Sukhoi PAK FA
Encyclopedia
The Sukhoi PAK FA is a twin-engine
jet
fighter
being developed by Sukhoi OKB for the Russian Air Force
. The Sukhoi T-50 is the prototype
for PAK FA. The PAK FA is one of only a handful of stealth jet programs globally.
The PAK FA, when fully developed, is intended to be the successor to the MiG-29
and Su-27
in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA
being developed with India
. A fifth generation jet fighter
, the T-50 performed its first flight 29 January 2010. Its second flight was on 6 February and its third on 12 February 2010. As of 31 August 2010, it had made 17 flights and by mid-November, 40 in total. The second prototype was to start its flight test by the end of 2010, but this was delayed until March 2011.
Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan
has projected a market for 1,000 aircraft over the next four decades, which will be produced in a joint venture with India, 200 each for Russia and India and 600 for other countries. He has also said that the Indian contribution would be in the form of joint work under the current agreement rather than as a joint venture. The Indian Air Force
will "acquire 50 single-seater fighters of the Russian version" before the two seat FGFA is developed. The Russian Defense Ministry will purchase the first 10 aircraft after 2012 and then 60 after 2016. The first batch of fighters will be delivered with current technology engines. Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies
, has projected that Vietnam will be the second export customer for the fighter. The PAK-FA is expected to have a service life of about 30–35 years.
outlined a need for a next-generation aircraft to replace its MiG-29 and Su-27 in frontline
service. Two projects were proposed to meet this need, the Sukhoi Su-47
and the Mikoyan Project 1.44
. In 2002, Sukhoi
was chosen to lead the design for the new combat aircraft.
The Tekhnokompleks Scientific and Production Center, Ramenskoye Instrument Building Design Bureau, the Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design
, the Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant (Yekaterinburg
), the Polet firm (Nizhniy Novgorod) and the Central Scientific Research Radio Engineering Institute (Moscow
) were pronounced winners in the competition held in the beginning of 2003 for the development of the avionics
suite for the fifth-generation airplane. NPO Saturn has been determined the lead executor for work on the engines for this airplane.
The Novosibirsk Chkalov Aviation Production Association (NAPO Chkalov) has begun construction of the fifth-generation multirole fighter. This work is being performed at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur together with Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association
; the enterprise's general director, Fedor Zhdanov reported during a visit to NAPO by Novosibirsk
Oblast's governor Viktor Tolokonskiy on 6 March 2007. "Final assembly will take place at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur, and we will be carrying out assembly of the fore body of this airplane", Zhdanov specified.
On 8 August 2007, Russian Air Force Commander Alexander Zelin
was quoted by Russian news agencies that the development stage of the PAK FA program is now complete and construction of the first aircraft for flight testing will now begin. Alexander Zelin also said that by 2009 there will be three fifth-generation aircraft ready. "All of them are currently undergoing tests and are more or less ready", he said. In the summer of 2009 the design was approved.
On 11 September 2010, it was reported that Indian and Russian negotiators had agreed on a preliminary design contract that would then be subject to Cabinet approval. The joint development deal would have each country invest $6 billion and take 8 to 10 years to develop the FGFA fighter
. The agreement on the pre-design of the fighter was to be signed in December 2010. The preliminary design will cost $295 million and will be complete within 18 months.
On 17 August 2011, it was reported by Russian state-run media that the Sukhoi T-50 aircraft cost Russia and India $6 billion to develop, with India shouldering about 35% of the cost.
On 17 August 2011, Russian Air Force chief says the Sukhoi T-50 will enter service in 2014-2015. "We will receive a T-50 prototype in 2013," Russian Air Force commander-in-chief General Alexander Zelin told reporters. "Mass produced aircraft will not arrive until 2014-2015."
Former deputy defense minister Vitaly Shlykov has cast doubt on the industrial capacity of Russia to produce the aircraft in significant numbers.
announced that the airframe for the aircraft was almost finished and that the first prototype should be ready by August 2009. On 20 August 2009, Sukhoi General Director Mikhail Pogosyan said that the first flight would be by year end. Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies said that "even with delays", the aircraft would likely make its first flight by January or February, adding that it would take 5 to 10 years for commercial production.
The maiden flight had been repeatedly postponed since early 2007 as the T-50 encountered unspecified technical problems. Air Force chief Alexander Zelin admitted as recently as August 2009 that problems with the engine and in technical research remained unsolved.
