Russia’s fifth-generation fighter jet PAK FA has officially been named as the Sukhoi Su-57, Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev says.
The Su-57 is a single-seat, twin-engine multirole stealth fighter designed for air superiority and attack roles. It is equipped with advanced avionics system and airborne active phased array radar. The jet made its maiden flight in 2010 and the first Su-57s could come into service in 2019.
Since its first flight in the early 2010s, the T-50, part of the Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation (PAK-FA) program, has receiving a vast series of upgrades to its avionics, stealth and armaments. United Aircraft Corporation engineers are busy working on the creation of a next-generation engine for the plane, one that boasts increased thrust and fuel efficiency, lower cost, and improved reliability compared to the existing engine.
With six machines expected to be delivered into the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces by next year, the military plans to equip the air force with about 55 T-50 fighters by 2020, with mass production beginning after that.