Top-secret Russian 'Stealth' fighter test flight

Sukhoi T-50 Russian Stealth Fighter 5th Gen

 Russia's first stealth fighter intended to match the latest U.S. design made its maiden flight Friday, boosting the country's efforts to modernize its rusting Soviet-built arsenals and retain its lucrative export market.

The Sukhoi T-50's flight comes nearly two decades after the first prototype of the U.S. F-22 Raptor took to the air, and Russian officials said it will take another five years for the new jet to enter service. Still, the flight marked a major step in Russia's efforts to burnish the faded glory of its aviation industries and strengthen a beleaguered military.

The sleek twin-engined jet closely resembling the Raptor flew for 47-minutes from an airfield at Sukhoi's production plant in the Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Friday. Development of the so-called fifth-generation fighter has been veiled in secrecy and no images of it had been released before the flight.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hailed the flight as a "big step forward," but admitted that "a lot remains to be done in terms of engines and armament."

Role	Stealth multirole fighter
National origin	Russia
Manufacturer	Sukhoi
First flight	29 January 2010 [1][2][3]
Introduction	2015 (planned)[4][5][6]
Status	Test flight / Pre-production
Primary user	Russian Air Force
Number built	3 total, only 1 made for flight[N 1]
Program cost	US$8-10 billion (est.)[9][10][11]
Unit cost	US$100 million (est.)[12]
Variants	Sukhoi/HAL FGFA

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 19.8 m (65.9 ft)
• Wingspan: 14 m (46.6 ft)
• Height: 6.05 m (19.8 ft)
• Wing area: 78.8 m² (848.1 ft²)
• Empty weight: 18,500 kg (40,785 lb)
• Loaded weight: 26,000 kg (57,320 lb)
• Useful load: 7,500 kg (combat load) (16,534 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 37,000 kg (81,570 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× New unnamed engine by NPO Saturn and FNPTS MMPP Salyut of 175 kN each. Prototype with AL-41F1 of 147 kN each,^[65]definitive version with new engine >157 kN^[65]
• Maximum Fuel weight: 10,300 kg (22,711 lb)^[63]

Performance

• Maximum speed: 2,100 - 2,500 km/h (Mach 2+) ^[63][66] (1,300 - 1,560 mph) ; at 17,000 m (45,000 ft) altitude
• Cruise speed: 1,850 - 2,100 km/h ^[66] (1,150 - 1,300 mph)
• Ferry range: 5,500 km^[67] (3417 miles)
• Service ceiling: 20,000 m (65,616 ft)
• Rate of climb: 350 m/sec (68,900 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 330(normal) - 470(maximum) kg/m² (67(normal) - 96(maximum) lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 1.19 ^[63]
• Maximum g-load: 10-11 g^[63]

Armament

• Guns: None on prototype. Apparent provision for a cannon (most likely GSh-301).Possible two 30mm cannons^[26]
• Hardpoints: Two internal bays estimated at 4.6-4.7 metres by 1-1.1 metres.^[68] Other sources suggest two auxiliary internal bays for short range AAMS and six external hardpoints