, many variables at play here. The best you can say about the T-50 (if you are so inclined) is that the Russians haven't revealed anything and are playing their cards close to their chest. Therefore it is incongruous to make statements that the Australian media (led in the charge by APA) are putting out. If APA wants to look like a printing house then go for it. If they want to be analysts and establish bona fidas, then think before you publish. Again, being a printing house erodes your analyst bona fidas, so why do it?


cheers


w

[Tim]

Patronizing note? Mate, I was being sincere. I appreciate your input on things, that's all - sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Understandable if you don't want to elaborate.

Edit: I do agree with you with regard to APA on all points. Their rhetoric is made all the more objectionable by the fact that they have financial stakes in the "air power solution" they propose for Australia (and aren't too quick to remind anyone either), and yet think it acceptable behaviour to cast aspersions on the integrity of the people actually doing the work when it comes to air power planning. Their idiocy knows no bounds and apparently neither does their dignity.

[Weasel]

Patronizing note? Mate, I was being sincere. I appreciate your input on things, that's all - sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Understandable if you don't want to elaborate.
Apologies all round then

cheers

w

[Tim]

All good mate, cheers

[Glenn Levick]

I wonder how long it will be before someone releases a scale model kit of it? I know from experience that model companies like ITALERI like to jump on these new aircraft real quick, and will pretty much base their mould on a few photos and/or any public line drawing that may have been released as well.

[Gubler, A.]

Not looking very stealthy...

[buglerbilly]

It looks like the minimal amount of stealth exists.................unless they have some "magic" coating they can apply..............

[Weasel]

Not looking very stealthy...

No, it isn't, is it? Even the fastenings on the skin are suspect and a seam is a seam is a seam to AESA radar and I see more square blocky seams than are on my car.

I wonder if I could paint it (the car) pink and then up the resale value as a "stealth car" based on russian technology bought off E-bay?

I like the "paint it pink" theme. Plan "B" for Australia's F-35 procurement could be to buy six B1Bs, paint them with a new high visibility pink "radar absorbing material" and park them at Alice Springs Airport. That way you can deter your evil enemies to the North, stop the whaling and also provide useful air support by defraying the costs of USA maintaining its aerial ground support watch over Afghanistan air space and I guess in future, Pakistan.

Also, painting them high visibility pink would help boost morale of Australian troops in Afghanistan as they saw them circle overhead while striking fear into the black hearted terrorists (who hate pink).

cheers

w

[Deks]

Pink B-1B's ! :D

I'd love to see 6 B-1B's in RAAF service, pink or no! Would certainly silence all the F-111 crowd, too :)

[Riđđu]

Pink B-1B's ! :D

I'd love to see 6 B-1B's in RAAF service, pink or no! Would certainly silence all the F-111 crowd, too :)

Might take couple of years to develop mil-spec pink paint, thought. :cool:

[Weasel]

Might take couple of years to develop mil-spec pink paint, thought. :cool:

with compulsory nose art of course;



cheers

w

[buglerbilly]

Leaders not impressed by new Russian fighter

By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer, US Air Force News

Posted : Monday Mar 22, 2010 19:53:27 EDT

The flying debut of Russia’s answer to the F-22 Raptor isn’t wowing Air Force leaders.

Dubbed the T-50 or PAK-FA, the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet made its maiden flight Jan. 29 — 47 minutes over eastern Russia — and has flown at least twice since then. The twin-engine jet will replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker, both fourth-generation front-line fighters.

The first operational T-50s should be delivered in 2015, the same year the Air Force expects its first F-35 Lightning II. Also a fifth-generation fighter, the F-35 has a single supersonic engine and stealth capabilities.

“I didn’t see anything … that would cause me to rethink plans for the F-22 or F-35,” Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters Feb. 18 at the Air Force Association’s winter conference, held in Orlando, Fla.

“Russia has a robust [aircraft industry],” Donley added. “This is not a surprise in that context.”

The PAK-FA resembles the F-22 — distinctive tilted rear tail fins and all — and has many of the same high-tech features, including digital avionics, a phased-array radar and communications equipment to link the fighter to command and control centers, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

The Air Force ordered the last of its 187 F-22s in 2009. Russia has not had a new fighter in nearly 20 years; the Indian air force is also sponsoring development of a version of the T-50.

“It looks like a plane we’ve seen before,” Gen. Roger Brady, the air boss for NATO and commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said at the conference.

Gen. Gary North, commander of Pacific Air Forces, made clear his impression of the fighter: “I guess the greatest flattery is how much they copy you.”

Still, the four-stars wonder whether the T-50 will live up to its fifth-generation billing.

“I don’t know if it’s really a fifth-generation aircraft,” Brady said. “What I do know is that it’s very clear that they’re working on a fifth-generation technology.”

For Brady, Russia’s push on the development front signals that the U.S. cannot settle for the status quo.

“The key is, we must continue to do fifth-generation and sixth-generation research and put money against it because other people clearly are,” Brady said.

North added that the Pentagon must ensure fourth-generation jets such as the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18 are continually upgraded.

“If we’re not going to buy more, what we’ve got to have is the very best that our sons and daughters go out to fight with,” he said.

In tandem with the T-50 project, Russia is developing a long-range bomber.

“We won’t limit ourselves to just one new model,” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said March 1. “We must start work on a prospective long-range aircraft, our new strategic bomber.”
———
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Unicorn]

You mean like this?

[Weasel]

You mean like this?

Yes,

But the problem with that photo is that I am pretty sure Williamsport (or is it town) doesn't have a salt barn roofed with tar shingles.

I really do think that if Oz put a few bones in the mix, then it would make everyone's life easier. Air Force would have fun, they could even be based overseas. Navy wouldn't be under so much pressure to make submarines work. Army would spend an inordinate number of entertaining and fruitful hours trying to figure out how to hide from them during exercises.

APA would die a natural death. I mean, seriously, that alone might be worth a 6 billion USD procurement.

Does anyone see a downside to this?


cheers

w

ps: found some more appropriate nose art. I suspect this would titilate a few Star Wars fans AKA all of Asia. Plus, aside from being pink it alludes to an airborne laser lol.

[Gubler, A.]

Turns out that thing in the duct of the T-50 is a kind of tumble dryer structure that is supposed to absorb RF...

[buglerbilly]

Damn clever these Russians, you get the washing done the same time as you fly the plane.....................:rolleyes:

[Weasel]

Turns out that thing in the duct of the T-50 is a kind of tumble dryer structure that is supposed to absorb RF...

Who is saying that?? It would be more feasible to suggest a plasma field to help control airflow into the turbine as per a DARPA req, way-back-when.

Contrary to the APA "Plasma Stealth" brigade, it is relatively easy to create a plasma field when you have an anode and a cathode or in this case 2 sides of the air intake.

cheers

w

[Gubler, A.]

Who is saying that??

[buglerbilly]

Jeezus Sour-Pussy gets worse..................read this trash if you must but this paragraph just about takes the cake! :bs

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3adbd52f86-c8bd-4c9d-8378-cfd4224d634e&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest


I'm not sure that anyone has an accurate assessment of the PAK-FA threat, in terms of timing, numbers and detailed capability - that will depend on how fast the Russia-India relationship can move things forward, which in turn depends on money, as well as on technical resources. But it is pretty clearly a supercruiser, probably a good one, with some unique features that are there to combine speed and high agility without counter-stealthy aerodynamic surfaces all over the place.

The man is a ferkin imbecile!!!

[Weasel]

lol, a beehive box. But if you will note that in your photo, the blades in the engine bay are those of a low pressure compressor.

Made for but not with, is the term I think you guys use.

Like I said before (and seems to be reinforced by others in the community) that this prototype is more in line with an aerodynamic performance prototype then a stealth tech platform.

cheers

w

[Gubler, A.]

Here is an interesting article on the T-50 from the Russians:

http://translate.google.com.au/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.redstar.ru%2F2010%2F03%2F24_03% 2F2_03.html&sl=ru&tl=en

Some highlights: T-50 staff: 1,900 since 2003. 25% composites. 25% number of parts compared to Su-27.

[Chunder]

If you want a laugh I found this - which I suppose most of you already know about!... http://www.network54.com/Forum/211833/thread/1264899045/1268493681/Carlo+Kopp+--+JSF+is+the+PAK-FA%27s+food

[Gubler, A.]

If you want a laugh I found this - which I suppose most of you already know about!... http://www.network54.com/Forum/211833/thread/1264899045/1268493681/Carlo+Kopp+--+JSF+is+the+PAK-FA%27s+food

I've never seen that webpage before but you don't need to be in possession of any 'special' information to dismiss the arguments put forward by APA. Just some common sense. Their ZOCT tables are crazy statistical mumbo jumbo.

