Article Posted on : - Apr 29, 2013

Russian T-50 Fighter Jet. Photo: Sukhoi company press service.

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the fifth-generation T-50 fighter jet will enter service with the country's armed forces in 2016, and not 2015 as was previously announced.

"The T-50 fifth generation jet should go into serial production and enter service in 2016," a Ria Novosti news report quoted Putin as saying.

The Russian Defence Ministry is planning to finish the state flight tests of eight prototypes by 2015, so that they could go into standard production in 2016.

The T-50 is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft featuring elements of "stealth" technology," super-maneuverability, super-cruise capability and an advanced avionics suite including X-band active phased-array radar, the report said.

The T-50 being developed by Sukhoi Design Bureau under the PAK FA programme (Future Aviation System for Tactical Air Force) will be the mainstay of Russia's future fighter fleet.

India is partnering with Russia in developing the warplanes for its air force.