World News & Analysis
Russian Fifth-Generation Fighter To Be Delivered in 2012
Aviation Week & Space Technology
04/23/2007, page 23
Alexey Komarov
Moscow
Douglas Barrie
London
After a decade of disarray, the Russian air force could finally have a credible fighter program
Printed headline: Succession Plans
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The Russian air force plans to start acceptance trials of its next-generation fighter in 2012, while the government moves to provide badly needed support for the aircraft's weapons suite.
First flight of the Sukhoi T-50, selected in 2002 to meet the air force's future fighter requirement (known by the Russian acronym PAK FA), is expected in 2009. PAK FA is a twin-engine fighter in the class of the Su-27 Flanker.
{{The Su-35 will include subsystems eventually intended for inclusion on Russia's T-50 fifth-generation fighter.Credit: KNAAPO CONCEPT}}
After years of turmoil in its future-fighter planning, the air force suggests it's getting back on track. The service's deputy chief, Gen. Alexander Zelenin, says development of the fifth-generation fighter is on schedule.
Russia also continues to negotiate a bilateral agreement with India that will allow the latter to participate in the T-50 program. Indian involvement would also provide valuable financial support.
The air force has already approved an "electronic mockup" of the aircraft. Sukhoi, meanwhile, is preparing the manufacturing documentation for the first prototypes. Along with single-seat baseline aircraft, Sukhoi is considering a naval version, as well as two-seat and special mission aircraft.
Earlier this month, the government also reviewed its guided-weapons road map. Until recently, Russia's air-to-air missile plans seemed to have been in abeyance for the better part of a decade because of inadequate funding.
Sukhoi has also agreed on the industrial manufacturing structure for the fighter. The Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Organization (NAPO) will be responsible for the forward section of the fuselage. The Komsomolsk-on-Amur site will be responsible for final assembly, along with the manufacture of the remaining main structures. Komsomolsk produces Flanker variants for China, while NAPO is beginning series production, if in small batches, of the Su-34 strike version of the aircraft.
The T-50 engine program is led by NPO Saturn, although the effort involves most of the country's main engine design facilities and research institutes. Saturn is developing a scalable turbofan design, with the aim being to produce both higher efficiency and reliability.
Along with the T-50, Saturn is looking at an engine version to power a single-seat fighter. While it lost out to Sukhoi for the PAK FA requirement, MiG is continuing to carry out design work on an advanced light fighter. This project also has supporters within the military as a complement to the larger T-50. Another potential application for a further derated version of the engine would be for an unmanned combat air vehicle.
Meanwhile, engine research has also suffered from a lack of funding. Industry sources previously suggested that state support for this area had all but dried up. Fresh funding is now expected to come onstream during the course of this year.
Saturn has been introducing elements of a next-generation engine on the latest version of the AL-31F design for the Flanker. Dubbed "Article 117S," the engine is intended for the Su-35 fighter. It has a thrust of 14.5 metric tons, about two tons more than basic Al-31F. The first 117S engines have already passed flight tests and soon will be shipped for installation on the Su-35 prototype. Industry sources suggest the aircraft will be able to supercruise in some configurations with the improved engines.
While the Su-35 is being positioned primarily as an export product, Sukhoi is also eager to see the Russian air force adopt the aircraft. Several of the avionics systems planned for the Su-35 will also be used as the basis of equipment for the T-50. These include the cockpit layout, software and design of the man-machine interface, weapons control system and sensor integration, and tactical awareness and warning system.
The government is determined to ensure that weapon programs associated with the fifth-generation fighter receive adequate support. Earlier this month, the government's Military-Industrial Commission reviewed a draft of its "Program of Airborne Weapon Development Through 2015" document. This is intended to "consolidate financial, research, design, manufacturing and organizational resources" to achieve program goals, according to Sergei Ivanov, the head of the commission.
The government aims to spend 60 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) through 2015 on development, manufacturing and support of airborne weapons. Research and development funding is planned to be increased by 200-250%.
Vympel, now part of Tactical Missile Systems, has had a next-generation dogfight air-to-air missile, the K-30, also known as the Izdeliye (Article) 300 program, for more than a decade. However, lack of funding has until now hampered development. Vympel is also working on a midlife update of the R-77 (AA-12 Adder) medium-range radar-guided air-to-air missile. This project is known as the K-77M. A long-range missile, the Izdeliye 810, is also being designed. All three of these developments are intended for the PAK FA.