[JimWH]

I've never seen that webpage before but you don't need to be in possession of any 'special' information to dismiss the arguments put forward by APA. Just some common sense. Their ZOCT tables are crazy statistical mumbo jumbo.

It's pseudo-statistical mumbo-jumbo Abe. Statistics requires the recording of values which relate to a quantity/quality in a reproducible and logical way. Arbitrarily assigning scores to non-comparable qualities simply gives the appearance of statistics/science.
It's like every other time they've attempted to legitimise themselves with a scientific or statistical model: they've made it up as they've gone and it's borne no relationship to reality.

[Weasel]

It's pseudo-statistical mumbo-jumbo Abe. Statistics requires the recording of values which relate to a quantity/quality in a reproducible and logical way. Arbitrarily assigning scores to non-comparable qualities simply gives the appearance of statistics/science.
It's like every other time they've attempted to legitimise themselves with a scientific or statistical model: they've made it up as they've gone and it's borne no relationship to reality.
ok, how do you attach files on this new forum?

cheers

w

[ARH v.3.1]

All attachments are attached the same way. If you keep having an attack of the spastics and can't do it, or the file is too large to attach, email it to me and I'll stick it up.

[buglerbilly]

Who says I haven't a sense of humour! Sourpuss's latest I suck dick statement about the PakFa............. :anon

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

PAK-FA Secrets Via YouTube

Posted by Bill Sweetman at 3/29/2010 5:37 AM CDT

Just popped up on YouTube, a couple of interesting T-50 videos. The first is an overview of some of the technologies involved in the aircraft.

Noteworthy points: the video highlights a new honyecomb core material designed for high temperatures. It also states that the T-50 will have no fewer than five radar arrays: the 1500-module forward active electronically scanned array (AESA), two side-facing X-band sub-arrays and two "decimetric" (L--band) arrays in the leading-edge root extensions. It also states that the goal is to fight the F-22 by closing within visual range.



Another new video shows a novel inlet radar blocker. compressor face of a jet engine is one of the least stealthy parts of an airplane. Not only will the whirling blades, at some point, reflect radar energy directly back at whoever is looking for you, but the shape and rotational rate will identify you, because computers can count very, very fast.

Step 1 in dealing with this problem is to coat the inlet duct with radar absorbent material, because a lot of radar energy bounces off the duct wall several times on the way in and out again. High-level stealth, though, means physically blocking the line of sight with a "serpentine" duct (which is done on the F-22, JSF and Typhoon). But that can take up a lot of space, particularly with big engines, and isn't practical for a stealth retrofit or on some new designs.

The Super Hornet, for example, has short inlet ducts so line-of-sight blockage by curvature isn't practical. The solution was to install a blocker in the inlet duct - looking down the duct, you see what looks like a compressor face, but isn't. It's a fixed composite structure, RAM-coated. And of course any stray electrons that do make it through the blocker and hit the compressor have to make it out through the blocker again. Problem: what bends electron flux also bends airflow, you you can get losses.

Via Secret Projects comes an image of what is said to be the radar blocker for the Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA, which looks solid if a bit lossy:



But the same thread also includes a Russian video of a more elegant solution:



It uses flexible vanes with a rotating ring at the rear end: in the "stealth regime" it provides extensive blockage, but it clears the airflow when it doesn't matter or you need full speed or power. One challenge would be the structural design, because the last thing you want is a piece of RAM flaking off the moving surface and FODing out your motor. But it could be an interesting Su-35 modification.

[Weasel]

The problem with Bill is that he can't tell a compressor face from a "radar blocker", even if it fell out the sky and fell astride his face, or so it seems. The shot provided by Abe on the previous page shows segmented blades with a hub, aspect ratio and angle of attack that all point to a thin blade designed to compress air as part of a blisc. not a radar blocker.

cheers

w

[Gubler, A.]

The problem with Bill is that he can't tell a compressor face from a "radar blocker", even if it fell out the sky and fell astride his face, or so it seems. The shot provided by Abe on the previous page shows segmented blades with a hub, aspect ratio and angle of attack that all point to a thin blade designed to compress air as part of a blisc. not a radar blocker.

Yep and that empty space in the duct is for the Russian "radar blocker". Did you see how BS mused that this would be an interesting upgrade for an Su-35? How are they going to fit it into the small ducts of the classic Su-27? Length is length.

[buglerbilly]

Rivals Join For Next Stage Of PAK FA Engine

Apr 28, 2010



By Maxim Pyadushkin
Moscow

Russia’s two engine manufacturers are to collaborate on the next stage of engine development for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter after years of going head-to-head as rivals.

The Moscow-based Salut and United Engine Corp. (UEC) have agreed to work jointly on the so-called second-stage engine for the T-50 being developed to meet the air force’s PAK FA requirement. NPO Saturn, now part of UEC, and Salut have been competing for this program for several years, with designs known as Eniseysk-A and Eniseysk-B, respectively.

According to senior UEC executives, the workshare on the engine to replace the T-50’s current Saturn 117 will slightly favor the corporation: UEC will have 54%, and Salut the remainder.

The decision to collaborate is driven at least in part by the likely merger of the two engine producers.

The timescale for development of the powerplant remains uncertain, as the manufacturers apparently are waiting for the military to set its requirements. In March, however, Sukhoi chief Mikhail Pogosyan said the T-50 would enter service with the air force powered by the Saturn 117. He indicated development of the second-stage engine could take another decade.

The 117 was developed by Rybinsk-based Saturn as an uprated modification of the Al-31F engine. The 29,000-lb.-thrust 117 is used on the Su-35 derivative of the Su-27 Flanker. The version fitted to the T-50 prototypes is thought to produce 30,000 lb. thrust and also comes with a new full-authority digital engine control unit.

Salut’s Eniseysk-B design was recommended by the ministry’s tender commission, according to CEO Yuri Eliseev. Under the original program schedule, the two contenders were to have demonstrated the first elements of the engine by November 2008.

Discussing Eniyesk-A, Saturn CEO Ilya Fyodorov, who also is a head of the PAK FA engine program, says the company has studied some new technologies that could be applied to the development of a powerplant for the series production PAK FA in the next in 2-3 years.

The so-called third stage of engine development, a new design, was initially planned to begin at the end of 2009, but this has yet to be announced. “Nevertheless, we have completed the conceptual design of the fifth-generation engine,” says Eliseev.

He also says that in order to minimize technical risks, Salut is already testing the element of the future engine during modernization of the Al-31F series powerplants.

The first stage of this modernization, the AL-31FM1 with a new compressor, was shown at the Engines 2010 exhibition here this month. This engine has a thrust of 27,000 lb., interval between overhauls of 1,000 hr. and service life of 2,000 hr., compared to 25,000 lb. thrust, 500 hr. between overhauls and 1,500 hr. of service life for the serial AL-31F. According to Eliseev, the AL-31FM1 already powers modernized Su-27SM Russian air force fighters. He adds that it has also been approved for installation on Su-34 bombers.

A further development, the AL-31FM2, is being bench-tested, according to the Salut CEO. This engine has a new combustor chamber and turbine and reached 29,200 lb. thrust. “If we receive funding, we are ready to start serial trials of this engine in the next year,” says Eliseev.

Also on display at the exhibition was a new KND-924-3 low-pressure compressor that, together with a new six-stage high-pressure compressor, will be used for the AL-31FM3 modification. This version is expected to have a thrust of about 30,000 lb. Eliseev stresses that all the modifications retain the size of the serial Al-31F and can be installed in versions of the Su-27 in service.

The cooperation between Salut and UEC is underpinned by the anticipated merger between the two manufacturers. Eliseev was appointed deputy head of the corporation two weeks ago. According to UEC executives, the merger with Salut will start after the latter completes its consolidation with Omsk Baranov Production Co.

Photo: Sukhoi

[Deks]

Not entirely sure what it means in the grand scheme of things, but for reference the F100-PW-229 on the F-15E produces around 29,000 pounds of thrust, the F119 on the F-22 around 35,000 and the F135 on the F-35 around 40,000.

[Weasel]

Not entirely sure what it means in the grand scheme of things, but for reference the F100-PW-229 on the F-15E produces around 29,000 pounds of thrust, the F119 on the F-22 around 35,000 and the F135 on the F-35 around 40,000.
oh, oh! Are we allowed to talk about engine porn?! I love Soviet engines, how they widen your eyes and leave you with that stunned mullet look on your face..."They flew with that?" or "How did they do that, with that?" . Its like Ripley's Believe it or Not.

I truly am in awe and of all the things Russian, this must be the one area where they are legitmately in a class of their own, even with residual capability. It really is fascinating stuff.

