1

No More “Twenty-Year” Advantage: The Russian Stealth Fighter Is Here

Lajos F. Szászdi

* This paper was originally finished and saved on March 30, 2010, in Falls Church,

Virginia.

For at least the last three years some expert opinions from the USAF and defense

industry believed that in the next twenty years or so the U.S. F-22 Raptor and the F-35

Lightning II, the Joint Strike Fighter, would not face a serious threat from foreign fifth

generation fighters.1 Yet, Russia has defied such expectations when the T-50, the

prototype of the PAK FA, the Advanced Front-Line Aviation Complex and Russia’s fifth

generation fighter, conducted its first test flight on January 29th.2 One reason why Russia

would be interested in getting a fifth generation fighter, probably the most expensive type

of fighter yet to develop, is that in air combat and strike missions a fifth generation

fighter, due to its stealth technology and state-of-the-art avionics, would likely prevail

over older fourth generation fighters. As one expert said: “In this modern era of stealth

combat, there are two types of fighters: stealth fighters and targets.”3 Being conscious of

the value of air power in modern warfare, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy

said recently that “it would be impossible to win contemporary and future wars without

air and space supremacy. Whoever understands this is in the right path.”4 A fifth

generation fighter force would achieve air supremacy in a modern battle space over

enemy fourth generation fighters. With the U.S. and NATO probably being regarded as

potential opponents in a future war that Russia would otherwise try to avoid, the PAK FA

has been designed with the idea of being a match to the U.S. F-22A and the F-35 stealth

fighters.5

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates last year assured an audience that “China, by

contrast, is projected to have no fifth generation aircraft by 2020. And by 2025, the gap

only widens. The U.S. will have approximately 1,700 of the most advanced fifth

1 The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future, approx. 100 min., A&E Television Networks AAE-

131240, 2007, DVD. 2 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA),” RIA Novosti, January 29, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100129/157717728.html (January 29, 2010); “Russia draws back veil of

secrecy with peek at future fighter,” RIA Novosti, January 29, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100129/157715872.html (February 1, 2010). 3 The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 4 “Comandante de la Marina rusa dice que la principal ventaja en la guerra es la supremacía aérea y

espacial,” RIA Novosti, February 26, 2010, at http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100226/125266454.html

(February 26, 2010). 5 “Russia’s future fighter conquers the skies,” RIA Novosti, January 29, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100129/157712091.html (February 1, 2010); “Indo-Russian 5th generation

fighter to take-off by 2012,” The Times of India, October 30, 2007, at

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Europe/Indo-Russian_5th_generation_fighter_to_take-

off_by_2012/articleshow/2503005.cms (February 12, 2010); Ariel Cohen, “Swords and Shields: Russia

Bets on PAK FA,” The Heritage Foundation, January 21, 2009, at

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Commentary/2009/01/Swords-and-Shields-Russia-bets-on-PAK-FA

(March 14, 2010).

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generation fighters versus a handful of comparable aircraft for the Chinese.”6 Defense

Secretary Gates’ prediction of a U.S. force of 1,700 F-35 by 2025 might be too optimistic

by now, considering that the initial operational capability (IOC) for the USAF version of

the aircraft, the F-35A, has been pushed by two years from 2013 to the end of 2015.7 It

would not be surprising if the IOC of the F-35A would be further delayed due to the

complexity of the program. Other considerations may prevent the expenditures needed to

reach the F-35 force levels planned for 2025, like the huge national debt and a weakening

national economy. Mr. Gates, however, seems not to have considered that Russia, which

was known already last year to have been developing the PAK FA, could sell the fifth

generation fighter to China. This would not be something extraordinary, for Moscow has

sold Beijing the fourth generation Su-27 fighter and its advanced versions, the Su-

30MKK and Su-30MK2, made by the firm Sukhoi that is also developing the PAK FA.

Sukhoi would build its fifth generation fighter at its Komsomolsk-on-Amur KNAAPO

factory – where the Su-30MKK and Su-30MK2 are produced – and which is located in

the Russian Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk, neighboring China.

The Defense Secretary did not mention in his speech that of the future force of 1,700

U.S. stealth fighters planned by 2025, only about 187 (if no aircraft has been lost by then)

would be twin-engine F-22 fighters, while the rest would be single-engine F-35 fighter

bombers. By 2025 China could have a number of PAK FA similar to the world’s

inventory of F-22A,8 the U.S. aircraft designed as an air superiority fighter and perhaps

the only credible match for the Russian-made fifth generation fighter. The F-35 would

only carry normally a total of two AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missiles and

two JDAM guided bombs distributed in its two internal weapon bays. In addition, the F-

35 could carry under the wings another two AMRAAM missiles or two AIM-9X

Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles, in which case the radar stealth advantage of

the fighter would be annulled. If the F-35 in a flight formation would be armed with

missiles and bombs under the wings, an AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array)

radar in the PAK FA would be able to detect, track and target simultaneously with air-to-

air missiles four, six or eight enemy aircraft appearing on the pilot’s radar screen, based

on the current capabilities of Russian airborne fire-control radars.9 This could offset the

numerical advantage of F-35 armed with more weapons externally yet at the expense of

its radar stealth. In addition, the F-35 engine nozzle is not designed stealthily as the F-

22A engine nozzles are. Russian-made PAK FA flying high above in air defense mode

could potentially detect the non-stealthy engine nozzle of the F-35, since this fighter is

6 Italics are mine. See “Speech at the Economic Club of Chicago As Delivered by Secretary of Defense

Robert M. Gates, Chicago, IL, Thursday, July 16, 2009,” United States Department of Defense, at

http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1369 (February 3, 2010). 7 Caitlin Harrington, “USAF slips F-35 IOC by two years,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, March 10, 2010, p. 8. 8 Russia has shown already it can sell to China hundreds of its best fighter aircraft. China is Russia’s largest

customer of Su-27/Su-30 Flanker fighters, with up to 626 sold and ordered. See Mackenzie M. Eaglen and

Lajos F. Szaszdi, “The Growing Air Power Fighter Gap: Implications for U.S. National Security,” Heritage

Foundation Backgrounder, No. 2295, July 7, 2009, at

http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/bg2295.cfm (February 3, 2010). 9 Yefim Gordon, Russian Air Power: Current Organization and Aircraft of all Russian Air Forces

(Hinckley, England: Midland, 2009), p. 325; Yefim Gordon, Sukhoi Su-27, Famous Russian Aircraft

(Hinckley, England: Midland, 2007), p. 175; Edward Downs, ed., Jane’s Avionics 2006-2007, 25th ed.

(Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, 2006), pp. 668, 672-73.

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radar stealthy when showing its front to enemy radar. Hence, the potential capability of

each PAK FA to engage six to eight air targets at the same time would be a force

multiplier against F-35 that have been detected and tracked.

The Russian Federation is perfectly capable of developing a fifth generation stealth

fighter for several reasons. Thanks to oil and gas export revenues for instance,10 it has the

money and the resources to build it, for Russia holds the third largest gold and hard

currency reserves held by a country after China and Japan, with $437 billion by the end

of January, rising to over $441 billion by March 12 and to $448.2 billion by March 19.11

The estimated cost of the PAK FA program is of $8-10 billion.12 Russia is leading the

development of the aircraft and will produce it in cooperation with India, which wants a

25 percent participation in designing and developing the fighter.13 It could thus be

expected that India would fund also the development of the PAK FA. Russia would make

use not only of its research & development, but would “borrow” also technology from the

West. Moreover, the Soviet Union by the 1980s had an ongoing program to develop a

stealth fighter that did not materialize due to the collapse of the country.14

According to Russian sources, the PAK FA will have a maximum range of 5,500

km,15 which compares with the range of the F-22A of over 2,963 km “with two external

fuel tanks.”16 It is probable that the referred 5,500 km range of the PAK FA is really its

maximum range with at least one air refueling, since the Russian fourth generation Su-

30MK multirole fighter reportedly has a top combat range of 5,200 km with one in-flight

10 Ajai Shukla, “India, Russia close to PACT on next generation fighter,” Business Standard, January 5,

2010, at http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-russia-close-to-pactnext-generation-

fighter/381718/ (February 12, 2010). 11 “Mezhdunarodnie rezervi Rossiiskoi Federatsii v 2010 godu,” Tsentralny bank Rossiiskoi Federatsii,

