Russia/India unveils Sukhoi top secret new fighter - PAK FA

Russia on Friday unveiled a new fighter aircraft touted as a rival of the US F-22 stealth jet and developed amid the highest secrecy as part of a plan to modernize the armed forces.

The fifth generation fighter, manufactured by the Sukhoi company and known as the PAK FA, made a maiden flight of just over 45 minutes at the firm's home base of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Far East region.

"The flight lasted 47 minutes during which all the aircraft's systems were tested. It was successful," Sukhoi spokeswoman Olga Kayukova. "This is the first time it has been unveiled."

Pictures broadcast on state television showed the fighter jet -- which has been kept closely under wraps for years -- flying at altitude and then landing on a snow-surrounded runway.

"The aircraft performed well in all stages of the flight programme. It is easy and comfortable to pilot," said Sergei Bogdan, the pilot for the flight, in comments published on the Sukhoi website.

The new jet has the capability of carrying out long flights above the speed of sound as well as simultaneously attacking different targets.

Russia is currently embarking on a major programme to re-equip its military, not least the air force which is still using largely Soviet-era equipment and suffers from frequent crashes.

The new fighter, which has been in development since the 1990s, is due to enter the armed forces in 2015, Russian news agencies said.

The first flight of the PAK FA (Prospective Aviation System of Frontline Aviation) is being seen in Russia as a major boost for the military after the project was hit by repeated delays over the last years.

“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.

"There is no doubt that the plane is needed," the ex-commander of the Russian air force, Anatoly Kornukov, told the Interfax news agency.

"Our Su-27 and MiG-29 planes are good but have aged. They are 20 or more years old and it's time to have something as a replacement," he said.

He said the new plane could easily stand comparison with the US F-22, also a fifth generation stealth fighter.

"It's going to be no worse than an F-22. I've been in an F-22 and I know."

Russia's campaign to modernize its military has been marred by repeated setbacks with new equipment, above all a string of failed tests of its new Bulava sea-based intercontinental nuclear-capable missile.










Russia is currently embarking on a
major programme to re-equip its military

India awards Russia billion dollar MiG-29 upgradeIndia awards Russia billion dollar MiG-29 upgrade

India awards Russia billion dollar
MiG-29 upgrade
by Staff Writers
New Delhi (AFP)

India has awarded Russia a 965-million-dollar contract to upgrade its multi-role MiG-29 warplanes, officials said on Monday.

The two post-Cold War allies Saturday signed the deal to extend the life of India's fleet of 70 MiG-29 jets another 15 years from their current 25 years, an air force official said.

"The project entails two to three years and only six of them would be re-fitted in Russia while the work on the remaining squadrons would be carried out by them at Indian bases," he said asking not to be named.

The pre-condition was a "precaution" against delays in the modernisation of the MiG-29s which are among the main combat planes in India's inventory.

"We learnt our lessons with the MiG-21 project," he added, alluding to years of delay in the promised upgrade by Russia of the jets, now labelled "flying coffins" and "widow-makers" because of frequent crashes due to engine failure.

Under the contract Russia will re-arm the twin-engined MiG-29s with air-to-air missiles, modern bombs, increased fuel capacity and the latest avionics, the contract said.

The MiG-29 deal came after India last month resolved a protracted dispute with Russia on the sale of the Soviet-era carrier Admiral Gorshkov to the Indian navy.

Russian export firm Rosoboronexport in 2004 signed up to refurbish the 44,570-tonne carrier for 970 million dollars but last year demanded India pay an additional 1.2 billion dollars.

The two sides buried the hatchet after India agreed to pay 900 million dollars more for the 30-year-old carrier which will now join the Indian navy in 2011.

Gorshkov is to fill a vacuum left by the scrapping in 1997 of India's first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which had been in service since 1961.

The Indian navy has only one operational aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat, which is to be phased out in coming years.

Russia accounts for 70 percent of Indian arms supplies but late deliveries and commercial disagreements have led New Delhi to use other suppliers such as Israel, Britain, France and the United States.

Russia is in a race with Western rivals for a 12-billion-dollar deal to sell 126 fighter jets, artillery worth two billion dollars and 317 helicopters worth a billion dollars to India.

US and European military aircraft manufacturers have emerged as the forerunners to win the fighter deal which will enable India to junk the crash-prone MiG-21.