Official: Test flight of Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet a success
By APFriday, January 29, 2010
Official: Russia tests 5th-generation fighter jet
MOSCOW — Russia’s new fifth-generation stealth fighter made a successful maiden test flight on Friday, the manufacturer said.
The Sukhoi T-50 prototype took to the skies for a 45-minute flight at an airfield in the Far Eastern city of Komsomoslk-on-Amur on Friday, Sukhoi spokesman Alexei Paveshchenko told The Associated Press.
Russian officials have spent two decades trying to build a fifth-generation fighter. They hope the T-50 will challenge the U.S. F-22 Raptor, which first flew in 1997.
Friday’s successful test of the plane, reportedly developed in partnership with India, comes as a relief.
A series of failures on high-profile weapons projects has blighted Russia’s attempts to modernize its rusting Soviet-era arsenals.
The specifications and design of Russia’s new fighter have been shrouded in secrecy. Russian news agencies reported the plane has a 5,500-kilometer (3,400-mile) range.
Officials have expressed hope that the T-50 will enter service in 2015.