February 4, 2010, at http://cbr.ru/print.asp?file=/statistics/credit_statistics/inter_res_10.htm (February 4,

2010); “Rusia aumenta sus reserves internacionales hasta US$441.300 millones,” RIA Novosti, March 18,

2010, at http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100318/125525296.html (March 18, 2010); “Russia’s international

reserves up $6.9 bln to $448.2 bln in week,” RIA Novosti, March 25, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/business/20100325/158306802.html (March 25, 2010). 12 Gareth Jennings, “Russian PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter makes maiden flight,” Jane’s Defence

Weekly, February 3, 2010, p. 5. 13 “Russia’s future fighter conquers the skies;” Ajai Shukla, “India to develop 25% of fifth generation

fighter,” Business Standard, January 6, 2010, at http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-to-

develop-25fifth-generation-fighter/381786/ (February 12, 2010). 14 Yefim Gordon, Sukhoi S-37 and Mikoyan MFI: Russian Fifth-Generation Fighter Technology

Demonstrators, Red Star Vol. 1 (Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2001), pp. 21-22; Ilya Kramnik,

“Russia successfully tests Sukhoi T-50 Stealth fighter jet,” RIA Novosti, January 29, 2010, at

http://www.en.rian.ru/analysis/20100129/157716197.html (January 31, 2010). See also the entries on the

advanced Yakovlev Yak-43 fighter in Bill Gunston and Yefim Gordon, Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924,

Putnam Aeronautical Books (London: Putnam, 1997), pp. 201, 200; Yefim Gordon, Dmitriy Komissarov

and Sergey Komissarov, OKB Yakovlev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft (Hinckley,

England: Midland, 2005), p. 346; Yefim Gordon, Yakovlev Yak-36, Yak-38 & Yak-4: The Soviet ‘Jump

Jets,’ trans. Dmitriy and Sergey Komissarov, Red Star 36 (Hinckley, England: Midland, 2008), p. 122. 15 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA);” “Russia’s future fighter conquers the

skies;” “VVS predstavili predlozheniia po dorabotke ustrebitelia piatogo pokoleniia,” RIA Novosti,

February 12, 2010, at http://www.rian.ru/defense_safety/20100212/208837122.html (February 24, 2010). 16 “F-22 Raptor: Specifications,” Lockheed Martin, at http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/f22/f-22-

specifications.html (February 4, 2010).

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refueling.17 According to Russian sources, the PAK FA will be capable of “repeated” air

refueling for extended operations.18 It may be that the combat range with internal fuel of

the PAK FA would be of about 3,000 km, which is the combat range with internal fuel of

the Su-30MK.19 This figure would not be that different from the range of the F-22A with

external fuel tanks, of approximately 3,000 km.

In contrast, the F-35A, the version of the Joint Strike Fighter for the USAF, has range

with internal fuel of approximately 2,222 km. The U.S. Marine Corps version, the F-35B,

has a range of 1,667 km with internal fuel, and the U.S. Navy’s version for its aircraft

carriers, the F-35C, has a range with internal fuel of about 2,592 km.20

It has also been reported that the dimensions of the PAK FA will be “close” to those

of the Su-27 Flanker,21 which has a maximum length of about 22 meters and a wingspan

of 14.70 meters.22 With a maximum length of 22 meters and a wingspan of 14.8 meters,

the T-5023 PAK FA prototype is bigger than the F-22A, which has an overall length of

18.90 meters and a wingspan of 13.56 meters.24 This greater size would enable the future

PAK FA to carry internally more fuel and air-to-air missiles, and heavier guided bombs

than the Raptor.25

The Russians stated that the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of the T-50 PAK FA

is 37 tons,26 slightly less than the reported MTOW of the F-22A of 38 tons.27 Russian

sources also claim that the PAK FA would be able to take-off from an airstrip only 300 to

400 meters long.28 In comparison, it is possible that the F-22A in an air interception mode

may only need for take-off a strip about 274 meters long, the length of air strip needed by

the USAF fourth generation air superiority fighter, the F-15, for take-off in an

interception mission.29 The take-off distance on land of the Marine Corps vertical/short

take-off and landing (V/STOL) F-35B is 550 feet (167.64 meters).30

17 Paul Jackson, ed., Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 2006-2007, 97th ed. (Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane’s

Information Group, 2006), p. 501. 18 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA).” 19 Jackson, p. 501. 20 “F-35 Lightning II: The World’s Only 5th Generation International Multirole Fighter,” Lockheed Martin,

p. 8, at http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/aeronautics/mediacenter/mediakits/f35/f-35-brochure-

090722.zip (February 27, 2010); Jackson, p. 809. 21 “Russia’s future fighter conquers the skies.” 22 Jackson, p. 497. 23 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter,” RIA Novosti, February 19, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20100219/157939986.html (February 19, 2010).0 24 “F-22 Raptor: Specifications.” 25 See “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA).” 26 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter.” 27 “F-22 Raptor: Specifications.” 28 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA).” 29 Jamie Hunter, ed., Jane’s Aircraft Upgrades 2006-2007, 14th ed. (Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane’s Information

Group, 2006), p. 184. 30 “F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Lightning II Specifications,” GlobalSecurity.org, at

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-35-specs.htm (February 27, 2010).

5

The PAK FA is claimed to be slightly faster than the F-22A in terms of supercruise

speed, which is the ability of an aircraft to have a sustained supersonic speed for an

extended period of time, and thus cruise through long distances supersonically without

the need to recur to afterburners. Russian reports say that the Russian fifth generation

fighter could attain a supercruise speed of more than 2,000 km per hour,31 equivalent to

Mach 1.83 flying at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) altitude.32 In comparison, the F-22A is

reported to have a maximum supercruise speed of Mach 1.82 at an altitude of 30,000

feet.33 Supercruise would allow PAK FA fighters to cover long distances flying

supersonically without the need to engage afterburners, thus saving fuel and enabling the

Russian Air Force to better patrol the long expanses of Russia’s geography. The same

operational requirement can be said of India,34 which is set to co-develop the plane with

Russia. China would be a potential customer of the Russian-made fighter for the same

operational need to cover its large land and maritime territories fuel-efficiently at

supersonic speeds. The F-35, on the other hand, will not have supercruise speed

capability.

The maximum speed of the F-22A with afterburners is in the “Mach 2 class,”

reportedly to be Mach 2.5.35 A maximum speed with afterburners of Mach 2.25 has also

being given for the F-22A.36 A maximum speed of Mach 2.5 for the F-22A is slightly

faster than the maximum speed with afterburners of the T-50 PAK FA, given as Mach

2.45 by the official Russian news agency RIA Novosti.37 Yet the Russian Air Force’s

revised specific operational requirement (SOR) of December 2004 established that the

PAK FA’s maximum speed – most likely with afterburners – should be decreased to

Mach 2 from the initial requirement of Mach 2.5.38 It is nonetheless possible that the final

stage 2 engines for the PAK FA would have the ability to reach Mach 2.45 with

afterburners, well above the Russian Air Force’s specific operational requirement. In

addition, it has been reported that the T-50 and the F-22A have a same service ceiling of

about 20,000 meters.39

In contrast, the maximum level speed of the F-35 at altitude is Mach 1.6, or as high as

over Mach 1.8 with afterburners.40 The F-35’s maximum altitude is of about 45,000 feet

(13,716 meters), or perhaps as high as 15,000 meters.41

31 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA).” 32 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter.” 33 Jay Miller, Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor: Stealth Fighter (Hinckley, England: Aerofax, 2005), p. 102. 34 “Different FGFA fighter versions for India, Russia,” India Today, September 29, 2008, at

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/StoryPrint?sId=16398&secid=4&page=null (February 12, 2010). 35 “F-22 Raptor: Specifications;” “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter.” 36 Miller, p. 102. 37 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter.” 38 Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov, OKB Sukhoi: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft

(Hersham, Surrey: Midland, 2010), p. 542. 39 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter;” Miller, p. 102. 40 “F-35 Lightning II: The World’s Only 5th Generation International Multirole Fighter,” p. 8; Jackson, p.

809; “F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Lightning II Specifications.” 41 Ibid.

