1. Sukhoi is suddenly coy about the prospects for the first flight of the T-50 demonstrator by end-year. It was only a few months ago that Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan confidently predicted the PAK-FA demonstrator would fly before 2010. Asked about that prediction today, he told reporters that Sukhoi would have more information about first flight at the Farnborough air show next July.
delayed - Postponed again.................
Random 5: Paris Air Show Day 1 - The DEW Line
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June 15, 2009, (Sawf News) - The Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being developed by Russia with some Indian financing is unlikely to take to the air by the end of this year as projected earlier, reports Flight Magazine.
Referring to earlier reports that the first demonstrator will fly before the end of 2009, with serial production starting by 2010, Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan played coy on the opening day of Paris Air Show, June 15, saying he would have more information about first flight at the Farnborough air show next July!
Speaking at the sidelines of a meeting in Russian Far East city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur Monday, May 11, Russian deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov told journalists:
"By the end of this year, the plane will rise into the air and flight tests will begin."
According to announced plans, the FGFA is to be inducted into the Russian Air Force by 2015 and into the Indian Air Force by 2017.
The fighter, estimated to be in the 30t category, is expected to feature super maneuverability, super cruise and stealth with an internal weapon bay. It is also expected to feature an advanced variant of the Tikhomirov Instrument Engineering Research Institute developed N035 Irbis-E radar that equips the Su-35BM.
Russia and India will simultaneously develop two versions of the combat aircraft - a two-seat version to meet the requirements of India's air superiority policy, and a single-seat version for the Russian Air Force.
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Sukhoi hints at Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) delay