Article Posted on : - Jan 13, 2015

A model of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). A Sukhoi photo

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia and India have completed the Preliminary Design for the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), according to a news report.

Andrey Marshankin, regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company, said this in an interview with the Russian News Service radio.

The FGFA is one of the major joint aircraft projects currently under way between Russia and India. The other being the multirole transport aircraft (MTA).

"As of now, we and our Indian colleagues have completed the creation of the export version of the Sukhoi PAK FA, known in India as FGFA. We already have documents and understanding of the scope of the next phase of design, the scale of future production," Sputnik quoted him as saying.

While the Russian version of the fifth generation fighter jet is operated by a single pilot the Indian Air Force aircraft is likely to be operated by two pilots.

The Sukhoi PAK FA (T-50), the Russian Air Force's first stealth fighter, is intended to replace the Sukhoi Su-27 as well as the Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets.

The aircraft conducted its first test flight in 2010 and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2016, the report said.

The FGFA, developed jointly by Russia's Sukhoi and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, is a derivative of the PAK FA.