Article Posted on : - Aug 01, 2011

First prototype of the PAK-FA. A Sukhoi photo

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia's fifth-generation fighter, Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA has been shortlisted in a tender by South Korea for the delivery of advanced fighter jets, a news report said.

In the biggest arms-procurement deal ever for the country, South Korea plans to acquire 60 advanced stealth fighters at an estimated budget of $7.86 billion, Ria Novosti said.

Other foreign aircraft makers competing in the tender are Boeing’s F-15SE Silent Eagle, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II and Eurofighter Typhoon from the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS).

According to the report, the winner of the tender is expected to be announced in 2012 with the actual deliveries starting four years later.

The Sukhoi T-50 fighter being built by the Sukhoi design bureau has so far carried out over 40 tests. The first prototype maiden flight was conducted in January 2010 while two more prototypes are at the various stages of testing, it added.