(and yes, I am a geek)

cheers

w

[buglerbilly]

India Forces Fighter Rivals To Rebid

May 3, 2010



By Neelam Mathews
New Delhi

India has proved once again that it cannot push the pedal too hard for speedy procurement of a major weapon system. It has been forced to notify vendors seeking the coveted 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) award that they will need to rebid, prompting a schedule delay that might drive up costs.

The bidders represent the industry’s biggest fighter manufacturers—MiG Russian Aircraft Corp., Dassault, Eurofighter, Saab, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The vendors were expected to complete flight trials early last month, giving the Indian defense ministry time to complete its bid evaluation by April 28. Contract rules called for rebidding if that deadline was missed, pushing the start of the winnowing process to April 2011.

Downselect will probably name three finalists, although no specific number has been stated or schedule given. There also is no timeframe for when a winner will be chosen. Politics is partly responsible. The downselect will be reviewed by a parliamentary committee, and the possible lobbying could extend the selection process beyond next April.

As this year’s deadline approached, the Eurofighter Typhoon was still making its final flights and the Saab Gripen, the last candidate, was not even in India. Held up by other tasks for the Swedish air force, the aircraft is not expected until late May.

Ministry officials were not commenting last week about a re-bid. But the Indian air force does not see it as a setback. Its emphasis is on being able to evaluate all the contenders.

“Testing is done in various envelopes, and as long as the associated requirements are met, that is [what is] important to us,” says a senior air force official. “We’re hoping all tests will be over by May.” If so, the assessment process will take another two months to complete.

While this official acknowledges that delay-driven re-bids might drive costs up as much as 7%, he says that is not a prime issue for air force headquarters. Its focus is on aircraft capabilities. Pricing comes into play beyond the air force’s level.

Earlier this year, Defense Minister A.K. Antony acknowledged that India’s acquisition process has been notoriously slow. The Defense Procurement Procedures Act for 2010 is supposed to remedy this problem.

“The effort in this direction is already on,” he says. “We have to further reduce the delays.”

But the MMRCA program seems to contradict that assertion, since delays are likely to raise program costs and prevent the air force from putting the winner into service on schedule.

In extending bids by a year, the ministry is acting under 2006 procurement procedures, which allow bids to be revised up or down, says a spokesman. “It’s up to the [vendors] to decide. Besides, it shouldn’t matter [since] the bids will remain sealed, so nobody knows the other quotes.”

Some vendors are concerned that the delay will make bidding more volatile. They cite U.S. dollar fluctuations against the euro during the past year.

The final currency rate for the program will be frozen on the date bids are completed. Move that date ahead a year and the dollar might be considerably stronger, given the uncertainties that the euro is now facing with issues such as Greece’s debt crisis. If that is the case, bidders in euros may have an advantage, one financial analyst says.

Vendors are not commenting on what changes they might make to their bids.

As for the F/A-18E/F con*tender, Boeing Defense, Space & Security Vice President Vivek Lall’s diplomatic response is typical: “We are working to provide a compliant response in support of the deadline set,” he says.

Still, Antony says India is forging ahead with “refinement and evolution” of its bidding practices under the 2010 procurement act. “But at the same time we are spending money from the public exchequer. We have to make sure that every penny is spent judiciously.”

[buglerbilly]

Antony Gets Tough?

By Madhav Nalapat, The Diplomat blog

May 5, 2010

During his first term, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a severe disappointment for those who had hoped to witness a paradigm shift in India's governance. A parliamentary poll in India requires more than $3 million in expenses for a candidate to put up a fight, 95 percent of which comes from unrecorded funds, usually provided by equally shadowy entities. During his first term in office (2004-09), Singh hewed to the party line, apparently looking the other way while goodies such as coal blocks, infrastructure contracts and defence deals were inked.

But over the past month, two high-profile arrests indicate that the Prime Minister's tolerance for the graft that is choking India's future may have ended. Ketan Desai, an intimate of key Congress Party managers, is now in jail on charges of having accepted millions of dollars in bribes in order to give permission to set up medical colleges, while O Ravi, a senior official of the Union Home Ministry, found himself in jail for allegedly accepting a bribe of $100,000, despite his known closeness to a member of the Union Cabinet.

Clearly, political clout is no longer an insurance against administrative accountability. Those who are close to the Prime Minister accept that the present anti-corruption drive has been led ‘from the top’, but are wary of gathering political static in India's clubby, corrupt political stratosphere, much of which is concentrated within Singh's own Congress Party. Indeed, he and Defence Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony are the only two ministers known to be of modest means in the Union Cabinet, with some of the rest being mega-millionaires.

Thus far, Antony has kept his head down, not challenging the huge system of slush that has lubricated several billion-dollar defence deals, such as those involving the purchase of submarines or the refit of fighter aircraft.

Now that the Indian navy has been made to buy junk in the form of a condemned Russian aircraft carrier for close to $3 billion, a vessel that for a decade has been unable to put to sea for fear of its getting transformed into a submarine, defence lobbyists are have their sights on the impending contract for the supply of 126 front-line Multi-Role Combat Aircraft for the air force, an order expected to cross the $12 billion mark.

There are six options under consideration, with the Obama administration following the lead of the Bush-Cheney team in pitching for the obsolete F-16 platform, which India will then share with Pakistan. The Indian order would help keep this Lockheed facility operational (after nearly four decades of production) hence the incessant lobbying by the US administration that the F-16 be preferred over the far more versatile Boeing F/A -18,which is a much more attractive competitor to the present frontrunner, France's Rafaele, or to the Russian MiG 35.

While geopolitics ought to have swung the order by now to the F-16 or Business as Usual to the Rafaele (with the MiG 35 a close second in this category), what is creating hand-wringing amongst defence lobbyists is the refusal of Defence Minister Antony to accept the views of the (well-oiled) machinery he heads, and opt for a quick decision.

The defence minister would like to see production outsourced to India to a considerable extent, and insure against political blockades to supplies of the kind that the US is known for, hence his refusal to follow the advice of some of his Cabinet colleagues (one of whom favours the F-16 and the other the MiG 35) and take a decision ‘in haste’. Of those in the pack, the odd aircraft manufacturer out is the Swedish Gripen. Should Antony opt for this, it could herald the beginning of a vigorous technological collaboration between the Scandinavian countries and India, a relationship that would include energy and transportation systems. However, such a coming together would be unwelcome news to the established giants of Europe, France, Italy (a giant in Sonia Gandhi's India) and Germany, each of whom would like to keep the Nordics away from the Delhi honey pot.

Will Antony follow the lead of Manmohan Singh and crack down on large-scale corruption in his ministry? At last, the omens seem bright.

[buglerbilly]

Latest video..........

[buglerbilly]

Russia wins large contract to modernize Indian Su-30MKI fighters - media


Su-30MKI (Flanker-H) multirole fighter

This sounds like it's more or less aimed at the Brahmos to me............? Temporary fix until the 50's are in service?

India has placed orders with the Russian defense industry to modernize Su-30MKI Flanker-H fighters produced in India under the Russian license, India Today magazine reported in its June issue, without disclosing the sum of the contract.

The project codenamed Super 30 stipulates the installation of new radars, onboard computers, electronic warfare systems and BrahMos supersonic missiles on 40 Su-30MKI fighters, the magazine said.

The Indian Air Force currently operates about 100 Su-30MKI fighters and plans to produce another 170 aircraft in the next 10 years under the Russian license.

India has a long history of defense ties with Moscow. The current cooperation program comprises about 200 joint projects, including the transfer of technology for the licensed assembly of T-90 tanks in India, the production of BrahMos missiles and the purchase of Smerch MLRS by India.

The BrahMos missile has a range of 290 km (180 miles) and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg (660 lbs). It can effectively engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 meters (30 feet) and has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the U.S.-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.

Established in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace, a joint Indian-Russian venture, produces and markets BrahMos supersonic missiles. The sea-based and land-based versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and Navy.

NEW DELHI, May 30 (RIA Novosti)

[buglerbilly]

Another new video..........doesn't real show all that much...............

[McDethWivFries]

Gee he looked pretty impressed by it all didn't he . . . NOT!

[buglerbilly]

Defense: Russian Air Force to buy over 60 fifth-generation fighters

Topic: Russian 5th-generation fighter


T-50 fifth-generation fighter

17:50 13/07/2010© RIA Novosti. Alexei DruzhininRelated News

The Russian Air Force will receive more than 60 fifth-generation fighters from 2015-16, the force commander said on Tuesday.

"The Air Force will start taking delivery [of fifth-generation fighters] in 2015-16. The preliminary number is over 60," Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said.

He also said the first batch of new fighters would be provided with older, "non-fifth" generation engines.

In mid-June Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin observed the 16th test flight of a prototype fighter.

