A contract for the serial production of the fifth-generation T-50 PAK FA fighter jet at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant is planned to be signed before the end of 2017, Governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk Territory Vyacheslav Shport said.

“A contract for the production of the first batch of T-50 PAK FA fighter jets for Russia’s Defense Ministry may be signed in late 2017. This issue is currently being discussed,” Shport said.

The PAK FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) fighter jet performed the first flight in 2010. The fighter jet is currently undergoing trials that are expected to be completed in 2016.

Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev said earlier that the serial production of the T-50 fighter jet would begin in 2017.

According to the commander, the PAK FA fighter jet will be made operational with the Aerospace Force in 2017 as well.