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The F-22A engine nozzles have thrust vector control (TVC) for super

maneuverability, which could be an essential capability to prevail and win in close air

combat, and in successfully conducting evasive maneuvers against attacking missiles.

The PAK FA is planned also to possess thrust vectoring,42 having the same capability as

the Raptor. The F-35, however, will not be fitted with TVC technology.

The PAK FA will reportedly be capable of conducting attacks against multiple

surface (land and sea) and air targets at the same time and in all-weather conditions.43

The PAK FA is thus a multirole, swing-role fighter. The T-50 appears to have two long

internal weapon compartments, located one after the other and along the ventral section

of the plane,44 each weapon bay closed by two doors. The two main weapon bays of the

T-50 have an arrangement similar to that of the two bomb bays of the Tupolev Tu-160

supersonic strategic bomber.45

The T-50 has ten hard points distributed inside its weapon bays.46 The Vympel State

Machine-Building Design Bureau is reported to be developing very long-range, medium-

range beyond visual range (BVR), and short-range air-to-air missiles for the PAK FA,47

designed to fit inside the plane’s weapon bays. It can carry inside its two main weapon

compartments eight Vympel R-77 beyond visual range active radar (fire and forget) air-

to-air missiles, which could be the advanced R-77M-PD missiles.48 It is possible that like

in the F-35,49 the PAK FA would carry one BVR missile attached to the inner side of

each of the two doors that each of the two weapon compartments has. This would enable

the PAK FA to carry four R-77M missiles while carrying internally two bombs or two

very long range air-to-air missiles – one per weapon bay - in place of the other four BVR

missiles – two per weapon bay - out of the maximum of eight, which the plane can carry

inside its main weapon bays. Thus, the Russian fighter could carry a weapon mix of two

42 “Russia draws back veil of secrecy with peek at future fighter.” 43 “Russia tests stealth fighter jet,” BBC News, January 29, 2010, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8486812.stm

(February 4, 2010); “Sukhoi Company launches flight tests of PAK FA advanced tactical frontline fighter,”

Sukhoi Company (JSC), January 29, 2010, at http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/news/company/?id=3143

(February 12, 2010); “Different FGFA fighter versions for India, Russia;” “Russia’s Fifth Generation Jet

Tested Successfully,” Pravda, January 29, 2010, at http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/29-01-

2010/111923-fifth_generation-0 (February 12, 2010). 44 See photograph of lower, underneath part of the T-50 at “Perspektivni aviatsionni kompleks frontovoi

aviatsii,” Stels’ machine, at http://www.paralay.com/pakfasu.html (March 1, 2010); and also more

specifically at “Perspektivni aviatsionni kompleks frontovoi aviatsii,” Stels’ machine, at

http://www.paralay.com/pakfasu/325.jpg (March 1, 2010). 45 “Russia’s Fifth Generation Jet Tested Successfully;” David Donald and Rob Hewson, eds., Tupolev

Bombers (Norwalk, Conn.: AIRtime Publishing, 2002), p. 154. 46 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter.” 47 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Hewson, p. 75. 48 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA);” “VVS predstavili predlozheniia po

dorabotke ustrebitelia piatogo pokoleniia;” “Caza de quinta generación realize con éxito segundo vuelo,”

RIA Novosti, February 12, 2010, at http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100212/125083946.html (February 18,

2010); “Russia’s Fifth Generation Jet Tested Successfully.” See also Gordon, Sukhoi S-37 and Mikoyan

MFI, p. 83. 49 See pictures in Gerard Keijsper, Joint Strike Fighter: Design and Development of the International

Aircraft (Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2007), pp. 219-20.

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of the latest very long-range air-to-air missile derived from the Vympel R-37M missile,

plus four of the latest types of R-77M beyond visual range missiles.50

Development work could be concluded in 2010 on the new R-77M beyond visual

range missile, apparently a different weapon than the R-77M-PD that may be also carried

by the PAK FA.51 The PAK FA could carry internally four of the latest version of the

ramjet-powered R-77M-PD, which reportedly would have a 160 km range, twice that of

the R-77.52 The R-77M or izdelie 180 BVR missile would have an active/passive radar

guidance system, with the passive mode intended to seek the enemy’s radar and

electronic countermeasures (ECM) emissions.53 This capability for instance could be

used to target the F-35 when it would use its AESA radar in jamming operations. The R-

77M would have a range that would be 2.5 to 3 times the 80 km range of the R-77

missile,54 having thus a range of 200 to 240 km.

The original R-37 active radar air-to-air missile, with a maximum range of 300 km,55

has been designed to shoot down value air targets engaged at long range, such as

AWACS, Joint STARS, air tankers, reconnaissance planes, electronic warfare (EW)

aircraft,56 transport aircraft, Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft, and if it is ever built, the B-

1R Lancer bomber, which could be armed with 18 AMRAAM missiles to support the F-

22A in beyond visual range air-to-air combat scenarios.57 For very long-range

interception operations, the PAK FA may be armed with two rounds of a new missile

based on the R-37M yet designed to be carried internally by the PAK FA.58 The R-37M

very long range air-to-air missile is an improved version of the R-37 with a maximum

range of 300 to 400km.59 Yet the new missile, known as izdelie 810 in its developmental

stage (the R-37M was izdelie 610M), would have a range 50 percent greater than the

original R-37 missile, could engage a target at an altitude of 40,000 meters, and would

enter service in 2013.60 The izdelie 810 missile may then have a maximum range as high

as 375 to 450 km.61

There are also two smaller rectangular internal compartments located in the rear part

of the plane, on the starboard and port sides of the engines. The smaller compartments

50 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Gordon, Russian Air Power, pp. 335-36. 51 Ibid., pp. 335-36. 52 Hewson, pp. 65. 53 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Gordon, Russian Air Power, pp. 335-36. 54 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541. 55 Yefim Gordon, Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two (Hinckley, England: Midland,

2004), p. 70; Robert Hewson, ed., Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, no. 45 (Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane’s

Information Group, 2005), p. 76. 56 Hewson, p. 64. 57 The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 58 David A. Fulghum, Maxim Pyadushkin, and Douglas Barrie, “Stealth, Sukhoi-style,” Aviation Week &

Space Technology, February 8, 2010, p. 31; Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542; Gordon, Russian Air Power,

p. 336. 59 Hewson, p.75. 60 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542; Gordon, Russian Air Power, p. 336. 61 Gordon, Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two, p. 70; Hewson, pp. 75-76.

8

may likely carry each one short-range air-to-air missile.62 This design feature was

borrowed from the F-22A, which also has two side smaller weapon bays holding each

one AIM-9M or AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles.63 The smaller

weapon bays would carry an improved version of the Vympel R-37M short-range air-to-

air missile with a high off-boresight capability and thus the ability to turn 160º around,

enabling the infrared-guided missile to engage enemy targets in the rear hemisphere of

the plane through lock-on after launch (LOAL) or lock-on before launch modes.64 A rear

fire-control radar inside the protruding sting of the T-50 would provide the needed target

information. This new missile, identified as the “izdeliye 760 (the so-called Stage 2

upgrade)” could be the R-74, it may have a maximum range of 40 km, and production of

the weapon may begin in 2010.65 Another missile that may arm the PAK FA’s side

weapon bays is the Vympel K-30 missile, designed as a new compact short-range air-to-

air missile for the Russian fifth generation fighter.66 Other possibility is the K-MD short-

range air-to-air missile designed as an entirely new weapon for close combat and to shoot

down enemy missiles.67 The K-MD missile, which might be developed by 2013,68 could

be an improved version of the K-30 or an entirely new weapon.

