Article Posted on : - Jul 21, 2010

A file photo of the fifth-gen fighter during flight test.

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia will unveil its eagerly-awaited fifth generation fighter aircraft before the general public at the international MAKS air show in Moscow next year.

“The fifth generation fighter jet will be for the first time presented to the general public at the MAKS-2011 air show,” Mikhail Pogosyan, head of Sukhoi Corporation, which designed the plane, said on Tuesday.

“At the MAKS air show next year, the public will be able to see how the fifth generation fighter jet flies,” the official was quoted as stating by Itar-Tass.

Russia has been conducting flight trials of the new-generation supersonic combat aircraft since January this year.

The aircraft has been designed to compete with the US’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightening-II fifth-generation fighters.

The supersonic fighter has a range of 5,500 km and its take-off weight exceeds 30 tons. It has widely spread engines plus two fins and its exteriors have been designed by using stealth technology.

The aircraft is equipped with latest avionics, implementing functions of electronic ‘autopilot’, and state-of-the-art radar with a phase-locked antenna array. It also has an in-flight fuelling capability.

The new fighter is expected to enter service with the Russian Air Force in 2015. India, which is a partner in the project, intends to acquire 50 such fighters for its air force.