… from Sputnik News, Moscow

[ Editor’s Note: The T-50 has gotten a lot of publicity this year during its test trials, partially due to the need to boost the Russian public’s pride in their technical abilities, which is underpinned by their world-class educational system, where top high school grads are at the second year of the West’s college level.

As we have seen with the Armatta tank series, a modular construction design allows for much more flexible upgrading on one particular component.

The first example of that is the new larger gun for the second generation, which will fit on top of the carriage and crew compartment because it is a self-contained unit.

I suspect a lot of testing has been going into the T-50 airframe and avionics, whose similar design specs have tormented America’s F-35 white elephant — but for the F-35’s failure, no one in engineering or management has been shot yet.

But no dummies they, as the US defense contractors responsible for the F-35 disaster are lining up to go back to the trough for billions more to produce something superior to the T-50. It would be cheaper for us to fly over and import a version of the T-50, when one comes available.

The big shock to me is the admission that the Russians, starting production in 2016, are only scheduled to deliver 55 of them by 2020… when they need several hundred. Curious… Jim W. Dean ]







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– First published … May 29, 2015 –

An active defense system developed for Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 jetfighter is also able to neutralize enemy planes’ stealth capability, RIA Novosti reported Friday, citing the press service of the Himalaya system’s designers, the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern [KRET].

The Sukhoi PAK FA fighter jet, also known as T-50, is ready to go into production next year, and boasts innovative technology which renders the pilot one part of the plane’s control system.

“The PAK FA is already to some degree a flying robot, where the aviator fulfils the function not only of pilot, but is actually one of the constituent parts of the flying apparatus,” explained Vladimir Mikheyev, deputy head of KRET, which is a unit of Rostech Corporation.

The use of composite materials, innovative technologies, advanced avionics and engines ensure the T-50’s extremely low level of radar, optical and infrared visibility.

At present the US is the only country to have operational fifth-generation aircraft – the F22 Raptor and F35 Lightning II.

KRET has also created for the T-50 the upgraded BINS-SP2M strapdown inertial navigation system that autonomously processes navigation and flight information, determines position and motion parameters in the absence of satellite navigation, and can integrate with GLONASS, Russia’s space-based satellite navigation system.

The T-50 is set to replace the Sukhoi Su-27 fourth generation fighter jet, which entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1985, and the Mig-29, which entered service in 1983.

In December 2014 Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation announced that production of the fighter was ready to begin in 2016, following the completion of the testing phase.

55 PAK FA jets will be delivered to the Russian Air Force by 2020.

Author Details Author Details Jim W. Dean, Managing Editor



He is working to find time now to database his extensive video archive of Americana and interviews filmed during his public TV days so individual topic segments can be key word searched to quickly use in future multi-media projects.



Read Full Complete Bio >>> Jim’s Latest Posts Jim W. Dean is Managing Editor of Veterans Today involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews. He broke into television work doing Atlanta Public TV programs for variety of American heritage, historical,military, veterans and Intel topics and organizations since 2000. Jim’s only film appearance was in the PBS Looking for Lincoln documentary with Prof. Henry Lewis Gates, and he has guest lectured at the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Gordon, GA.He is working to find time now to database his extensive video archive of Americana and interviews filmed during his public TV days so individual topic segments can be key word searched to quickly use in future multi-media projects.