In place of a weapons load of eight beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, the PAK

FA could carry two large precision-guided 1,500 kg bombs,69 probably together with four

BVR air-to-air missiles if these are attached to the inner part of the two main weapon

bays’ doors. The 1,500 kg bombs may include the new KAB-1500LG family of laser-

guided bombs.70 The PAK FA could also carry two of the new satellite-guided KAB-

500S-E bombs of 500 kg, dubbed “Russia’s JDAM” after the U.S. Joint Direct Attack

Munition and which would use both the U.S. GPS and the Russian GLONASS satellite

navigation systems.71 There may be also 1,500 kg satellite-guided KAB-1500S-E

“Russian JDAM” bombs capable of being carried inside the internal weapon bays of the

PAK FA.72 With two 1,500 kg bombs the PAK FA would have an internal bomb payload

of over 6,600 lb. In comparison, the Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned combat air vehicle

(UCAV) being proposed as a bomber could carry two 2,000 lb Joint Direct Attack

Munition (JDAM) bombs in its internal weapon bays, and a payload of 4,500 lb in a long-

range strike mission of 3,704 km.73

62 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 30. 63 See Miller, pp. 98-99. 64 Hewson, p. 28-30; Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Gordon, Russian Air Power, pp. 334-35. 65 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 31; Hewson, p. 28; Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Gordon,

Russian Air Power, p. 335. 66 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 31; Hewson, p. 24. 67 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Gordon, Russian Air Power, p. 335. 68 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Gordon, Russian Air Power, p. 335. 69 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA);” “VVS predstavili predlozheniia po

dorabotke ustrebitelia piatogo pokoleniia;” “Caza de quinta generación realize con éxito segundo vuelo.” 70 Carlo Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Guided Bombs,” Air Power Australia, August 2009, at

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-GBU.html#mozTocId522037 (March 11, 2010); Hewson, p. 397. 71 Ibid., pp. 395-96; Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Guided Bombs.” 72 Carlo Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Guided Bombs.” 73 Caitlin Harrington, “Boeing offers Phantom Ray bomber,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, March 10, 2010, p.

10.

9

In addition, the PAK FA may be capable of carrying internally with folded wings and

tail control surfaces two subsonic Kh-35E (NATO designation: AS-20 “Kayak”) anti-ship

missiles, with a maximum range of 130 km.74 The PAK FA may carry also internally two

Kh-35UE (3M24M1) GLONASS satellite-guided missiles, an improved version of the

Kh-35E with the ability to strike land targets, and with more fuel and a longer range of

260 km.75

The PAK FA could carry also internally two Kh-38M air-to-surface missiles for use

against land and sea targets. A successor to the Kh-25 missile, the Kh38M has been

represented with folding wings and rudders, and it has a range of 40 km.76 The Russian

stealth fighter may carry two of the Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missile (against radars),

shorter than the original Kh-58 missile, possessing also folding wings and rudders to fit

in the PAK FA’s main weapon bays, and with a maximum range of 245 km.77

The PAK FA may have provision for up to eight external hard points for additional

missiles and bombs, with at least two hard points and possibly up to three per wing and

one hard point under each engine nacelle.78 It has been reported that the PAK FA could

also be armed in external hard points with two Novator KS-172 very-long range air-to-air

missiles with a maximum range of 400 km, designed to destroy AWACS aircraft.79 The

Indian version of the PAK FA, the twin-seat Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA),

may be armed externally with “BrahMos supersonic missiles,”80 jointly developed by

Russia and India. In such case, the Russian PAK FA may be able to launch not only the

BrahMos missile but also the air-launched version of the 3M55 Oniks (named Yakhont in

its export version) anti-ship missile, from which the BrahMos was derived, and which has

a maximum speed of Mach 2.6 at altitude and a range of at least 300 km.81

The Sukhoi fifth generation fighter would be able thus to carry internally and

externally larger and heavier missiles than the F-22A or the F-35. In addition, the PAK

FA will be armed with more air-to-air missiles internally, with up to ten, compared to the

eight air-to-air missiles arming the F-22A inside its weapon bays, and only two

74 Hewson, pp. 172-74; Carlo Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Cruise Missiles,” Air Power Australia, August 2009,

at http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-Cruise-Missiles.html#mozTocId501956 (March 11, 2010). 75 Ibid.; Hewson, pp.172-73. 76 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 31; Carlo Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Tactical Air to Surface Missiles,”

Air Power Australia, August 2009, at http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-ASM.html#mozTocId919852

(March 11, 2010); “K-38 (Russian Federation), Air-to-surface missiles – Direct attack,” Jane’s Air-

Launched Weapons, November 12, 2009, at http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Air-Launched-

Weapons/Kh-38-Russian-Federation.html (March 2, 2010). 77 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 31; Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Tactical Air to Surface Missiles.” 78 “Russia’s Fifth Generation Jet Tested Successfully;” Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 30. 79 “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA);” “VVS predstavili predlozheniia po

dorabotke ustrebitelia piatogo pokoleniia;” “Caza de quinta generación realize con éxito segundo vuelo;”

Hewson, p. 64. 80 “Russia, India to develop joint 5G-fighter by 2016,” RIA Novosti, March 2, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100302/158065429.html (March 2, 2010). 81 Hewson, pp. 168-69; Kopp, “Soviet/Russian Cruise Missiles.” See also “La Marina rusa se dotará de la

fragata ‘Almirante Gorshkov’ en 2011,” RIA Novosti, February 26, 2010, at

http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100226/125262287.html (February 26, 2010).

10

AMRAAM carried by the F-35 in its internal weapon compartments along with two

JDAM bombs. However, both the F-22A and the F-35 can carry more air-to-air missiles,

bombs, air-to-surface missiles, and also drop tanks hung from external hard points.82

For close air combat, the PAK FA will be armed with a 30 mm cannon on the

starboard side of the fuselage.83 Moreover, like a future version of the F-35B, the PAK

FA in the future may be armed with a laser weapon.84

In terms of stealth technologies, according to Sukhoi “the use of composite materials

and advanced technologies, improved aerodynamics, and reduced engine heat signature

minimizes its radio-frequency, optical and infrared visibility.”85 The design of the T-50 is

stealthy to radar, following the design principle of planform alignment,86 utilized in the

F-22A. Planform alignment is when the aircraft’s surfaces, like the wings’ leading edge,

leading edge root extension (LERX) and horizontal control surfaces or the vertical

control surfaces and the vertical sides of the engines’ air intakes share the same angle,

being thus aligned. Another stealthy feature is the angled shape of the pilot’s canopy.

Hence, any incoming radar wave would be deflected at a same angle in a direction away

from the radar source.87

The operational version of the PAK FA may have S-ducts or curved ducts for the

flow of air from the air-intakes to the engines inside the aircraft, which would help mask

the engine compressor blades from radar.88 The T-50 prototype was not fitted with

stealth-designed engine nozzles, as the F-22A is, and it has to be seen if the operational

PAK FA will be built with stealthy thrust vector control nozzles as the Raptor. Yet

stealthy thrust vector controls could be installed in the operational PAK FA, as a stealth-

designed two-dimensional thrust vector control nozzle was fitted to the port engine of a

Su-27 test aircraft.89 The PAK FA is also expected to be built with Radar Absorbing

Material (RAM),90 and the carriage of missiles in the internal weapon compartment

reduces the aircraft’s radar cross section (RCS).

82 Jackson, pp. 800, 809. 83 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter.” See also the T-50 photograph with the cannon’s darker blast plate on

the starboard side of the fuselage in “Perspektivni aviatsionni kompleks frontovoi aviatsii,” Stels’ machine,

at http://www.paralay.com/pakfasu/313.jpg (March 3, 2010). 84 Keijsper, pp. 227-30. 85 “Russia draws back veil of secrecy with peek at future fighter;” Kramnik, “Russia successfully tests

Sukhoi T-50 Stealth fighter jet.” 86 The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. See also Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 30. 87 The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 88 Gordon, Sukhoi S-37 and Mikoyan MFI, pp. 73, 82, 33. 89 Gordon, Sukhoi Su-27, p. 102. See also a picture of the Russian stealthy two dimensional thrust vector

control nozzle in “PAK FA fotografiia,” Iandeks, at

http://images.yandex.ru/search?p=117&ed=1&text=%D0%9F%D0%90%D0%9A%20%D0%A4%D0%90

%20%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%8F&s

psite=fake-023-

1055511.ru&img_url=www.flanker.free.fr%2Fmono%2FTexte%2Fexperimental%2F03.jpg&rpt=simage

(March 1, 2010). 90 Gordon, Sukhoi S-37 and Mikoyan MFI, pp. 33-34.

