The Sukhoi PAK FA is a twin-engine jet fighter being developed by Sukhoi for the Russian Air Force. The Sukhoi T-50 is the prototype for PAK FA.
The first flight of the PAK FA was performed on 29th of January, 2010. The serial production is expected to start in 2015.
The plane was designed to replace Su-27 for the Russian Air Forces. They are also developing an export modification together with India, it is called FGFA – Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft.
The plane is expected to be 2,5-3 times cheaper than its foreign analogues.
India plans to buy PAK FA for 100 million dollars per one.
On its first flights, the PAK FA was expected to use a pair of conventional Saturn 117S engines, but it was a new engine 117 (AL-41F1) that powered its first flight. It’s a turbofan engine with an afterburner and thrust vector control.
The engine enables to develop supersonic speed without use of an afterburner, it also has a fully digital control system and a plasma ignition system.
The PAK FA has a reported maximum weapons load of 7,500 kg (16534 lb). It has an apparent provision for a cannon (most likely GSh-301), and could possibly carry two 30 mm cannons.
The integrated multi-function radar system of the PAK FA will contain 5 internal antennas.
The PAK FA will be equipped with 1526 transceiver modules which will provide a greater detection range, multichannel tracking of targets and an ability to use guided missile weapons for their destruction.
An extra radar station will allow to increase noise immunity and combat survivability, and neautralize technologies of reducing aircrafts visibility used by an opponent.
The visibility of T-50 is also reduced by its shape, materials absorbing and reflecting radio waves and materials which are used for the air frame coating.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 19.8 m (65.9 ft)
Wingspan: 14 m (46.6 ft)
Height: 6.05 m (19.8 ft)
Wing area: 78.8 m2 (848.1 ft2)
Empty weight: 18,500 kg (40,785 lb)
Loaded weight: 26,000 kg (57,320 lb)
Useful load: 7,500 kg (combat load) (16,534 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 37,000 kg (81,570 lb)
Fuel capability: 10,300 kg (22,711 lb)[100]
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 2+, 2,100-2,600 km/h (1,300-1,560 mph) ; at 17,000 m (45,000 ft) altitude
Cruise speed: 1,300-1,800 km/h[102] (808-1,118 mph)
Ferry range: 5,500 km[64] (3,417 mi)
Service ceiling: 20,000 m (65,600 ft)
Rate of climb: 350 m/s (68,900 ft/min)
Wing loading: 330-470 kg/m2 (67-96 lb/ft2)
Isn’t it nice?
Superb as always. I like the color scheme.
Raptors beware 😉
So far the only thing proven to be able to kill the Raptor is the combined forces of the President of the United States, The U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Defense.
So far the only thing proven to be able to kill the Raptor is the combined forces of the President of the United States, The U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Defense. RIP Raptor
True that
Beautiful plane, but… a little expensive too (specialy now, in economic crisis time).
For 100 milion dolars, you can buy a lot of UAV’s.
😉
Yeah, but then you can shoot down a lot of UAVs. Get 10 and you break even.
You see that there is a difference between a fifth generation fighter and drone with a lawnmover engine 🙂
It isn’t the ’80s anymore. RQ-4 Global Hawk: 7,500 pound thrust, 14,500 lbs fuel, 44′ long, 116′ foot wingspan, 15′ tall, gross takeoff weight 25,600 lbs, max ceiling 65,000 ft, range 11,000 nautical miles/31+ hours.
Drones are getting pretty bad ass. And they are definitely going to be a big part of future air warfare. If i were a fighter pilot i would be dreading the day i’m going to start getting swarmed be air superiority drones. 😀
air superiority drones…sound like a wet pentagon dream 🙂
What’s your point? Many a wet pentagon dream from the past are today’s US Military hardware. 😉
The only thing separating today’s wet dreams from military reality is a few billion dollars in the hands of the right people, and the determination to see it through! It’s coming.
BTW the U.S. Air Force Academy has reached a tipping point where they are now graduating more drone pilots then conventional pilots. Hmmm…maybe they know something you don’t.
RQ-4 Global Hawk is said to cost 104 million dollars per plane. But yes I agree with you that drones are the future. Skynet’s coming.
I agree future is UAV. I suspect this plane was designed back in the 1990 and put on hold until Putin opened the wallet. its just a penis-enlargement device.
Something like Skynet could be close to reality….
I agree, this is the future 😉
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scar_%28Battlestar_Galactica%29
photos never do them justice in terms of size. when I saw a Mig in a Brussel museum I was amazed by the size. about 5 volvo estates bolted together excluding the wings. these things are huge.
you can play a pretty good game of basketball between the vertical stabilizers on a SU-27
With the proliferation of shoulder-fired heat seeking missiles, those two shiny engine covers just look like “BOOM” magnets.
I also note the lack of “stealth” claims.
Bargain? Ummmmm.
So you say, you can calculate radar cross-section by looking at photo? 🙂
Besides, MANPADS range is merely a couple of miles, no plane can hide its hot exhaust at this range. Even prop-driven aircrafts can’t.
Not much 3d generaion fighters were shot down with Stinger (and similar) missiles
*generation
And this one is 5th gen
Pretty cool, and again one of those really cool cammo paintjobs. love them.
nice thing it is
The colour scheme is indeed very nice. Someone had taste at the plant. Too often some fat dude at directors chair decides that planes should bear more Slavic orthodox lettering and Russian flag colour scheme.
I would love to see the plane painted completely black.
The aircraft you see there isn’t a PAK-FA, it’s a flight demonstrator, like the X-22 or X-35. It clearly doesn’t have many stealth features installed and reportedly doesn’t even have targeting avionics yet.
The X-35 first flew more than a decade ago, and the jet still isn’t ready, so that gives you some indication of the timeline involved.
If they were to weaponize that plane today, it’d basically be a Flanker with internal weapons bays. It might be able to best a Viper or Strike Eagle (although possibly not given that they’ll have better missiles) but it’d be no Raptor killer.
The Russians say that it’ll eventually have radar absorbing coatings, radar protection of the air intakes, fifth generation avionics, lower IR signature on the exhaust, better weapons, etc. etc. We’ll see. It’s already two decades behind the Raptor.
Lol. The Pak fa and Lmfs, were developed two decades after the captor. They use newer technology. It’s the craptor that is now dtwo decades behind. And condsidering that each one costs what half a billion dollars, and require 30+ maintenance hours for every flight hour, it doesn’t have to be a craptor killer. As america puts it, the us government does a much better job of it.
The F22 Raptor major threats are the Russian S300 and S400 missile systems. The F-35 is the only western plane that can “beat” the S300-S400 system. And the Chengdu-J-20 is still just a phantom. LOL
heyï¼canadian～
why our j20 is still just a phantom？please tell me…o>_<~
can you speak german or russian？
o>_<~
What the hell is plasma injection??
What the hell is plasma injection?
You mean ‘plasma ignition’?
Bet an F-15, in AIR TO AIR combat could wax it.
Don’t forget where you got your Jet technology from.
That would be the Mig-1.42/44.
This plane was construct at my native town))) im realy imprest that thay just build it so late. This plane blueprints have 12 years old history