Moscow - Qna
Russia's new fifth-generation PAK FA T-50 fighter jet performed its first demonstration flight at MAKS-2011 international air and space show in the town of Zhukovsky, near Moscow. The designers of the new fighter jet say that the performance of the T-50 exceeds the US analogue. However, the USA is about to unveil something new for this class of aircraft, a Pravda news agency report said Friday. Two T-50 jets appeared in the sky above Zhukovsky at 4 pm yesterday. The jets performed aerial stunts and then landed. The T-50 will combine the functions of the assault aircraft and fighter jet, according to official information. The aircraft is equipped with a new complex of avionics which integrates the electronic function and a prospective phased-array radar. The new equipment gives the pilot an opportunity to concentrate more on the execution of combat tasks. The on-board equipment allows to exchange data both with mission control centers and within the aviation groups in the air in the mode of real time. The use of composite materials and innovative technologies, the aerodynamic configuration of the aircraft and engine signature reduction measures provide the unexampled low level of radar, optic and infrared signature. The Russian fifth-generation aircraft can be compared to the USA's F-22.