11

In addition, the PAK FA could be fitted with a “stealthogenic” system, an advanced

technology Soviet scientists reportedly developed at the Mstislav V. Keldysh research

centre.91 This “stealthogenic” technology is a form of anti-radar cloaking device in

which a “system used wisps of plasma formed by pencils of electromagnetic rays from

special generators installed on the aircraft; the plasma absorbs radio waves, reducing the

aircraft’s RCS approximately 100 times.”92 By absorbing the radio waves, the cold

plasma field surrounding the plane may be able to make the aircraft essentially invisible

to radar. Thus, the USAF is interested in deploying a cold plasma cloaking device “as the

next generation of stealth technology” for its fighter aircraft.93

The Russians might have successfully tested this technology already, and the

operational PAK FA could very well deploy a cold plasma field device which would

greatly reduce the plane’s radar cross section (RCS). This would be useful to make the

PAK FA stealthier, for at least the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), the Indian

version of the PAK FA, is set to have a radar cross section of 0.5 square meters,

compared to the RCS of the Su-30MKI of approximately 20 square meters.94 A radar

cross section of 0.5 square meters is equivalent to the RCS of a missile, compared to the

RCS of a “tactical jet” of between 5-100 square meters.95 The F-22A, on the other hand,

is stealthier with a smaller radar cross section comparable to that of a small bird or a

bumblebee.96 Thus, the radar cross section of the F-22A would be found between 0.01

square meter, the RCS of birds, and 0.001 square meter, the RCS of insects.97 The radar

cross section of the T-50 and radar reflecting features seen in the prototype, like the

infrared search and track/laser rangefinder (IRST/LR) spherical device, and the narrow

spaces between the air intakes and the fuselage or leading edge root extensions,98 could

be made stealthier to radar with a cold plasma field system. Such a stealthogenic system

may even enable the fighter that is cloaked with it to carry a full load of missiles, bombs

and/or drop tanks in external hard points and still remain stealthy.

It is unclear, though, if the Sukhoi fifth generation fighter would have a system such

as the F-22A’s TRW AN/ASQ-220 Communications/Navigation/Identification (CNI)

system.99 This possesses multifunction antennas distributed in conformal arrays along the

91 Ibid., 21. 92 Ibid., pp. 21-22. 93 The History Channel, That’s Impossible: Death Rays & Energy Weapons DVD, 50 min., A&E Television

Networks 210120, 2009, DVD. 94 Shukla, “India, Russia close to PACT on next generation fighter.” 95 “Radar Cross Section (RCS),” Microwave Encyclopedia, p. 4-11.3, at

http://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedia/Navy%20handbook/4.11%20Radar%20Cross-

Section%20(RCS).pdf (March 3, 2010). 96 “F-22 Raptor Stealth,” GlobalSecurity.org, at

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-22-stealth.htm (March 3, 2010); Tony Halpin,

“Russia unveils its first stealth fighter jet – the Sukhoi T-50,” The Times, January 30, 2010, at

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7007913.ece (February 12, 2010). 97 Jeff Scott, “Radar Cross Section,” Aerospaceweb.org, March 21, 2004, at

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/electronics/q0168.shtml (March 7, 2010). 98 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 30. 99 Jackson, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 2006-2007, p. 800.

12

leading edges of the wings and vertical control surfaces which enable passive “radar track

warning, missile launch detection, and threat identification.”100

Nonetheless, the PAK FA reportedly has communication “equipment [that] allows

real-time data exchange not only with ground based control systems, but also within the

flight group” en route on a mission.101 In this regard, the FGFA, the Indian version of the

PAK FA, has been described as having when operational “‘a very high degree of network

centricity’ as well as multi-spectral reconnaissance and surveillance systems.”102 That

capability of sharing in real-time tactical information among aircraft flying in formation

is a feature that characterizes fifth generation fighters such as the F-35 and F-22A.

Like the F-22A and the F-35, the PAK FA and the Indian FGFA will have sensor data

fusion to provide a unified tactical picture with information convenient to use by the

pilot. Thus, the FGFA will have “data fusion; the myriad inputs from the fighter’s

infrared, radar, and visual sensors would be electronically combined and fed to the pilot

in easy-to-read form.”103 However, it seems that the PAK FA would be one step ahead

than the F-22A and F-35 in terms of computer processing functions. The PAK FA’s

computer would not just provide information to the pilot after processing data from

various sensors and sources but would also function as a battle management system.

Instead of the PAK FA being a pocket Combat Information Center for the pilot, it would

serve as a cockpit Combat Direction Center, as it would offer combat decisions for the

pilot to choose. Describing the PAK FA, the head of Avionika, one of the main Russian

manufacturers of avionics, said: “The plane is equipped with advanced avionics that act

as an electronic pilot…. The fighter itself analyses the situation and offers options to the

pilot. This greatly reduces the mental load on the pilot and allows him to focus on tactical

tasks.”104 With the F-22A’s sensor fusion technology “the pilot spends less time

monitoring basic systems and more time making combat decisions.”105 However, the

PAK FA’s battle management system would allow the Russian pilot to spend less time

making combat decisions, for these would already be made by the fighter’s “electronic

pilot” thanks to the system’s “AI (artificial intelligence).”106 In reference to the computer

power of the PAK FA, General Nikolai Makarov, Chief of the General Staff of the

100 Miller, p. 88. 101 “Sukhoi Company launches flight tests of PAK FA advanced tactical frontline fighter.” See also

“Different FGFA fighter versions for India, Russia;” “Rusia desvela el futuro de su aviación de combate

con el primer vuelo de su caza de quinta generación,” RIA Novosti, January 29, 2010, at

http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100129/124894765.html (March 12, 2010). 102 Rajat Pandit, “Russia conducts first test of fifth-generation Sukhoi,” The Times of India, January 30,

2010, at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Russia-conducts-first-test-of-fifth-generation-

Sukhoi/articleshow/5514549.cms (March 12, 2010). 103 Shukla, “India, Russia close to PACT on next generation fighter.” 104 “Russia’s fifth-generation aircraft will corner 30% of fighter market – analyst,” Gazeta, Izvestia, in

“What the Russian papers say,” RIA Novosti, February 12, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20100212/157858932.html (February 17, 2010). 105 The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 106 “Sukhoi Company launches flight tests of PAK FA advanced tactical frontline fighter;” Evgeniya

Chaykovskaya, “New Russian jet fighter to threaten Raptor?,” Moscow News, January 29, 2010, at

http://www.mn.ru/news/20100129/55406919.html (February 12, 2010).

13

Russian Armed Forces, said “the plane is practically with human intelligence.”107 A

Russian pilot of the fifth generation fighter would have then to choose the best tactical

decision offered by the plane’s “electronic pilot” and just press a button, giving him an

advantage of seconds over his opponent that could be decisive in leading to his enemy’s

destruction.

The PAK FA’s “electronic pilot” could also fly the plane autonomously due to the

“artificial intelligence” of its computer system. The “electronic pilot” may be able to fly

the fighter as if the aircraft would be a fully autonomous unmanned combat air vehicle

(UCAV), releasing the human pilot from this task so that he would have only to monitor

the systems and concentrate on choosing quickly the best tactical decision from a

selection of options the “electronic pilot” would offer him. The human pilot would be

able nonetheless to fly manually the PAK FA if he chooses to, particularly to perform

evasive maneuvers and for a dogfight’s close combat maneuvers.

The instrument panel of the T-50 is dominated by two large color multifunction

displays, in an arrangement similar to that of the Su-35 fighter.108 The multifunction

displays in the instrument panel of the T-50 have buttons around each display like in the

Su-35, so the displays may not have touch screens like the two large color multifunction

displays in the F-35 control panel.109 It cannot be excluded though that the PAK FA in

the future would have two large multifunction displays integrated to form one large

display with touch screens, like the Lightning II.110 The two large displays in the

cockpit’s control panel of the T-50 and Su-35 might have been influenced by the F-35.