On 8 December 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov
announced that the first trials with the fifth-generation aircraft would begin in 2010. The testing, however, has commenced earlier than stated, with the first successful taxiing test taking place on 24 December 2009.
The aircraft's maiden flight took place on 29 January 2010 at KnAAPO's Komsomolsk-on-Amur Dzemgi Airport; the aircraft was piloted by Sergey Bogdan (Сергей Богдан) and the flight lasted for 47 minutes.
A second airframe was first planned to join the flight testing in the fourth quarter of 2010 but was postponed. On 3 March 2011, a second prototype was reported to have made a successful 44-minute test flight. These first two aircraft will lack radar and weapon control systems, while the third and fourth aircraft, to be added in 2011, will be fully functional test aircraft. On 14 March 2011, the aircraft achieved supersonic flight at a test range near Komsomolsk-on-Amur
in Siberia.
The T-50 was displayed publicly for the first time at the 2011 MAKS Airshow
. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in attendance.
In June 2011, an unauthorized video was made of the Sukhoi PAK FA in flight displaying a variety of acrobatic moves.
On August 21, 2011 during a take-off run at the MAKS Airshow, a brief flame appeared out of the right-hand engine before liftoff due to a sensor malfunction. The takeoff was aborted, braking parachutes were deployed and the aircraft returned to its park position under its own power.
On 3 November 2011, The PAK FA program achieved its 100th flight.
The T-50-3 prototype is expected to be the first prototype to fly with an AESA radar by the end of 2011.
On November 22, 2011 the third prototype T-50-3 had its first flight from KnAAPO's airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, piloted by Hero of the Russian Federation Sergey Bogdan. The aircraft spent little more than an hour in the air, and it was subjected to basic stability and powerplant checks.
and Yakovlev
design bureaus to choose the new naval aircraft.
and Defense Ministry that it will be stealthy
, have the ability to supercruise
, be outfitted with the next generation of air-to-air
, air-to-surface
, and air-to-ship missile
s, incorporate a fix-mounted AESA radar with a 1,500-element array and have an "artificial intellect
".
According to Sukhoi, the new radar will reduce pilot load and the aircraft will have a new data link to share information between aircraft.
Composites are used extensively on the T-50 and comprise 25% of its weight and almost 70% of the outer surface. It is estimated that titanium
alloy content of the fuselage is 75%. Sukhoi's concern for minimizing radar cross-section (RCS) and drag is also shown by the provision of two tandem main weapons bays in the centre fuselage, between the engine nacelles. Each is estimated to be between 4.9-5.1 m long. The main bays are augmented by bulged, triangular-section bays at the wing root.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that the T-50 has been designed to be more maneuverable than the F-22 Raptor
at the cost of making it less stealthy than the F-22. One of the design elements that have such an effect is the Leading Edge Vortex Controller (LEVCON).
The PAK FA will feature an IRST
optical/IR search and tracking system, based on the OLS-35M which is currently in service with the Su-35S.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
will reportedly provide the navigation system and the mission computer.
The 117 (AL-41F1) is a new 5th generation engine custom built for Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet PAK-FA according to Sukhoi General Director Mikhail Pogosyan. Mikhail Pogosyan has clarified that claims that fifth-generation fighter allegedly has an old engine are wrong. Such claims are made by people with limited knowledge, he said. Though most parameters of the new 5th Gen Engine remains classified General Director Mikhail Pogosyan provided some information on the new engine, The engine thrust was enlarged by 2.5 tonnes when compared with the AL-31 engine, while the engine weight was cut by 150 kilograms. That allowed the new jet to supercruise i.e. move at a supersonic cruise speed without the use of after burner.
The Saturn Research and Production center made digitally controlled system (FADEC) of Project 117 Engine. The new engine produces 33,000 lbs (147 kN) of thrust in afterburner has a Dry weight of 1420 kilogram and T:W ratio of 10.5:1
Mikhail Pogosyan further mentioned that this engine (117) meets the client’s (Russian AirForce) requirements. This is not an intermediate product made particularly for test flights. The engine will be installed in production PAK-FA fighter which will be supplied to the Russian Air Force and prospective foreign clients he said.
The engine generates a larger thrust and has a complex automation system, to facilitate flight modes such as maneuverability. It is expected that each engine will be able to independently vector its thrust upwards, downward or side to side. Vectoring one engine up with the other one down can produce a twisting force. Therefore the PAK FA would be the first fifth generation fighter with full 3-D thrust vectoring along all three aircraft axes: pitch, yaw and roll
. These engines will incorporate infrared and RCS reduction measures.
