Article Posted on : - Feb 21, 2012

Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA during its maiden flight. Sukhoi Corporation press service Photo.

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indo-Russian fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) is superior to the similar Chinese and American rival fighter jets which include the J 20 Black Eagle and the F-22 Raptor, a top Russian military commander has claimed.

India and Russia are jointly developing the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA FGFA for their respective air forces and have plans of producing over 400 of these highly-advanced fighter jets.

Commander of the Russian Air Force Colonel General Alexander Zelin told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that his country’s government has decided to give top priority to the development of the joint venture aircraft.

"While comparing Russia's T-50 PAK FA with the US F-22 Raptor and China's Chengdu J-20 Black Eagle, one concludes that the T-50 is superior to its foreign analogues in terms of its maximum speed in afterburner and standard modes, maximum range and thrust-to-weight ratio," he said.

The Russian Air Force Commander said that despite the comparable dimensions and weight of the Chinese J20 Black Eagle and the F-22 raptor, "the T-50 has much shorter take-off and landing runs. Moreover, its on-board equipment has better specifications than its foreign equivalents."

India signed a preliminary design contract with Russia recently for the aircraft and is planning to induct around 250 of them starting from 2017.

Commenting on the flight tests schedule of the FGFA, Zelin said, "Tests are now taking place as planned in line with specific decisions. Over 100 flights have been performed and all the specifications obtained during the tests confirm T-50 project requirements."

"The tests involve three fixed-wing aircraft, and three more aircraft will arrive in the near future. All in all, the tests will involve 14 aircraft," he added.