Sukhoi T-50 Prototype Flies For The First Time In 40 Minute Sortie

Russian aircraft-maker Sukhoi has announced today that its fourth prototype Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter jet took to the skies for the first time in a 40 minute flight. "The fourth prototype PAK-FA made its first flight today from the Gagarin factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur," Sukhoi said. "The flight tested the aircraft's overall integrity and its main engines. The aircraft is making a good impression in all phases of the flying program". The T-50 is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft featuring low-observable technology (stealth), super-maneuverability, supercruise capability (supersonic flight without use of afterburner), and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar. The aircraft will be a key component of Russia's future fighter fleet, the Russian MoD plans to purchase a first batch of 10 evaluation aircraft and then 60 production-standard aircraft after 2015. Air Force's Col. Andrei Bobrun, said the Novosibirsk aircraft factory (NAPO) plans to deliver ten more Sukoi Su-34 strike aircraft to the Russian Air Force in the near future.