Two Izdeliye 810 Extended beyond visual range missiles per weapons bay. Multiple Izdeliye 180 / K77M beyond visual range missiles. K74 and K30 within visual range missiles can also be carried. Two KH38M or KH58 USHK air-to-ground missiles per weapons bay. Multiple 250–500 kg precision guided bombs per weapons bay, with a maximum of 10 bombs in internal bays. Other possible loads include one 1,500 kg bomb per weapons bay or two 400 km+ range anti-AWACS weapons on external hardpoints.
are fully movable. This special tail fin design is mechanically similar to V-tail
s used by the Northrop YF-23 in 1990s, but is supplemented by dedicated horizontal stabilator
s (as on the F-22). The T-50 has wing leading-edge devices above the jet engine intakes that have been called a challenge for signature control.
's next-generation fighter (F-X Phase 3) aircraft.
General information:
Technology
News reports and articles:
Flight videos and photos:
Twinjet
A twinjet or twin jet is a jet aircraft powered by two engines. Such configuration of an aircraft is the most popular today for commercial airliners, for fighters, and many other kinds, because while offering safety from a single engine failure, it is also acceptably fuel-efficient.-Aircraft...
jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
being developed by Sukhoi OKB for the Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
. The Sukhoi T-50 is the prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
for PAK FA. The PAK FA is one of only a handful of stealth jet programs globally.
The PAK FA, when fully developed, is intended to be the successor to the MiG-29
Mikoyan MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
and Su-27
Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 is a twin-engine supermanoeuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large United States fourth generation fighters, with range, heavy armament, sophisticated avionics and high manoeuvrability...
in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA
Sukhoi/HAL FGFA
The Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft is a fifth-generation fighter being developed by Russia and India. It is a derivative project from the PAK FA being developed for the Indian Air Force .Two separate prototypes will be developed, one by Russia and a separate one by India...
being developed with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. A fifth generation jet fighter
Fifth generation jet fighter
A fifth-generation jet fighter is a fighter aircraft classification used in the United States encompassing the most advanced generation of fighter aircraft...
, the T-50 performed its first flight 29 January 2010. Its second flight was on 6 February and its third on 12 February 2010. As of 31 August 2010, it had made 17 flights and by mid-November, 40 in total. The second prototype was to start its flight test by the end of 2010, but this was delayed until March 2011.
Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan
Mikhail Pogosyan
Mikhail Aslanovich Pogosyan is the General Director of the JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau. He is a Russian national of Armenian descent.In 1979 he graduated with honors from the aircraft manufacturer faculty of the Moscow Aviation Institute and started his career at the engineering plant named after...
has projected a market for 1,000 aircraft over the next four decades, which will be produced in a joint venture with India, 200 each for Russia and India and 600 for other countries. He has also said that the Indian contribution would be in the form of joint work under the current agreement rather than as a joint venture. The Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
will "acquire 50 single-seater fighters of the Russian version" before the two seat FGFA is developed. The Russian Defense Ministry will purchase the first 10 aircraft after 2012 and then 60 after 2016. The first batch of fighters will be delivered with current technology engines. Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies
Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies
The Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies is an independent, noncommercial, nongovernmental organization, which carries out research and analysis on Russian conventional arms trade and defense trends both nationally and internationally...
, has projected that Vietnam will be the second export customer for the fighter. The PAK-FA is expected to have a service life of about 30–35 years.
Development
In the late 1980s, the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
outlined a need for a next-generation aircraft to replace its MiG-29 and Su-27 in frontline
Front line
A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...
service. Two projects were proposed to meet this need, the Sukhoi Su-47
Sukhoi Su-47
The Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut , also designated S-32 and S-37 during initial development, was an experimental supersonic jet fighter developed by Sukhoi Aviation Corporation...
and the Mikoyan Project 1.44
Mikoyan Project 1.44
The Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42 was a technology demonstrator developed by Mikoyan. It was the Soviet Union's answer to the Advanced Tactical Fighter of the US, incorporating numerous fifth-generation fighter aspects such as advanced avionics, stealth, supermaneuoverability and supercruise...
. In 2002, Sukhoi
Sukhoi
Sukhoi Company is a major Russian aircraft manufacturer, headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, famous for its fighters...
was chosen to lead the design for the new combat aircraft.