Deputy Defense Minister for Arms Procurement Vladimir Popovkin said the Defense Ministry would purchase the first 6 to 10 aircraft after 2012, based on the outcome of initial tests. He said the fighter will be superior to similar U.S. models.

The prime minister said 30 billion rubles (around $1 billion) had already been spent on the project and another 30 billion would be required to complete it, after which the engine, weaponry and other components would be upgraded.

He said the fighter would have a service life of 30-35 years, if modernization and upgrades are factored in, and would be around three times cheaper than its foreign analogs

Russia's only known fifth-generation project is Sukhoi's PAK FA and the current prototype is the T-50. It is designed to compete with the U.S. F-22 Raptor, so far the world's only fifth-generation fighter, and the F-35 Lightning II.

Russia has been developing its newest fighter since the 1990s. The country's top military officials have said the stealth fighter jet with a range of up to 5,500 km should enter service with the Air Force in 2015.

The PAK FA is to be armed with next-generation air-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-ship missiles, and has two 30-mm cannons.

MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti)

[buglerbilly]

PAK-FA Will Be Operational In 2015: Executive

Jul 21, 2010



By Bill Sweetman william_sweetman@aviationweek.com
FARNBOROUGH

Sukhoi’s T-50 PAK-FA fighter will be delivered to the customer in 2015, Sukhoi director general Mikhail Pogosyan said in an interview at the Farnborough International Airshow here on July 20, notwithstanding Western skeptics who compare that timescale to other fighter programs.


“It’s a matter of the experience that we have, the level of preparation and the solution that we have chosen,” he said. “We did not wait for a new engine, but modernized an existing engine, and we have a lot of bench testing. Combined, that gives us a chance to succeed.

“In the last 10 years we have readied four new aircraft — the Su-30MKI, the Su-34, the Su-35 and the T-50,” Pogosyan said. “I don’t think many foreign manufacturers can claim that much.”

The Sukhoi leader also says that he expects the Su-35 to remain in production alongside the T-50 “for some time, at least through 2020. Any aircraft that has a 400-km. [250-mi.] radar detection range can live for a long time.”

Pogosyan commented on reports that he has advocated a Russian ban on exports of RD-93 engines for the Sino-Pakistan FC-1/JF-17 fighter, in response to China’s production of the J-11 “bootleg” Su-27 variant. “It’s not that I am against the delivery of the engines, but that it should be regulated by a bilateral agreement. Military-technical cooperation is a long-term, strategic process and both sides need to observe the letter of the agreement. If they don’t it will be chaos.”

Photo: Sukhoi

[buglerbilly]

PAK FA is Ready to Execute a Complete Program of Flight Trials

(Source: Knaapo; issued July 23, 2010)


Russia could buy 50 to 100 next-generation PAK FA fighters, with the first order for a pre-production batch of 10 aircraft planned for 2013, after flight tests have been completed.(Sukhoi photo)

The Sukhoi Company has completed the preliminary on-land and in-flight activities which involved all three engineering prototypes of the Frontline Aviation Advanced Airborne Complex (PAK FA) – the 5th-generation aircraft.

These prototypes were used for test-bed strength tests, on-land optimization of fuel systems and other work towards flight trials. The flying prototype has made 16 flights. Today, the optimization of aircraft and its safety systems enables execution of a complete program of flight trials, announced the Director General of Sukhoi Mikhail Pogosyan today at the press conference at the Farnborough International Airshow-2010 Press Center.

The PAK FA took to the air on January 29 in Komsomolsk-na-Amure. The acceptance trials of the flying prototype were fully completed in late March. In April the first flying prototype of the fighter and the avionics testbed used for systems optimization before flight trials were delivered to the flying test center of the OKB Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau in Zhukovsky near Moscow.

Upon completion of the required on-bed preliminary tests of the systems, including the static example’s strength testing, on-land optimization of the avionics testbed and of the flying prototype, on April 29 the aircraft started preliminary tests.

Compared to the previous generation fighters, the PAK FA features a number of unique capabilities, including the functions of a strike aircraft and fighter. The fifth-generation aircraft is fitted with essentially new avionics integrating the function of “an electronic pilot” and with an advanced phased antenna array radar. This considerably reduces the pilot fatigue, enabling the pilot to concentrate on performance of a tactical mission.

The new aircraft’s onboard equipment makes it possible to exchange information in the real time mode both with on-land control stations and with aviation group aircraft. The use of composite materials and innovative technologies, and the aerodynamic streamlining ensure unprecedented radar, optic and infrared stealthiness. This significantly enhances the operational capability against aerial and ground targets in all weathers, day and night.

Vladimir Popovkin, the Russian First Deputy Defense Minister, in his interview to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, estimated the Russian Air Force’s demand for the 5th-generation fighters at 50 to 100 units. It is planned to complete all tests of the PAK FA airframe in 2011-2012, and to sign a contract in 2013 for a pilot lot of ten aircraft for testing the model’s entire weapons suite.

-ends-

[sputnik]

Another new video..........doesn't real show all that much...............



Is that a radioactive symbol on the nose of the plane at 2:10? If so, what for?

[Gubler, A.]

Probably a radiation warning for the radar or a radio's emissions.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:07/09/10

SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

PICTURES: Indian officials get up close to new-look PAK FA fighter

Russia has conducted a flight demonstration with its prototype PAK FA fighter for a delegation of Indian defence ministry and industry officials.

Held at Ramenskoye aerodrome near Moscow on 31 August, the 10min display was made in support of talks over the bilateral development by Moscow and New Delhi of a new fifth-generation fighter.

Indian officials inspected Sukhoi's lone PAK FA following the demonstration, which included low-speed passes and high angle-of-attack manoeuvres. The aircraft, which will be followed by two more prototypes before the end of the year, is pictured with new-look camouflage markings.





The new fighter programme is a topic of discussion by an Indo-Russian commission for military industrial co-operation, along with another to produce a multi-role transport aircraft with a 20t payload capacity.

New Delhi is insisting on executing both programmes as joint ventures, with equal sharing of investment and workshare.

Russia's air force has a requirement for 250-300 next-generation T-50 fighters to enter use from 2015-16, while India plans to buy between 200 and 250 of the joint design. This should use a common airframe and engines, but have its on-board systems and weapons tailored for their individual needs.

First flown in January, the PAK FA prototype is intended to de-risk features such as the use of low-observable materials and thrust-vectoring engines with supercruise performance, plus internally carried weapons.

Russian sources suggest a pre-production batch of between six and 10 aircraft will be built to support future testing of the type, with the nation's air force expected to launch operational trials in Lipetsk around 2012-13.

[buglerbilly]

Russian Navy to get fifth generation carrier fighter after 2020

Topic: Russian 5th-generation fighter



The appearance of a fifth generation fighter in Russian naval aviation will not happen before 2020, the outgoing head of the air forces and air defense forces of the Russian Navy, Lt. General Valery Uvarov told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

Previously, representatives of the armed forces command and Defense Ministry had said a new naval fighter based on the Sukhoi T.50 design could enter service around 2016.

"It's difficult to say when this aircraft will enter naval service. First it will go into service with the air force, and then be 'navalised.' To build a new aircraft from scratch costs huge money, it's irrational and not competent. Conditions might be suitable by 2020," he said.

Uvarov stressed, however, that any new naval fighter would enter service only following a competition in which other designs would participate, including from the MiG, Yakovlev and Sukhoi design bureaus.

A new generation carrier fighter should enter service with the fleet not long before any new aircraft carrier on which it would be based, Uvarov said, so pilots would be ready. "The aircraft should come before a ship entering service, so pilots can train first on land, then on a special training area, then on deck," he said.

He stressed that the service was still waiting to take delivery of the naval MiG-29K, which is being exported to India.

"The first two MiG-29Ks will soon be purchased in order to carry out development of their functions," he said. "I think there should be two squadrons, that is 24 MiG-29Ks and one squadron of Su-33s."

The Russian navy is currently reforming its structure, with naval air forces and naval air defense being merged into one branch. Lt. General Uvarov is leaving his post as commander of both branches.

MOSCOW September 28, (RIA Novosti)

[buglerbilly]

New pics of this "World Dominator" link via Defense Tech.................






Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA and the chase plane Su-27 UB

[buglerbilly]

Russia and India fix T-50 fighter design contract cost at $295 million

10:03 GMT, December 17, 2010

NEW DELHI | Russia and India have agreed the estimated cost of a design contract for their joint fifth-generation fighter project at $295 million, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman Ashok Nayak said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"The cost of preliminary design is estimated at $295 million. The work is expected to be complete within 18 months," Nayak said.

Russia's Sukhoi holding and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) agreed in early 2010 to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter jet based on the prototype T-50 design. India confirmed that it had finalized a draft contract at a meeting with Russia in early October.