Such an arrangement of two large multifunction displays dominating the cockpit’s

control panel may be a simpler solution to better show sensor fusion information to the

pilot, being an improvement over the F-22A’s four main color multifunction displays

design in the Raptor’s cockpit.111 Like the F-22A, the T-50 has a head up display

(HUD).112 It should not be excluded that the PAK FA in the future would have in place of

a head-up display a helmet mounted display (HMD) for its pilots, like the F-35 and

upgraded F-22A will.113

The T-50 prototype probably flew with a modified version of the Irbis-E radar, a

passive electronically scanned array (PESA) equipping the Su-35 generation 4++

107 “Rossiiskii samolet 5-go pokolenia budet obladat’ ogromnim ‘intellektom’ i prevoskhodit’ inostrannie

mashini – nachal’nik Genshtaba VS RF,” ARMS-TASS, February 11, 2010, at http://arms-

tass.su/?page=article&aid=80998&cid=24 (February 18, 2010). 108 “Perspektivni aviatsionni kompleks frontovoi aviatsii,” Stels’ machine, at

http://www.paralay.com/pakfasu/556.jpg (March 22, 2010); Gordon, Russian Air Power, p. 322. 109 “Perspektivni aviatsionni kompleks frontovoi aviatsii,” Stels’ machine, at

http://www.paralay.com/pakfasu/556.jpg (March 22, 2010); Gordon, Russian Air Power, p. 322; Keijsper,

pp. 170-71. 110 Ibid., p. 171. 111 Bill Sweetman, “Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor,” International Air Power Review 5 (Summer 2002): p.

57; Miller, p. 85. 112 “Perspektivni aviatsionni kompleks frontovoi aviatsii,” Stels’ machine, at

http://www.paralay.com/pakfasu/556.jpg (March 22, 2010). 113 Keijsper, pp. 172-73, 176; The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future.

14

fighter.114 The PAK FA is expected to have an active electronically scanned array

(AESA) radar that would contain 1,500 transmitter/receiver (T/R) individual modules,

with a prototype of the AESA radar currently undergoing tests on a different aircraft

platform.115 In comparison, the F-22A’s AN/APG-77 AESA radar has about 2,000 T/R

modules.116 Development of the PAK FA’s AESA radar by Tikhomirov NIIP institute

may be completed by the middle of 2010.117 NIIP is working together with Phazotron

NIIR and the Leninets Holding Company to develop the PAK FA’s integrated avionics

suite, which in addition to the AESA fire-control radar it would have side-looking

airborne radar (SLAR) in the aircraft “ventral fairing,” and a rear-facing radar.118 Indeed,

it has been suggested that the design of the PAK FA may allow conformal arrays (active

or passive) to be fitted on the fighter’s surfaces.119 Moreover, the sting fairing in the rear

of the PAK FA, located between the engines exhaust nozzles, may harbor a small fire-

control radar,120 such as the Phazotron Pharaon-M radar,121 to provide detection of

airborne targets and attacking missiles, and to provide fire-control solutions in the rear

hemisphere for the PAK FA’s air-to-air missiles. In addition, the future AESA radar of

the PAK FA would have electronic countermeasures (ECM) capabilities, which, like in

the case of the F-35 AESA radar, would allow the jamming of enemy radar.122 The PAK

FA AESA radar, like the radar of the Lighting II, may have also a directed energy

weapon capability that would enable it to burn with radio waves the electronic systems of

enemy radar or a SAM battery’s command and control computer,123 and perhaps even the

flight computer of an enemy fighter. However, it has yet to be seen the level of power

and sensibility of the PAK FA’s AESA radar compared to the radar systems in the F-22A

and the F-35. Around 30 companies are in total involved in developing the PAK FA’s

integrated avionics suite.124

The T-50 is fitted with an infrared search and track/laser rangefinder (IRST/LR)

optoelectronic system, with its sensor located on the starboard side in front of the cockpit.

It is expected to be a new, fifth-generation, system including infrared and TV channels

for day and night operations, a laser rangefinder for accurate targeting, and with “look

down/shoot down” capability for detection, tracking and engagement of targets over land,

114 Jennings, p. 5. 115 “Russia’s Fifth Generation Jet Tested Successfully;” Douglas Barrie and Alexey Komarov, “Fighter

Order Rekindles Russian Air Force,” Aviation Week And Space Technology, August 26, 2009, at

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/RUSSAF082609.

xml&headline=Fighter%20Order%20Rekindles%20Russian%20Air%20Force (February 12, 2010). 116 Downs, p. 697. 117 Fulghum, Pyadushkin, and Barrie, p. 31. 118 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541. 119 Barrie and Komarov, “Fighter Order Rekindles Russian Air Force.” 120 There were plans to have installed a small radar in the rear of the now superseded S-37/Su-47 fifth

generation fighter technology demonstrator to warn of airborne contacts appearing behind the aircraft. See

Gordon, Sukhoi S-37 and Mikoyan MFI, p. 83; Paul Jackson, ed., Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 2004-

2005, 95th ed. (Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, 2004), p. 446. 121 Downs, pp. 676-77. 122 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541; Keijsper, pp. 217, 249; The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 123 Keijsper, p. 249; The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 124 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 541.

15

sea and air.125 The system’s range could be 100 km for enemy fighters flying away, and

40 km for approaching fighters,126 yet these ranges in the PAK FA might be even greater.

In addition, it is possible that the operational PAK FA’s optoelectronic system may

incorporate a LADAR (laser radar) in the future, a useful capability for target

identification by providing an image of a contact in three dimensions.127 A LADAR

system may thus help track and identify stealth aircraft.

One example of the effectiveness of the Russian IRST/LR system in engaging a

stealthy airborne target might be provided by the report, if accurate, that a Russian-made

MiG-29 of the Yugoslav Air Force shot down the USAF F-117A Stealth Fighter

destroyed during the Kosovo Crisis of 1999. According to this version, the Serbian MiG-

29 fired its infrared-guided missiles at the F-117A, which was destroyed by the first

missile that was launched. It is probable that the Serb pilot used the MiG-29’s IRST/LR

system to detect, track, and engage in a stealthy fashion by not giving away radar signals

to the Stealth Fighter,128 which was designed also to minimize its engines’ exhaust

infrared signature. The official version of the U.S. military is that the F-117A was shot

down by Russian-made surface-to-air missiles (SAM) of the Serbs. According to sources

that spoke to Jane’s, it appears that the Serbs were able to intercept the F-117A because a

spy working for the Russian GRU inside NATO stole the doomed Stealth Fighter’s

bombing mission flight plan, which the GRU passed on to the Serbs, enabling them to

prepare an ambush against the F-117A.129

The F-22A does not have a built-in IRST system, although it could be fitted if funded.

The F-35 will have the optronic Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and the Electro-

Optical Targeting System (EOTS) that form the Electro Optical Sensor System (EOSS),

designed to give the fighter a 360º infrared coverage of the plane for search and track of

enemy surface and air targets.130 Using DAS, the F-35, which was not designed for super

maneuverability in a dogfight due to the lack of engine thrust vectoring control and

because it has “a higher wing loading than the F-22,” would recur to high off-boresight

short-range air-to-air missiles launched in a lock-on after launch mode to hit pursuing

enemy fighters and run away from the fight.131 Another problem is that the F-35 will have

to carry its AIM-9X for self-defense under the wings, breaking its stealth outline.132 This

is because the F-35 was designed to carry internally typically two AMRAAM missiles

and two JDAM precision guided bombs but not Sidewinder missiles. The PAK FA, on

the other hand and like the F-22A, would be able to carry two short-range air-to-air

125 Gordon, Sukhoi Su-27, pp. 175, 428. 126 Ibid., p. 429. 127 See Michael J. Gething, ed., Jane’s Electro-Optic Systems 2006-2007, 12th ed. (Coulsdon, Surrey:

Jane’s Information Group, 2006), p. 13. 128 Yefim Gordon, Mikoyan MiG-29, Famous Russian Aircraft (Hinckley, England: Midland, 2006), p. 273. 129 See Lajos F. Szászdi, Russian Civil-Military Relations and the Origins of the Second Chechen War

(Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2008), p. 242. 130 Bill Sweetman, “All-Seeing Eye,” Defense Technology International, October 2008, at

http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/solutions/f35targeting/assets/dti_eodas.pdf (June 10, 2009); Downs,

p. 616. 131 Sweetman, “All-Seeing Eye.” 132 Ibid.; The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future.

16

missiles in its internal side weapon compartments, maintaining the integrity of its stealth

outline.