The Tekhnokompleks Scientific and Production Center, Ramenskoye Instrument Building Design Bureau, the Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design
Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design
JSC V.V. Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design is a joint stock company, one of the major Russian enterprises in the development of weaponry control systems for fighter planes and mobile medium range anti-aircraft SAM defense vehicles.The institute was created on March 1,...
, the Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant (Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
), the Polet firm (Nizhniy Novgorod) and the Central Scientific Research Radio Engineering Institute (Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) were pronounced winners in the competition held in the beginning of 2003 for the development of the avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
suite for the fifth-generation airplane. NPO Saturn has been determined the lead executor for work on the engines for this airplane.
The Novosibirsk Chkalov Aviation Production Association (NAPO Chkalov) has begun construction of the fifth-generation multirole fighter. This work is being performed at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur together with Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association , based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East, is the largest aircraft-manufacturing company in Russia.- Overview :...
; the enterprise's general director, Fedor Zhdanov reported during a visit to NAPO by Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
Oblast's governor Viktor Tolokonskiy on 6 March 2007. "Final assembly will take place at Komsomol'sk-on-Amur, and we will be carrying out assembly of the fore body of this airplane", Zhdanov specified.
On 8 August 2007, Russian Air Force Commander Alexander Zelin
Aleksandr Zelin
Alexander Nikolayevich Zelin is the current Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force since May 9, 2007. Zelin holds the Air Force rank of colonel-general....
was quoted by Russian news agencies that the development stage of the PAK FA program is now complete and construction of the first aircraft for flight testing will now begin. Alexander Zelin also said that by 2009 there will be three fifth-generation aircraft ready. "All of them are currently undergoing tests and are more or less ready", he said. In the summer of 2009 the design was approved.
On 11 September 2010, it was reported that Indian and Russian negotiators had agreed on a preliminary design contract that would then be subject to Cabinet approval. The joint development deal would have each country invest $6 billion and take 8 to 10 years to develop the FGFA fighter
Sukhoi/HAL FGFA
The Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft is a fifth-generation fighter being developed by Russia and India. It is a derivative project from the PAK FA being developed for the Indian Air Force .Two separate prototypes will be developed, one by Russia and a separate one by India...
. The agreement on the pre-design of the fighter was to be signed in December 2010. The preliminary design will cost $295 million and will be complete within 18 months.
On 17 August 2011, it was reported by Russian state-run media that the Sukhoi T-50 aircraft cost Russia and India $6 billion to develop, with India shouldering about 35% of the cost.
On 17 August 2011, Russian Air Force chief says the Sukhoi T-50 will enter service in 2014-2015. "We will receive a T-50 prototype in 2013," Russian Air Force commander-in-chief General Alexander Zelin told reporters. "Mass produced aircraft will not arrive until 2014-2015."
Former deputy defense minister Vitaly Shlykov has cast doubt on the industrial capacity of Russia to produce the aircraft in significant numbers.
Flight testing
On 28 February 2009, Mikhail PogosyanMikhail Pogosyan
Mikhail Aslanovich Pogosyan is the General Director of the JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau. He is a Russian national of Armenian descent.In 1979 he graduated with honors from the aircraft manufacturer faculty of the Moscow Aviation Institute and started his career at the engineering plant named after...
announced that the airframe for the aircraft was almost finished and that the first prototype should be ready by August 2009. On 20 August 2009, Sukhoi General Director Mikhail Pogosyan said that the first flight would be by year end. Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies said that "even with delays", the aircraft would likely make its first flight by January or February, adding that it would take 5 to 10 years for commercial production.
The maiden flight had been repeatedly postponed since early 2007 as the T-50 encountered unspecified technical problems. Air Force chief Alexander Zelin admitted as recently as August 2009 that problems with the engine and in technical research remained unsolved.
On 8 December 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is a Russian senior official and statesman. He was Minister of Defence from March 2001 to February 2007, Deputy Prime Minister from November 2005 to February 2007, and the First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008...
announced that the first trials with the fifth-generation aircraft would begin in 2010. The testing, however, has commenced earlier than stated, with the first successful taxiing test taking place on 24 December 2009.
The aircraft's maiden flight took place on 29 January 2010 at KnAAPO's Komsomolsk-on-Amur Dzemgi Airport; the aircraft was piloted by Sergey Bogdan (Сергей Богдан) and the flight lasted for 47 minutes.