Nayak said the contract could be signed by the representatives of India's HAL and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) during a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to India on December 20-22.

The two sides agreed to develop both a single-seat and a two-seat version of the aircraft by 2016, focusing on the single-seat version in the initial stages of development. The costs will be shared equally between Russia and India.

The first Russian prototype T-50 made its maiden flight in January 2010.

The new fighter aircraft is expected to enter service with the Indian Air Force by 2020. (RIA Novosti)

[buglerbilly]

DATE:21/12/10

SOURCE:Flight International

India, Russia seal PAK FA research deal

By Greg Waldron

India and Russia have signed a long-discussed preliminary design contract for India's fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), a variant of the Sukhoi PAK FA demonstrator.

The deal was signed during Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's official visit to New Delhi in December.

Hindustan Aeronautics chairman Ashok Nayak has valued the contract at $295 million. During its 18-month term, Indian designers will work with Sukhoi's designers in Russia, building in Indian requirements for the variant.

The deal was originally expected to be signed at the end of 2009, but was held up as the two nations hammered out issues relating to technology transfer and the cost of the programme.

Nayak tentatively suggests the co-developed FGFA's first flight could take place around 2017-18.

Asked whether India is coming to the project relatively late - the PAK FA prototype first flew in January 2010 and has since logged about 40 test missions - Nayak says the FGFA could be "far different from what is flying today". The next PAK FA will also have a more advanced engine, he says.

The current PAK FA is powered by two NPO Saturn "Item 117" engines, developed from the Item 117S design already flown on Sukhoi's Su-35 and a Su-27M testbed. The experimental aircraft's integrated flight control system controls the engines and all other major systems.

Sukhoi says other key design elements include the use of composite materials, advanced aerodynamic techniques and measures to reduce the aircraft's engine signature, which it claims results in an "unprecedented small radar cross-section in radar, optical and infrared range".

The PAK FA is also equipped with an advanced phased-array antenna radar, Sukhoi adds. Russia's Tikhomirov NIIP displayed an active electronically scanned array design for the fighter at 2009's Moscow MAKS air show.

[buglerbilly]

Sukhoi Company adds to flight tests program the second PAK FA prototype

(Source: Sukhoi Company JSC; issued March 3, 2011)


The second Sukhoi T-50 prototype takes off from Komsomolsk airfield for its March 3 first flight; the first aircraft has logged 39 flight test sorties. (Sukhoi photo)

Today the first flight of the 2nd prototype of the fifth generation aviation complex (PAK FA) took place in Komsomolsk - on - Amur. The plane was piloted by distinguished test pilot of the Russian Federation Sergey Bogdan.

The aircraft spent in the air 44 minutes and landed on the factory airfield runway. The flight was successful, in full accordance with the flight plan. Stability of the aircraft test was conducted during the flight as well as evaluation of the power plant systems’ performance. The aircraft proved itself well in all phases of the planned flight program.

Tests on the PAK FA program are in accordance with the approved program. Currently, a set of preliminary ground and flight operations has been completed involving all three prototypes, which underwent bench strength tests, ground tests of fuel systems and other work.

The first flight of the PAK FA took place on January 29, 2010 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Acceptance tests of the prototype were completed at the end of March 2010. On April 8, 2010 the first flight model of the fighter jet and a comprehensive ground stand for working out the equipment and systems to provide flight test program, were delivered to the flying test center of the Sukhoi Design Bureau in Zhukovsky near Moscow.

Upon completion of the required volume of preliminary tests on the stands of systems and components, including static strength tests of the static prototype, ground tests of the aircraft stand and the flight model, on April 29, 2010 the aircraft had started flight tests in accordance with the preliminary tests program. The first flight model made 36 sorties in accordance with the flight tests program.

Compared to the previous generation fighters, the PAK FA features a number of unique capabilities, including the functions of a strike aircraft and fighter. The 5th generation aircraft is fitted with essentially new avionics integrating the function of “an electronic pilot” and with an advanced phased antenna array radar. This considerably reduces the pilot fatigue, enabling him to concentrate on performance of a tactical mission. The new aircraft’s onboard equipment makes it possible to exchange information in the real time mode both with on-land control stations and with aviation group aircraft.

The use of composite materials and innovative technologies, and the aerodynamic streamlining ensure unprecedented radar, optic and infrared stealthiness. This significantly enhances the operational capability against aerial and ground targets in all weathers, day and night.

-ends-

[buglerbilly]

DATE:20/06/11

SOURCE:Flight Daily News

PARIS: Russia's PAK-FA fighter shows promise

By Alan Dron

Russia's Sukhoi PAK-FA stealthy fifth-generation fighter is showing promise in its test-flight programme and will probably fly at Moscow's MAKS air show in August, says United Aircraft chief Mikhail Pogosyan.

"There is no aircraft in the world that doesn't undergo certain modifications based on the test [programme] results. The most successful only require minor modifications to support systems. Our experience so far gives us confidence that we will avoid significant problems. The past year gives us sound grounds to say we are moving in the right direction.

"We're quite happy and pleased with the course of testing."

Two prototypes are now flying at the Gromov flight test centre at Zhukovsky, a suburb southeast of Moscow.


© Sukhoi

Russia has a requirement for 150 or more of the aircraft, which carries the internal Sukhoi designation of T-50, to enter service from 2015-16. India plans to buy between 200 and 250 of a modified design under the designation Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft.

Pogosyan denies that New Delhi is simply providing funding for Russian designers to produce a modified aircraft for the Indian air force's requirements.

He says India is bringing its own engineering input to the joint variant, although he declines to detail New Delhi's contribution beyond saying it covers aspects of airframe design, software development and other systems.

Pogosyan points to previous co-operation between the two countries in which Indian engineers helped to develop the capabilities of the Sukhoi Su-30MKI in Indian service as evidence of India's engineering expertise.

Asked for his professional opinion on China's J-20 stealth fighter unveiled in January, Pogosyan says: "You'd better ask the Chinese."

Pressed on whether he feels the aircraft is a genuine prototype or merely a technology demonstrator, he says: "China's aviation industry has achieved really significant progress. But on the other hand, to create a really competitive product is time-consuming, demands significant experience in the engineering field and experienced human resources."

[buglerbilly]

PAK-FA's 'hangar queen' flies after 4-month hiatus

By Stephen Trimble

on August 10, 2011 5:43 PM


Photo by Lysenko Sergey

It would have been an interesting bet on 4 May (the day after the US Air Force grounded the Lockheed Martin F-22). Which fifth-generation fighter would fly again first -- the F-22 or the Sukhoi T50-2?

The T50-2 -- the second PAK-FA prototype -- first flew on 3 March, trailing first flight of the T50-1 by 13 months. Everything seemed normal when Sukhoi flew T50-2 to Zhukovsky airport near Moscow on 3 April, but then it stopped flying. T50-1 continued on pace, but T50-2 stayed in the hangar. Meanwhile, the Lockheed F-35 has joined the F-22 as hangar-bound companions.

It now appears the T50-2 would have won that bet.

Multiple reports on Russian and English-language spotter forums report that the T50-2 flew again today for the first time in more than four months. It is still unknown what caused the programme's second prototype to stop flying for so long. Perhaps in related news, the MAKS air show begins next week, and both T50 prototypes are expected to perform in the air display.

[buglerbilly]

New stealth fighter jet 'principal' for Russia, India


T-50 fighter
© RIA Novosti. Aleksei Druzhinin 11:55 16/08/2011ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow region), August 16 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's new stealth fighter jet, which is expected to make its first public appearance at the MAKS exhibition near Moscow on Tuesday, will be the principal plane for both the Russian and Indian military, a top official says.

"The T-50 will be the newest main plane both for the Russian and Indian Air Force," Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of Russia's state-run United Aircraft corp (UAC), told reporters at the opening of the air show.

The Sukhoi T-50, also called the PAK FA, is meant to be a rival to the U.S. F-22 Raptor.

It made its maiden flight in the Russian Far East in January 2010.

India has helped Russia develop the new jet, and said recently it would cover 35 percent of the estimated $6 billion development costs.

[buglerbilly]

Indian Team Visits Moscow for Su T-50 Flight Demo

By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI

Published: 16 Aug 2011 12:43

NEW DELHI - A delegation of Indian military officers and technicians was in Moscow to witness the first public flight Aug. 16 of the Sukhoi T-50, the base platform of the Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) that India and Russia have contracted to develop jointly.


A new Russian twin-engine jet fighter T-50 lands at Zhukovsky airfield as it takes part in MAKS-2011, the International Aviation and Space Show, in Zhukovsky, Russia, on Aug. 14. (Dmitry Kostyukov / AFP)

The aircraft, which made its maiden flight at a Far East airbase in Russia in January 2010, was rolled out for its first public viewing at the MAKS international air show outside Moscow, where two of the sleek silver prototypes are due to perform air stunts Aug. 16 under the watchful eye of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and Russia's Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi Design Bureau are working together to develop and produce the plane.

