On Saturday, August 14, the Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Colonel-General Alexander Zelin, speaking on the Echo of Moscow radio station about the plans to re-equip the Russian air force, mentioned the new fifth-generation fighter T-50.
The Sukhoi company is currently developing the new aircraft. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, the T-50 will not be inferior in its characteristics to similar aircraft of the United States. Zelin noted that at present there are no obstacles in the way of accomplishing this task. “Everything is going according to plan, on time. In 2013, we must receive a preliminary opinion, which will allow us to start purchasing new aircraft. In 2015, the plane will begin to enter the troops,”the commander-in-chief said.
reference
The first flight of the prototype fighter took place on January 29, 2010 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The plane was piloted by Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation Sergei Bogdan. The prototype spent 47 minutes in the air and landed on the runway of the factory airfield.
Compared to fighters of previous generations, the T-50 has a number of unique features. For example, it combines the functions of a strike aircraft and a fighter. The aircraft will be multifunctional: it will be able to hit targets both on the ground and in the air at any time of the day, regardless of weather conditions. A distinctive feature of the T-50 is its super-maneuverability: the fighter is capable of controlled flight at low speeds and high angles of attack.
The T-50 has already managed to get the nickname "Russian stealth": the aircraft is almost invisible in the optical, infrared and radar wave ranges, is capable of taking off and landing using sections of the runway 300-400 m long.
The general said that the Air Force command plans to purchase more than 60 of these aircraft.
The Air Force Commander also announced plans to re-equip frontline and army aviation. The state plan of armaments, according to Zelin, is practically drawn up, will be put into practice.
“In 10 years we will re-equip front-line and army aviation by 100%, military transport aviation by about 70%. We will modernize strategic aviation with the hope that we will build a promising long-range aviation complex,”the commander-in-chief said.
Zelin confirmed that Russia is developing orbital aircraft capable of operating in outer space. According to him, such developments are now being carried out everywhere. “We are also leading. We cannot be in the train. There are developments, there is an understanding of how to do it, there are technical solutions,”the general noted.
The commander-in-chief told the radio listeners about the equipping of four new Mistral-class ships, which Russia plans to purchase from France, two of which are planned to be built in Russia. “Our Ka-52 helicopters will be based on Mistral,” Zelin said.
It also became known that the Air Force command plans by 2012 to create a unified air force research and training center in Voronezh on the basis of a military university.
“By 2012, a unified air force research and training center will be created in Voronezh on the basis of a military university, which will include branches for training pilots and air defense specialists,” Zelin said. At the same time, a single center for retraining flight personnel will be created on the basis of the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense in Lipetsk. Zelin stressed that these unified centers will train pilots for all power structures.