A second airframe was first planned to join the flight testing in the fourth quarter of 2010 but was postponed. On 3 March 2011, a second prototype was reported to have made a successful 44-minute test flight. These first two aircraft will lack radar and weapon control systems, while the third and fourth aircraft, to be added in 2011, will be fully functional test aircraft. On 14 March 2011, the aircraft achieved supersonic flight at a test range near Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association , based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East, is the largest aircraft-manufacturing company in Russia.- Overview :...
in Siberia.
The T-50 was displayed publicly for the first time at the 2011 MAKS Airshow
MAKS Airshow
MAKS is an International Air Show held near Moscow, Russia on Zhukovskiy LII air field. The first show, Mosaeroshow-92, was held in 1992. Since 1993, it was renamed to its current name and is held on odd years .MAKS is an important event in Russian business...
. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in attendance.
In June 2011, an unauthorized video was made of the Sukhoi PAK FA in flight displaying a variety of acrobatic moves.
On August 21, 2011 during a take-off run at the MAKS Airshow, a brief flame appeared out of the right-hand engine before liftoff due to a sensor malfunction. The takeoff was aborted, braking parachutes were deployed and the aircraft returned to its park position under its own power.
On 3 November 2011, The PAK FA program achieved its 100th flight.
The T-50-3 prototype is expected to be the first prototype to fly with an AESA radar by the end of 2011.
On November 22, 2011 the third prototype T-50-3 had its first flight from KnAAPO's airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, piloted by Hero of the Russian Federation Sergey Bogdan. The aircraft spent little more than an hour in the air, and it was subjected to basic stability and powerplant checks.
Naval version
Navalized Sukhoi T-50 PAK FAs will be deployed on the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and future Russian aircraft carriers. There will be a competition between the Sukhoi, MikoyanMikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...
and Yakovlev
Yakovlev
The Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...
design bureaus to choose the new naval aircraft.
Light fighter
Alexei Fedorov has said that any decision on applying fifth generation technologies to produce a smaller fighter (in the F-35 range) must wait until after the heavy fighter, based on the T-50, is completed.Design
Although most of information about the PAK FA is classified, it is believed from interviews with people in the Russian Air ForceRussian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
and Defense Ministry that it will be stealthy
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
, have the ability to supercruise
Supercruise
Supercruise is sustained supersonic flight of an aircraft with a useful cargo, passenger, or weapons load performed efficiently and without the use of afterburners ....
, be outfitted with the next generation of air-to-air
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
, air-to-surface
Air-to-surface missile
An air-to-surface missile is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft and strike ground targets on land, at sea, or both...
, and air-to-ship missile
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
s, incorporate a fix-mounted AESA radar with a 1,500-element array and have an "artificial intellect
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
".
According to Sukhoi, the new radar will reduce pilot load and the aircraft will have a new data link to share information between aircraft.
Composites are used extensively on the T-50 and comprise 25% of its weight and almost 70% of the outer surface. It is estimated that titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
alloy content of the fuselage is 75%. Sukhoi's concern for minimizing radar cross-section (RCS) and drag is also shown by the provision of two tandem main weapons bays in the centre fuselage, between the engine nacelles. Each is estimated to be between 4.9-5.1 m long. The main bays are augmented by bulged, triangular-section bays at the wing root.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that the T-50 has been designed to be more maneuverable than the F-22 Raptor
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
at the cost of making it less stealthy than the F-22. One of the design elements that have such an effect is the Leading Edge Vortex Controller (LEVCON).
Avionics
The PAK FA SH121 radar complex includes three X-Band AESA radars located on the front and sides of the aircraft. These will be accompanied by L-Band radars on the wing leading edges. L-Band radars are proven to have increased effectiveness against very low observable (VLO) targets which are optimized only against X-Band frequencies, but their longer wavelengths reduce their resolution. However the initial prototypes will use legacy passive electronically scanned array radar.The PAK FA will feature an IRST
Infra-red search and track
An infra-red search and track system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infra-red radiation such as jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of Forward Looking Infra-Red , i.e. from Forward-Looking to allround situational awareness...
optical/IR search and tracking system, based on the OLS-35M which is currently in service with the Su-35S.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and...
will reportedly provide the navigation system and the mission computer.