The two countries have proposed building about 500 FGFAs to meet the needs of both the Indian and Russian air forces. India's FGFA order is expected to cost the country more than $25 billion over the next two decades.

The exact details of the pact between India and Russia on technical collaboration are still not known, Indian Air Force sources said.

But a Defence Ministry official here said that HAL and Rosoboronexport on Dec. 21 signed a preliminary contract for design and development of the aircraft by HAL and the Sukhoi Design Bureau at a cost of $295 million. The preliminary development phase will last 18 months. Full-scale design and development work will be taken up under a separate contract, which will be negotiated and signed toward the end of the preliminary phase, the ministry official said.

The induction of the FGFA into the Indian fleet is to begin in 2018 as the first prototype has already undergone several tests, the official added.

The FGFA will be a stealthy, lethal swing-role fighter with advanced avionics, 360-degree situational awareness, smart weapons, data links and high-end mission computers, the Indian Air Force has said.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report from Moscow.

[buglerbilly]

What does Russia’s fighter debut mean for the U.S.?

By Philip Ewing Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 3:27 pm



Former Secretary Gates used to get exasperated when defense advocates on the Hill or elsewhere pointed out that Russia and China were developing fifth-generation fighters. Yeah, Gates said, they have two or three of prototypes of questionable capability, but the United States has a fully realized, industrially built production superfighter it’s fielding in large numbers — and another in the works that will be built in the thousands. Blurry videos, shadowy images and rumors were not reasons, for Gates, to change DoD’s high-end jet plans when it had other, bigger priorities.

Fast forward to this week, when Russia’s famous T-50 is making its “debut” (even though it has already flown publicly) at the MAKS air show. Although America’s numerical and qualitative advantage in fifth-generation gets may still exist — in fact, even at this early stage in the program, there are more F-35s than there are T-50s and J-20s combined — the T-50’s coming out takes place at a symbolically inopportune time for the United States. While it’s burning up the skies over Moscow, America’s F-35s and F-22s are grounded, albeit for different reasons, and even if it wanted to, the U.S. military couldn’t respond to Russia’s demonstration with one of its own.

Russia’s latest fighters are at least the equal of America’s, its top commanders boasted this week, and the business wires characterized the T-50 demonstration as “lifting the curtain on a secret project designed to flood the market with cheaper versions of veteran U.S. jets.” India, the fighter’s main development partner, could buy as many as 200 of them, and Russia could buy 150. Soon, all the squadrons upon squadrons of T-50s in service around the world will blot out the sun and usher in a new era of Russian-built air dominance, right?

Well, maybe. Say what you want about the Russians — and there’s no doubt they’ve built some excellent military hardware over the years — but there are some reasons to be skeptical about the prospects for this airplane. The biggest defense firms in the world, spending the biggest defense budget in the world, are having trouble with mature designs and technology in the F-22 and F-35. Are Russia and India willing to spend at the same levels to perfect, build and field these kinds of quantities of T-50s? And beyond India, who are the export clients that will enable Russia to “flood the market” with cheap new stealth jets?

It sounds like a lot of old-fashioned Russian hokum — like the new fleet of aircraft carriers that’s always only a few years away; or the ‘arms race’ that’s going to start over a U.S.-Euro missile defense shield; or the political strategies behind its weapons designs. It brought to mind one of my favorite quotes: As naval expert Norman Friedman wrote in his classic “Modern Warship: Design and Development,” back in the bad old days, the Soviet navy wanted its warships to clearly bristle with guns and missile tubes. The idea was to make their American counterparts seem like welterweights by comparison:

Admiral Sergei Gorshkov has undoubtedly done a superb job of convincing his superiors about the virtues of a navy, and they have responded by buying him a series of what are certainly very expensive warships. It may well be that an important element in their own acceptance of this cost has been the impressive and aggressive appearance of the larger Soviet warships, which Gorshkov can describe as bargains (per unit of apparent firepower) in comparison to the ‘yachts‘ of the West.

How capable were they? How would they fare if the big balloon went up? Valid questions, but observers always also had to contend with the fact that the Soviets’ warships just looked fearsome, which is exactly what their designers wanted.

So — the T-50 may be the baddest thing in the sky since Zeus tossed his first thunderbolt, but no matter what kind of air show demonstration it puts on, and what kind of sales pitch it gets, it’s probably worth reserving final judgment for now. Same goes for the American fighters, too.

Read more: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/08/16/what-does-russias-fighter-debut-mean-for-the-u-s/#ixzz1VFTIZzRf
DoDBuzz.com

[buglerbilly]

DATE:17/08/11

SOURCE:Flight International

MAKS: Pogosyan says market for 600 PAK-FA fighters

By Murdo Morrison

United Aircraft president Mikhail Pogosyan believes there is a market for 600 of the Sukhoi PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter, which finally made its public appearance at MAKS and is due to enter service with the Russian air force in 2015 or 2016.

The prototype, one of two undergoing flight tests, is Russia's answer to the Lockheed Martin F-22 stealth fighter. The first test flight was in January 2010, and United Aircraft sid a total of 16 flights have been made. Two more aircraft will join the flight test programme this year and a further two in 2012.

Moscow has a requirement for around 200 of the single-seat aircraft, while India plans to buy around 200 aircraft, which are likely to be slightly larger and be twin-seaters. Its engineers and scientists are working on this programme jointly with the Russians, and contributing towards its development costs. Pogosyan believes another 200 export sales could be added as foreign air forces look to replace or add to legacy Soviet types. "There is a huge pool of MiG and Sukhoi customers that know our aircraft. We have very close relations with these customers," he said in an interview with Flightglobal at MAKS.


© Sukhoi

The PAK-FA, which is known internally as the T-50, reportedly makes heavy use of composites. It has two Saturn "Item 117" engines and an indigenously designed active electronically scanned array radar.

The delta-wing fighter has a small radar cross-section in radar, optical and infrared range, said Sukhoi, and large deeply-set intakes. It also has small, canted horizontal and vertical tail surfaces to boost stealth, the company added.

Sukhoi also plans to export the aircraft, which has been included in the initial list of types South Korea is considering for its F-X III tender. It could compete against the Boeing F-15K, Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35 if it is shortlisted.

[buglerbilly]

Russia sees orders for fifth generation jet from 2015

Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:09am EDT

* PM Putin to watch 5th-generation flight on Wednesday

* UAC forecasts sales of 800-1,000 Superjets

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia expects initial orders for its fifth-generation T-50 fighter jet to be booked from 2015, United Aircraft Corporation's chief said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is due to watch the first public display of the stealth fighter at the MAKS airshow, where Russia is showcasing its top-of-the-line fighter jets and hoping to win civil aircraft contracts.

Russia is developing the T-50 with India, its biggest export market, and has earmarked the craft to compete with the established F-22 made by Lockheed Martin and Boeing and Lockheed Martin's upcoming F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

"Right now the main interest comes from the Russian and Indian Ministries of Defence as the countries hosting the programme," said Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) President Mikhail Pogosyan.

"I think after 2015 we will start to see orders," he said.

Russia's defence industry is working to break out of a long period of stagnation it entered when funding for new weapons systems was cut at the demise of the Soviet Union.

Five stealth aircraft are expected to be tested this year, state news agency RIA reported Pogosyan as saying.

UAC, which groups civil and military aircraft companies, said it expected to sell 100 Superjets and MS-21 civilian aircraft at the air show. The Sukhoi Superjet is Russia's new mid-size jet, designed to compete internationally with Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier (BBDb.TO).

"Our corporate forecast is for sales of 800-1,000 aircraft. We see 40 percent of this market coming from inside Russia, but we see the Superjet as a fully marketable airplane which will go to the European market as well as the to Asian market," Pogosyan said.

There have been 170 orders to date.

The MS-21 is intended to replace Russia's aging TU-154 aircraft and will be ready for sale by 2017. It will compete directly with industry giants Boeing and Airbus and seat between 130 and 170 passengers.

Pogosyan said the project was running on schedule. (Reporting by John Bowker, Thomas Grove and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Will Waterman)

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

T-50: The Fifth-Generation Fighter's Sensors

Posted by Robert Wall at 8/17/2011 8:00 AM CDT

With the T-50 fifth-generation fighter making its MAKS air show debut, the Russian industry also has provided additional insight into elements that will make up the aircraft.

Some components have been been shown before, but the collection of the subsystems on display is unusual.

