The second flight prototype of the fifth-generation T-50 aircraft will take off in early 2011 after testing all systems, Alexei Fedorov, President of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), told reporters in New Delhi.
"We have moved the deadline to early 2011. Ground testing of systems is now underway. It is important for us that the second prototype complements the first prototype, and not just repeats it," Fedorov said on the sidelines of the 4th Russian-Indian Forum on Trade and Investment.
In parallel, work is underway to create a third prototype, on which even more modern systems will be tested.
"A third flight prototype is being prepared, which will be even more advanced than the second in terms of saturation with systems and compliance with the assigned tasks," added Fedorov.
As expected, on Tuesday, within the framework of the official visit to India of President Dmitry Medvedev, a contract will be signed for the preliminary design of the Indian version of this aircraft. As the head of the Indian state aircraft manufacturing corporation Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Ashok Nayak, this contract will cost $ 295 million.
The T-50 is a fifth-generation heavy-class fighter with a take-off weight of over 30 tonnes, of medium dimension (roughly corresponding to the Su-27 aircraft), which is a monoplane with widely spaced engines and two keels strongly deflected outward from the longitudinal axis. The glider's exterior is designed using stealth technologies.
The fifth generation aircraft is equipped with a fundamentally new avionics complex that integrates the "electronic pilot" function, and a promising radar station with a phased antenna array. This greatly reduces the workload on the pilot and allows him to concentrate on performing tactical tasks.
The T-50 can take off and land using sections of the runway 300-400 meters long. The plane will reach speeds of up to 2, 1 thousand kilometers per hour and fly over a distance of up to 5, 5 thousand kilometers. The fighter is also equipped with an air refueling complex.
The aircraft has a large internal weapons compartment. It can house up to eight R-77 air combat missiles or two huge guided aerial bombs weighing 1,500 kilograms each. The fighter is capable of carrying two ultra-long-range missiles developed by the Novator bureau on an external sling. With these missiles, the T-50 is capable of destroying aircraft, for example, of the AWACS type, at a range of up to 400 kilometers.