The T-50 prototype is fitted apparently with engines developed by NPO Saturn from

its izdelie 117S engine, an improved and modernized version of the AL-31F turbofan

engine that was developed for the Su-35 generation 4++ fighter. The 117S engine has

been described as possessing “fifth-generation technologies” like “a new full-authority

digital engine control (FADEC) system” and three dimensional thrust vectoring control

nozzles.133 Each one of the Saturn 117S engines of the Su-35 has a thrust of

approximately 14,500 kg, and they were developed taking account of the experience with

the AL-41F engine, originally planned for the Russian fifth generation fighter.134 The

engine used by the T-50 and by the PAK FA when it would enter service in the Russian

Armed Forces is the so-called “engine of the first stage,” produced by NPO Saturn for

Russia’s United Engine-building Corporation (ODK).135 In reference to the T-50 and its

engine of the first stage, the head of the Sukhoi Company, Mikhail Pogosyan said: “The

airplane flied up in principle with a new engine, which was designed specially for this

aircraft.”136 The T-50’s stage 1 engines, derived from the Saturn 117S engines of the Su-

35 fighter, would each have also a thrust of 14,500 kg and three dimensional thrust

vectoring control nozzles.137 In comparison, each of the F-22A’s F119-PW-100 turbofan

engines has a thrust of 15,876 kg.138

The PAK FA will be fitted in the future with a new engine known as the “engine of

the second stage,” which would be developed by the United Engine-building

Corporation, according to its general director, through cooperation between NPO Saturn,

which has 83 percent of Russian production of aircraft engines, and Salyut, with 17

percent of aircraft engine production.139 In terms of its power, it has been reported the

stage 2 engines would have each a thrust of about 17,500 kg.140 However, the stage 2

engines of the PAK FA may each have instead 15,300 to 15,500 kg of thrust.141

Pogosyan, the head of Sukhoi, stressed that the new engine of the second stage will not

133 Gordon, Russian Air Power, pp. 329, 324; “FACTBOX: Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 (PAK

FA);” Gordon, Sukhoi Su-27, p. 175; “Russia draws back veil of secrecy with peek at future fighter.” 134 “Russia To Test Stealthy Fifth Generation Sukhoi T-50 Fighter Jet,” Pravda, January 28, 2010, at

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/28-01-2010/111914-fifth_generation-0 (March 3, 2010); Gordon,

Sukhoi Su-27, p. 173. 135 “Integratorom dvigatelia 2-go etapa dlia istrebitelia 5-go pokoleniia budet ‘Obsiedinennaia

dvigatelestroitel’naia korporatsiia,” ARMS-TASS, March 2, 2010, at http://arms-

tass.su/?page=article&aid=81615&cid=25 (March 2, 2010); “Dlia vtorogo opitnogo samoleta PAK FA

uzhe postavlen komplekt dvigatelei,” ARMS-TASS, March 11, 2010, at http://arms-

tass.su/?page=article&aid=81936&cid=25 (March 12, 2010). 136 “Integratorom dvigatelia 2-go etapa dlia istrebitelia 5-go pokoleniia budet ‘Obsiedinennaia

dvigatelestroitel’naia korporatsiia.” 137 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542. 138 “F-22 Raptor: Specifications,” Lockheed Martin. 139 “Dlia vtorogo opitnogo samoleta PAK FA uzhe postavlen komplekt dvigatelei;” “Integratorom

dvigatelia 2-go etapa dlia istrebitelia 5-go pokoleniia budet ‘Obsiedinennaia dvigatelestroitel’naia

korporatsiia.” 140 “Russia To Test Stealthy Fifth Generation Sukhoi T-50 Fighter Jet.” 141 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542.

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be ready by 2015, and since it is in its early stage of development, he suggested that the

engine would take 10-12 more years for it to be fully developed.142

The T-50 flew successfully for a second time on February 12 for 57 minutes in the

Russian Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur after the first flight of January 29,

which lasted 47 minutes.143 Russia through Sukhoi began this fifth generation fighter

project as a new program in the 1990s after the Soviet-era Mikoyan MFI and Sukhoi S-37

technology demonstrators would not become the basis of Russia’s future operational fifth

generation fighter.144 Confirming yet again the PAK FA’s future potential opponent, a

Russian Ministry of Defense official said in relation with the T-50 second test flight that

“Russian specialists have been carefully monitoring the U.S. F-22 Raptor, so we can

compare the newest Russian fighter with it.” The official concluded that the PAK FA has

“a very bright future.”145

After several conducting more test flights in the Russian Far East the T-50 will be

taken to the air base at Zhukovsky close to Moscow for more tests.146 Reportedly, T-50

will begin standard flight tests in April, but testing of the aircraft would last “several

years,” according to a source from Sukhoi.147 This would be confirmed by Prime Minister

Vladimir Putin, who said that “before the jet goes into production, it should complete

over 2,000 test flights.”148 Another three prototypes would join the PAK FA flight test

program between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011.149 Years of flight testing

may not preclude deployment of the PAK FA in operational units while testing would be

taking place. For example, the F-22 prototype first flew in September 1997, 4,000 hours

of flight testing (probably roughly equivalent to 2,000 flights) in the F-22 development

program were reached in September 2003 and the Raptor was first delivered to an

operational unit in September 2003, yet testing lasted until November 2005.150

Thus, Colonel General Alexander Zelin, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air

Force, announced that the PAK FA would begin to be delivered to operational units in

2015.151 Previously, according to the Russian Air Force specific operational requirement

(SOR) of December 2004, the PAK FA is planned to enter production in 2015.152 Zelin

142 “Integratorom dvigatelia 2-go etapa dlia istrebitelia 5-go pokoleniia budet ‘Obsiedinennaia

dvigatelestroitel’naia korporatsiia.” 143 “Russian 5th-generation fighter makes 2nd flight,” RIA Novosti, February 12, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100212/157855932.html (February 16, 2010). 144 Ibid. On the Soviet origins of the MFI and S-37 see Gordon, Sukhoi S-37 and Mikoyan MFI, pp. 22, 63. 145 “Russian 5th-generation fighter makes 2nd flight.” 146 Ibid. 147 “Russia’s 5th generation jet fighter to start tests in April,” RIA Novosti, March 1, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100301/158054167.html (March 1, 2010). 148 “New Russian fighter to make 2,000 flights before production starts,” RIA Novosti, March 1, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100301/158056158.html (March 1, 2010). 149 “Otros tres cazas rusos T-50 comenzarán pruebas en vuelo a finales de 2010,” RIA Novosti, March 2,

2010, at http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100302/125304354.html (March 2, 2010). 150 Jackson, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 2006-2007, p. 798. 151 “Russian 5th-generation fighter deliveries delayed until 2015,” RIA Novosti, February 9, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100209/157824658.html (February 11, 2010). 152 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542.

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also said, due to the PAK FA’s multirole qualities, that those Russian Air Force units

receiving the fifth generation fighter would not be classified as belonging to either fighter

aviation or to tactical aviation, for they would be classified as belonging to tactical or

tactical-operational aviation because all the aircraft in a tactical-operational unit could

fulfill the air defense mission when required.153 Moreover, Russian Air Force pilots are

already training “in fifth-generation fighter piloting techniques.”154

KNAAPO at Komsomolsk-on-Amur produced the T-50155 and would manufacture

the other prototypes, as well as the PAK FA once it is ready for production. Sukhoi’s

Chkalov NAPO factory in Novosibirsk, Siberia, would have been subcontractor in the

production of parts for the PAK FA, yet in 2008 the NAPO plant withdrew from the

project since manufacture of the Su-34 strike aircraft and the modernization of the Su-

24M2 strike plane would fully occupy its production capacity.156

The Sukhoi PAK FA would form the basis for further variants of the aircraft, in the

same way that the Su-30MKI multirole fighter for India, the Su-30MKK multirole fighter

and Su-30MK2 naval strike fighter for China, the Su-30MKA for Algeria, the Su-34

strike aircraft, and the latest Su-35 multirole fighter are advanced versions of the baseline

Su-27 “Flanker” fighter. One such variant of the PAK FA could be a twin-seat long-range

strike version, like the Su-34 dedicated strike version of the Su-27 or like the cancelled

FB-22 bomber version of the F-22A.

Alexander Formin, first deputy director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-

Technical Cooperation, stated that the joint Russo-Indian PAK FA/FGFA fighter may be

ready by 2015 or 2016. Formin also said that equipment from third countries could be

integrated in the Indian version of the Russian fifth generation fighter, the FGFA,

reminding of Russia’s experience in systems integration with French and Israeli

technology.157 Sukhoi is planned to jointly develop the Russian fifth generation fighter

with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).158 India’s Minister of Defense, A.K.