First is a mock-up of the active, electronically scanned array radar:



The fighter also is due to feature embedded L-band antennas:



Also on show were models of the T-50's two IRST sensors—here the frontal IRST (or KS-B), with coating aimed at reducing its radar return:



Second is the rear-looking sensor, the KS-O:



And lastly, sensors mounted in the aircraft structure:



Industry officials say the Article 101KS targeting pod also is T-50-bound, although the device is hardly stealthy and the fighter may yet feature a different approach.

[tiddles]

Russia unveils new stealth fighter


Russia has demonstrated its first stealth fighter, designed as a cheaper alternative to the US F-22 Raptor.

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin watched the first public flight of the fifth-generation T-50 fighter at the MAKS air show outside Moscow.

The Sukhoi T-50, jointly developed with India, flew publicly for the first time at an air show near Moscow.

The T-50 aims to match the latest US design, and Russia plans to make up to 1,000 of the jets over coming decades.

India expected to buy up to 200 of the aircraft. However, full production is not due before 2015.

Mr Putin took the opportunity to promise more support for Russia's aviation industry after overseeing more than $1 billion worth of deals at the show.

"The state has supported and will support Russia's aerospace industry. It is a strategic priority for us," he told officials and industry executives in a speech, stressing that the government invested $9 billion in the industry in 2009-11.

The Russian government aims to diversify Russia's economy away from energy, which represents about half of budget revenues, and is keen to develop technology-heavy sectors such as aerospace and auto industry.

Mr Putin is also keen to show the success of his government in replicating Soviet-era achievements in technology and defence ahead of a presidential election in March 2012 in which he says he may take part.

Russia has consolidated almost all aviation production and research assets, split and partly privatised in the 1990s, into a state-controlled United Aircraft Corporation despite resistance and criticism from some industry members.

"The consolidation of the aviation industry has been completed. This work has been long and difficult. Now all the enterprises that were integrated have clear vision of their future development," Mr Putin said.

BBC/AFP

[buglerbilly]

Russian stealth fighter aborts takeoff at air show

By MIKHAIL METZEL, Associated Press – 13 hours ago


FILE - In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011, a Russian twin-engine jet fighter T-50 flies over Zhukovsky airfield as it takes part in the MAKS-2011 International Aviation and Space Show, outside Moscow, Russia. Russia's first stealth fighter jet has had to abort takeoff at Moscow's International Aviation and Space Show.The T-50 did not leave the runway and was slowed by a brake parachute. The reason for Sunday's aborted takeoff was not immediately clear. Russian news agencies quoted air show officials as saying only that the reason was "technical." (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia (AP) — Russia's first stealth fighter jet had to abort a takeoff at Moscow's International Aviation and Space Show on Sunday because of what officials said was a malfunction in the right engine.

The T-50 did not leave the runway and was slowed by a brake parachute.

The twin-engined jet was traveling at 60 miles per hour (100 kph) when the pilot decided to abort takeoff because of a right engine malfunction, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing a representative of United Aircraft Building Corp., a state-controlled holding that incorporates top Russian aircraft-makers,

The T-50, which made its maiden flight in January 2010, had been kept out of the public eye before its debut at the air show on Wednesday during a visit by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The fighter is intended to match the U.S. F-22 Raptor, which entered service in 2005.

The T-50 still lacks new engines and state-of-the art equipment, and its serial production is only expected to begin in 2015 at the most optimistic forecast. Two T-50s are currently undergoing tests, and another pair is expected to join them later this year.

Russia has signed deals with India to cooperate on the aircraft's development, and hopes that the Indian air force will become a major customer for the plane.

The six-day air show at the Zhukovsky air base outside of Moscow wrapped up on Sunday.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:24/08/11

SOURCE:Flight International

NPO Saturn reveals cause of PAK-FA engine flame-out

By Vladimir Karnozov

A malfunction in the automatic flight control system was the cause of the Sukhoi PAK-FA's starboard engine flame-out at the MAKS Moscow air show, according to Russian engine maker NPO Saturn.

Speaking to the Russian media two days after the incident, NPO Saturn general director Ilya Fedorov acknowledged that the starboard engine "suffered [a] surge".

A bright flame was seen to erupt from the powerplant when the fighter was halfway through its take-off run at Ramenskoye airfield on 21 August. According to Fedorov, this was due to a malfunctioning sensor which began feeding "erroneous data" to the airplane's control system.


© Ivan Stepanov

He thanked Sukhoi test pilot Sergei Bogdan for his prompt reaction to the engine malfunction. "It was a test for the new machine. During flight trials on any brand new aircraft - and this airplane is undergoing flight trials - malfunctions such as this one are not only possible, but even mandatory."

Fedorov said: "The motor did not fail - in fact, it was put by erroneous control input into a wrong mode that caused the surge. This is not an engine failure, but the wrong data input caused by a malfunctioning sensor feeding data to the flight control system.

"After what had happened the motor was checked [and] the malfunctioning sensor was replaced by a good one. Today, there is no issue with this engine."

[buglerbilly]

Russia Sees 1,000 T-50 Sales

Sep 9, 2011

By Robert Wall



Very,very wishful thinking with some of the countries mentioned............

LONDON — Russia is projecting it may sell as many as 1,000 T-50 fighter aircraft in the coming decades.

In addition to sales to the two countries already signed on to the program, Russia and India, the Tsamto analysis center associated with the Russian defense ministry sees at least 274-388 aircraft being sold to more than ten other countries.

Algeria, Kazakhstan and Syria are seen as potentially among the first export buyers of the fifth-generation Sukhoi fighter currently in flight testing. Sales to those three countries could come as early as 2025. Two aircraft are now participating in the flight test program.

In Latin America, Tsamto sees prospects for sales to Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina. Venezuela is seen as the first potential buyer, in the 2027-2032 timeframe; China also has been courting fighter sales to Venezuela, though.

Iran is seen as a prospect, assuming the arms embargo now over the country is dropped.

Regarding China, Tsamto also believes a deal could happen, but with some unspecified caveats. One concern is likely the ability to protect Russia’s intellectual property, given the country’s experience with selling Sukhoi Su-27s to China only to see them lead to home-grown copies.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are seen as other potential export markets in Asia for the T-50.

Tsamto speculates even western European countries could become buyers of a version of the aircraft.

Photo: Sukhoi

[buglerbilly]

Indian Air Force to seek engine upgrade for fighter aircraft

Air chief marshal N.A.K. Browne said he was satisfied with the progress of the fighter jet project, but will seek an upgrade of the engine

Tarun Shukla

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force will seek a more powerful engine for the Sukhoi T-50​ fifth-generation stealth fighter jet that is being jointly developed by Russia and India for delivery in 2018, a top government official said.

The air force is aiming to induct 250 Sukhoi T-50s with stealth technology, 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft and 120 indigenously built light combat aircraft, known as the Tejas, in addition to upgrading RAC MiG-29, Dassault Mirage 2000H/TH and Jaguar fighter jets.

India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd​, Russia’s Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi Co. had signed an agreement in 2010 to jointly design and develop the fifth-generation fighter jet.

India hopes to induct the jets from 2017-2018 to bolster its air defences.

Air chief marshal N.A.K. Browne said he was satisfied with the progress of the fighter jet project, but will seek an upgrade of the engine.

“It has flown a number of sorties,” Browne said on the sidelines of an aerospace conference in New Delhi. “A lot of changes are going to take place by the time we get the first aircraft. The engine is going to be different. It’s going to be a more powerful engine than the one fitted right now. We have selected the engine.”

The air force chief did not provide details of the upgraded engine or its capabilities.

“Perhaps what he is referring to is the 117S engine, which is an advanced version of the AL-31F engine,” said Deba R. Mohanty, senior fellow in security studies at Observer Research Foundation.

India may learn very little about design from the stealth jet projects as most of the work has already been completed, Mohanty said.

“When we are talking about joint development, three areas are important—upgraded avionics, composite material related to stealth technology and the engine, which could have helped our own Kaveri engine programme,” he said. “I don’t think India is going to get much in design knowledge, maybe more in the production stage. I wish India could have joined earlier.”

Timelines for the delivery of the fifth-generation aircraft to the air force will become clear once the programme moves from prototype to production, Browne said.

“By 2017-2018, we expect the first aircraft to come to us,” he said. “The aircraft is still under prototype testing. So, once the prototype is over and it gets into the production phase, then we will be sure of the timelines.”

Meanwhile, the bids for the multi-billion-dollar medium multi-role combat aircraft order, which has Eurofighter and Rafale as the two contenders, are expected to be opened by October.

The Eurofighter is built by a consortium of four countries—the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany—whereas Rafale is developed by France’s Dassault Aviation.

“On 7th of October, we have a meeting where some of the issues are going to be discussed,” Browne said. “Once the issues are cleared by the middle of the month we should be in position to open the bids.”

India will need both the medium multi-role fighter jets as well as the stealth fighters, Browne said.

