Fifth-Generation Russian Fighter Completes Successful Flight Test

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the country’s fifth-generation fighter jet programme was on track and he was satisfied with the recently concluded trial tests.

A flight test was carried out on 8 April on the first fifth-generation Russian fighter jet at Zhukovsky, in the Moscow Region, according to RIA Novosti.

The fighter will undergo more than 2,000 flight tests before full-scale production begins.

The T-50 has been developed as the advanced front-line aviation complex (PAK FA) for the Russian Air Force.

The jet can carry eight next-generation air-to-air R-77 missiles or two large controllable anti-ship bombs weighing 1,500kg each.

It is also capable of carrying two long-range missiles that can hit targets within a 400km range.

During its maiden flight in January 2010, the fighter spent 47 minutes in the air.