Antony, expressed his country’s interest for the FGFA to be fully developed by 2016 so

that it could enter service in 2017.159

On the issue of numbers, some models that predict victorious engagements between a

small formation of F-22A and a far superior enemy fighter force part from the premise

that under the cover of stealth the numerically inferior Raptors would be fighting against

153 “Ejército ruso recibirá cazas de quinta generación en 2015,” RIA Novosti, February 9, 2010, at

http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100209/125042057.html (February 18, 2010). 154 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542. 155 Ibid. 156 Ibid. 157 “Russia, India to develop joint 5G-fighter by 2016,” RIA Novosti, March 2, 2010, at

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100302/158065429.html (March 2, 2010); “Rusia y la India planean

desarrollar un caza de quinta generación para 2016,” RIA Novosti, March 2, 2010, at

http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100302/125310373.html (March 2, 2010). 158 Gordon and Komissarov, p. 542. 159 Pandit, “Russia conducts first test of fifth-generation Sukhoi.”

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inferior fourth generation aircraft.160 The problem with this thinking is that it did not

consider the possibility that Russia could deploy a force of PAK FA fighters at least

equal in quality yet superior in numbers to the 187 F-22A of the USAF, exporting the

aircraft in the hundreds to other powers with which one day the U.S. might become

involved in an air war. In addition, Russia might build a lighter version of the PAK

FA,161 equivalent to the F-35, and produce and export it in large numbers.

In terms of unit cost, the F-22A appears to have now a price of about $140 million,

yet the fighter’s production has been terminated.162 The price for the F-35 goes beyond

$100 million per aircraft to a current flyaway cost of $112 million per plane, rising to

$130 million for each F-35 after incorporating the requirements for the Israeli Air

Force.163 The PAK FA is expected to cost less than $100 million or about $100 million

per aircraft.164 In 2001 the Russian Air Force had a requirement for 300 PAK FA, but

currently the requirement is for 250 fighters, with the single-seat version being Russia’s

preferred design option.165 However, the Russian Defense Ministry may purchase more

of the two-seat version of the PAK FA as training aircraft. On the other hand, the twin-

seat PAK FA is the preferred option for India’s FGFA, and of the Indian requirement for

250 fighters, 200 would be of the two-seat version and the remaining 50 would be single-

seat aircraft.166 Negotiations between Russia and India continue on the joint development

of the PAK FA and FGFA. In this regard, Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of Sukhoi said:

“We are in the process of negotiations. They will be completed in the near future and we

shall ink a contract for the technical sketch project of this plane then.”167 Speaking on the

export potential of the joint Russian and Indian fifth generation fighter project after the T-

50’s first flight, Pogosyan declared: “I am strongly convinced that our joint project will

excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and will not only allow strengthening the

defense power of Russian and Indian Air Forces, but also gain a significant share of the

world market.”168 The combined production of the Russian PAK FA and the Indian

160 See The History Channel, Dogfights of the Future. 161 “Lëgkii istrebitel’ 5-go pokoleniia budet sozdan na baze tekhnologii tiazhelogo perspektivnogo

istrebitelia” (Light fighter of fifth generation will be created on the basis of the technology of the heavy

prospective fighter), ARMS-TASS, April 16, 2008, at http://arms-tass.su/?page=article&aid=53759&cid=25

(January 30, 2010). The “heavy prospective fighter” is the PAK FA. 162 Pandit, “Russia conducts first test of fifth-generation Sukhoi;” “Rusia desvela el futuro de su aviación de

combate con el primer vuelo de su caza de quinta generación.” 163 “Sredniaia stoimost’ amerikanskogo istrebitelia 5-go pokoleniia JSF mozhet previsit’ 80 mln dollarov,”

ARMS-TASS, February 26, 2010, at http://arms-tass.su/?page=article&aid=81510&cid=25 (February 26,

2010); Amy Butler and others, “Going Vertical: As price soars, JSF comes down for its vertical landing,”

Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 22, 2010, p. 33; “Israel presses U.S. for F-35 deal,” UPI.com,

February 12, 2010, at http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/02/12/Israel-presses-

US-for-F-35-deal/UPI-44751266002107/ (March 14, 2010). 164 “The T-50 fifth-generation fighter;” Shukla, “India to develop 25% of fifth generation fighter.” 165 Gordon, Russian Air Power, pp. 328-29; Shukla, “India to develop 25% of fifth generation fighter;”

Shukla, “India, Russia close to PACT on next generation fighter.” 166 Ibid. 167 “Russia, India to sign contract for sketching 5th generation jet soon,” ITAR-TASS, March 13, 2010, at

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14911748&PageNum=0 (March 13, 2010). 168 “Sukhoi Company launches flight tests of PAK FA advanced tactical frontline fighter.”

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FGFA would be of at least 500 aircraft, and it could reach a total of 600 machines and

even more considering additional export orders.169

With a price of about $100 million per aircraft, the PAK FA would not be cheap and

only wealthy countries or countries with access to sizeable amounts of export revenues,

like from oil and gas exports, could afford buying it. In addition to Russia and India, the

PAK FA may be exported to China, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Syria (paid by Iran), Venezuela

(under Hugo Chavez), perhaps to Kazakhstan, probably even to Malaysia and Vietnam

thanks to their gas and oil revenues, and possibly also to Indonesia, which may feel

compelled to buy the PAK FA in limited numbers to counterbalance the 100 F-35 that

Australia plans to acquire.170 Thus, the PAK FA would likely find a market among those

countries that have purchased the Su-30MK and/or have the Su-27 and can afford the

Russian fifth generation fighter. The U.S. will export the F-35 to Israel, at least 75 to

100,171 and if Washington does not want to sell the Joint Strike Fighter to its oil-rich Arab

allies, some of these may entertain the idea of buying the PAK FA instead. In such case,

Russia would be more than willing to expand the market for its fighter aircraft.

It must be considered also that some of the countries that might acquire the PAK FA

could use their fifth generation fighter force in air naval operations against the U.S. Navy.

Some serious thought should be given to the possibility that squadrons of PAK FA

manned by well trained pilots operating from land bases could pose a credible threat

against the squadrons of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and F-35C Lightning II of an aircraft

carrier battle group, particularly in the battle for air superiority and air supremacy. If the

operational PAK FA turns out to be as remarkable a machine as it has been reported it

would be, the Pentagon should seriously consider revising its assessments with regard to

what is the adequate number of air superiority fighters the USAF and the U.S. Navy

should deploy, and if there is a fighter gap not just in terms of number of aircraft but

particularly concerning fighter capabilities in the vital air superiority role. If the PAK FA

proves to be a successful aircraft, the U.S. should expect a proliferation of this fifth

generation fighter among those countries with means to acquire it and with a foreign

policy that shares Moscow’s pursuit of a multipolar world order at the expense of a

unipolar international system centered in the United States.

Recommendations:

Even though there are no plans to acquire more F-22A in the foreseeable future,

measures should be taken to restart the Raptor’s production line in case it is needed.

Further delays in the IOC for the F-35A due to program development delays should make

the government rethink its policy of closing F-22A production after acquiring 187

aircraft. The Raptor is a proven design and it is operational. The F-35A, on the other

hand, has yet to enter into service. In the meantime, the U.S. fighter gap would become

wider as legacy fourth generation fighters like the F-15C/D reach the end of their service

life. While the USAF F-35A enters into service in adequate numbers, the U.S.

169 Jackson, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 2006-2007, p. 504. 170 Keijsper, p. 260. 171 “Israel presses U.S. for F-35 deal.”

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government should produce at least 60 more F-22A to help reduce the fighter gap. That

would give a total number of 247 Raptors, roughly equivalent to the 250 PAK FA Russia

plans to acquire or the 250 FGFA for India. China could acquire from Russia at least 250

PAK FA but probably up to 300 aircraft, if not more. Total PAK FA production,

including exports, may top 1,000 planes. The best aircraft to confront the Russian fifth

generation fighter in air superiority operations will be the F-22A, even after the F-35

enters service. It is up to the political leadership of the United States of America to

realize that the quality of a combat aircraft is not enough to win a war and guarantee a

country’s security but that numbers of air superiority fighters still matter.