“The medium multi-role combat aircraft does not have stealth features, it does not have super cruise capabilities, whereas the fifth-generation fighter aircraft has all that,” Browne said.

“It has (an) armament base, where all the missiles and weapons are inside the aircraft which gives a certain amount of stealth potential. Medium multi-role aircraft has its own set of capabilities. So they are a generation apart,” Browne added.

Typically, an air force of India’s size should have 30% fifth-generation jets which make up the frontline aircraft and 40% of medium-range aircraft, Mohanty said.

tarun.s@livemint.com

[buglerbilly]

VIDEO: Russian TV special on PAK-FA engine

By Stephen Trimble on October 27, 2011 12:42 PM

The Saturn NPO 117 engine "enables the execution of a wide range of maneuvers which match the performance of the Raptor and in some parameters exceed it", says Russian guy.

It's your move, Pratt & Whitney.

Yeah! You can always trust what a Russian company tells you about their new WUNDERKIND Project and Engine............:jerkit



Uploaded by Husar101 on Oct 16, 2011

A TV crew given access for the first time at the trials of the newest Russian fighter engine for the 5th generation PAK FA , until quite recently - a top-secret development.

The 117 (AL-41F1) is a new 5th generation engine custom built for Russia's fifth-generation stealth fighter jet PAK-FA.

Though most parameters of the new 5th Gen Engine remains classified General Director Mikhail Pogosyan provided some information on the new engine, The engine thrust was enlarged by 2.5 tonnes when compared with the AL-31 engine, while the engine weight was cut by 150 kilograms. That allowed the new jet to supercruise i.e. move at a supersonic cruise speed without the use of after burner.

The Saturn Research and Production center made digitally controlled system (FADEC) of Project 117 Engine.The new engine produces 33,000 lbs (147 kN) of thrust in afterburner has a Dry weight of 1420 kilogram and T:W ratio of 10.5:1

Mikhail Pogosyan further mentioned that this engine (117) meets the client's (Russian AirForce) requirements. This is not an intermediate product made particularly for test flights. The engine will be installed in production PAK-FA fighter which will be supplied to the Russian Air Force and prospective foreign clients.

Original Source of video (Vesti.ru)
http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=601116&cid=7

[buglerbilly]

Third Sukhoi T -50 stealth fighter ‘to fly soon’


Sukhoi T -50 stealth fighter
© RIA Novosti. Alexei Druzhinin

15:57 27/10/2011

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) -

Russia’s third prototype Sukhoi T-50 fifth generation fighter will be ready to take to the skies in the near future, a military industry source said on Thursday.


The T-50 fifth-generation fighter

“It will fly when the designers are absolutely confident in their product,” the source said.

The assembly of the fourth fighter is “in the final stages of completion,” he added.

The T-50 made its maiden flight in January and two prototypes have since been undergoing flight tests.

The T-50, developed under the program PAK FA (Future Aviation System for Tactical Air Force) at the Sukhoi OKB, is Russia's first new major warplane designed since the fall of the Soviet Union.

It is expected to enter service in 2016.

[buglerbilly]

Advanced Tactical Frontline Fighter (PAK FA) Aircraft Have Performed 100 Flights

(Source: Sukhoi JSC; dated Nov. 3, 2011)


The two prototypes of Russia’s next-gen PAK FA fighter, designed by Sukhoi, have logged 100 test sorties since the type’s maiden flight in January 2010. (Sukhoi photo)

MOSCOW --- Today, the Advanced Tactical Frontline Fighter (PAK FA) flight testing program has reached an important milestone – completion of 100 flights. At present, two fighters are involved in the flight test trials.

PAK FA performed its maiden flight on January 29, 2010, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. In the beginning of March, 2011, the second fighter took into the skies. Today, both aircraft participate in ground and flight test trials. The aircraft was presented to the public for the first time on August 17, 2011 at MAKS-2011, International Aviation and Space Salon, in Zhukovsky.

The PAK FA program includes creation of the fighter, setting up its serial production and introduction into service by the Russian Air Force. This will enable to enhance the combat capabilities of the Russian Air Force. This program is of top priority for Sukhoi and UAC, as it provides for development and introduction of materials, element base and technologies of high innovative potential for the aviation industry and the economy of the country, as well as for development of new generation projects.

Compared with the previous-generation fighters, PAK FA has a number of unique features combining functions of fighter and strike-fighter aircraft. The fifth-generation jet is equipped with new avionics with integrated function of "electronic pilot" and next-generation radar with phased antenna array. This equipment reduces the pilot's workload and helps him concentrate on tactical objectives.

Onboard equipment of the new jet allows real-time data exchange with ground control systems and other aircraft. The use of composites and innovative technologies, jet's airframe configuration and measures on reducing the engine's visibility provide very low level of radar, optical and infrared visibility.

This significantly improves combat effectiveness against air and ground targets at any time of the day in both visible and instrument meteorological conditions.

-ends-

[buglerbilly]

Third PAK FA Jet Joined Flight Test Program

(Source: Sukhoi JSC; issued November 22, 2011

MOSCOW --- The third Advanced Tactical Frontline Fighter (PAK FA) performed its first flight today in Komsomolsk-on-Amur KnAAPO. The jet was piloted by honored test-pilot Sergey Bogdan. The jet spent about an hour in the air and landed at KnAAPO runway after successful and complete fulfillment of the flight assignment. Aircraft stability and power plant performance were checked during flight, the pilot noting reliability of all systems and equipment.

PAK FA performed its maiden flight on January 29, 2010, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. In the beginning of March, 2011, the second fighter took into the skies. Today, both aircraft participate in ground and flight test trials. The aircraft was presented to the public for the first time on August 17, 2011 at MAKS-2011, International Aviation and Space Salon, in Zhukovsky. As for today, PAK FA performed more than 100 flights.

PAK FA program includes creation of the fighter, setting up its serial production and introduction into service by the Russian Air Force. PAK FA will allow to increase Russian Air Force combat potential, take aviation industry to new technical level and give momentum to scientific research development along with providing sufficient workload for all the defense industry enterprises occupied with PAK FA design and production.

PAK FA program is a high-priority UAC military aviation program developed by JSC “Sukhoi Company”, UAC subsidiary. It will enhance new materials and technology development and implementation, their high innovative potential allowing new generation jet creation.

Compared to previous generation fighters, PAK FA has a number of unique advantages: it combines strike aircraft and fighter functions. The aircraft is equipped with conceptually new avionics with “Electronic pilot” integrated function and advanced radar with active phase antenna array. It reduces pilot’s workload and allows him to concentrate on performing tactical tasks. On-board equipment allows to carry out data exchange in real-time mode both with ground control system and team members.

Composite materials and innovative technologies application, advanced aerodynamics and measures aimed at engine signature concealment resulted in unequalled low level of radar, optical and infrared signature.

It allowed combat efficiency increase both for aerial and ground targets around-the-clock in all type of weather conditions.

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[buglerbilly]

The third prototype of the Sukhoi-designed T-50 (PAK FA) fighter takes off from Komsomolsk-on-Amur for its first flight. The other two prototypes recently passed 100 flight hours. (Sukhoi photo)

[buglerbilly]

Russia to Field Air-Launched Missiles for T-50 by 2014


Russia will complete development of advanced tactical air-launched missile systems for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter within the next two years

© RIA Novosti. Grigoriy Sysoev11:31 31/01/2012MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti)

Russia will complete development of advanced tactical air-launched missile systems for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter within the next two years, the head of the Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV), Boris Obnosov, told RIA Novosti.

“The development of Kh-35UE (AS-20 Kayak), Kh-38ME, Kh-58UShKE (AS-11 Kilter), and RVV-MD (AA-11 Archer) class missiles will be completed in 2012-2013,” Obnosov said, adding the missiles were currently being tested.

By the time the T-50 fighter enters service with the Russian Air Force in 2014, its missile systems will be fully operational, Obnosov said.

Some of the missiles intended for the fighters – such as Kh-31PD (AS-17 Mod 2) class missiles – have already been tested using Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback) fourth-generation strike aircraft and put into serial production, he added.

According to KTRV, the Kh-35UE tactical anti-ship missile has a maximum range of 260 kilometers; the supersonic Kh-31PD anti-radiation missile for use against air defense systems, can fly up to 250 kilometers; the Kh-58UShKE missile, designed to destroy pulse radars, can hit targets within 245 kilometers, and the short-range RVV-MD air-to-air missile has a maximum range of 40 kilometers.

The T-50, developed under the PAK FA (Future Aviation System for Tactical Air Force) program by the Sukhoi OKB, is Russia's first new major warplane designed since the fall of the Soviet Union. The jet made its maiden flight in January 2011 and two prototypes have since been undergoing flight tests.