Engines
PAK FA was expected to use a pair of Saturn 117S engines on its first flights. The 117S (AL-41F1A) is a major upgrade of the AL-31F based on the AL-41F intended to power the Su-35BM, producing 142 kN (32,000 lb) of thrust in afterburner and 86.3 kN (19,400 lb) dry. In fact, PAK FA already used a completely new engine 117 (AL-41F1) in its first flight, as stated by NPO Saturn. The engine is not based on the Saturn 117SThe 117 (AL-41F1) is a new 5th generation engine custom built for Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet PAK-FA according to Sukhoi General Director Mikhail Pogosyan. Mikhail Pogosyan has clarified that claims that fifth-generation fighter allegedly has an old engine are wrong. Such claims are made by people with limited knowledge, he said. Though most parameters of the new 5th Gen Engine remains classified General Director Mikhail Pogosyan provided some information on the new engine, The engine thrust was enlarged by 2.5 tonnes when compared with the AL-31 engine, while the engine weight was cut by 150 kilograms. That allowed the new jet to supercruise i.e. move at a supersonic cruise speed without the use of after burner.
The Saturn Research and Production center made digitally controlled system (FADEC) of Project 117 Engine. The new engine produces 33,000 lbs (147 kN) of thrust in afterburner has a Dry weight of 1420 kilogram and T:W ratio of 10.5:1
Mikhail Pogosyan further mentioned that this engine (117) meets the client’s (Russian AirForce) requirements. This is not an intermediate product made particularly for test flights. The engine will be installed in production PAK-FA fighter which will be supplied to the Russian Air Force and prospective foreign clients he said.
The engine generates a larger thrust and has a complex automation system, to facilitate flight modes such as maneuverability. It is expected that each engine will be able to independently vector its thrust upwards, downward or side to side. Vectoring one engine up with the other one down can produce a twisting force. Therefore the PAK FA would be the first fifth generation fighter with full 3-D thrust vectoring along all three aircraft axes: pitch, yaw and roll
Flight dynamics
Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...
. These engines will incorporate infrared and RCS reduction measures.
Armament
The PAK FA has a reported maximum weapons load of 7,500 kg. It has an apparent provision for a cannon (most likely GSh-301). It could possibly carry as many as two 30 mm cannons. It has two internal bays estimated at 4.6-4.7 metres by 1-1.1 metres. Some sources suggest two auxiliary internal bays for short range AAMS and six external hardpoints.Two Izdeliye 810 Extended beyond visual range missiles per weapons bay. Multiple Izdeliye 180 / K77M beyond visual range missiles. K74 and K30 within visual range missiles can also be carried. Two KH38M or KH58 USHK air-to-ground missiles per weapons bay. Multiple 250–500 kg precision guided bombs per weapons bay, with a maximum of 10 bombs in internal bays. Other possible loads include one 1,500 kg bomb per weapons bay or two 400 km+ range anti-AWACS weapons on external hardpoints.
Testing
The first flight video shows that PAK FA has no conventional rudders, its vertical tailsVertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
are fully movable. This special tail fin design is mechanically similar to V-tail
V-tail
In aircraft, a V-tail is an unconventional arrangement of the tail control surfaces that replaces the traditional fin and horizontal surfaces with two surfaces set in a V-shaped configuration when viewed from the front or rear of the aircraft...
s used by the Northrop YF-23 in 1990s, but is supplemented by dedicated horizontal stabilator
Stabilator
A stabilator is an aircraft control surface that combines the functions of an elevator and a horizontal stabilizer...
s (as on the F-22). The T-50 has wing leading-edge devices above the jet engine intakes that have been called a challenge for signature control.
Exports
Russia has offered the PAK-FA for South Korea's next generation jet fighter. South Korea's defence procurement agency has confirmed that the Sukhoi PAK-FA is a candidate for the Republic of Korea Air ForceRepublic of Korea Air Force
The Republic of Korea Air Force is the air force of South Korea...
's next-generation fighter (F-X Phase 3) aircraft.
Specifications
Because the aircraft is in development, these specifications are preliminary and are taken as estimates from the available images.See also
External links
Official websites:General information:
- PAK FA - Global Security.org
- The T-50's Flight to the Future - GrandeStrategy
- PAK FA info & pictures - Paralay.com
- PAK FA - Russian Military Analysis
- Sukhoi PAK FA - Redstar.gr
Technology
News reports and articles:
- FARNBOROUGH 2008: Russian air force to receive Sukhoi PAK FA - to be equivalent of the F-22 Raptor
- Article from India Times
- Article on Flight International website with artistic image of PAK FA from NPO Saturn (April 04 2007)
- Brazil, Russia to build jet fighter, Associated Press
- Australian Analysis of PAK-FA
Flight videos and photos: