Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA Better Than US 5th Generation Fighter?

Sukhoi PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter jet is finalizing tests of its versatile arsenal before deployment next year. Russia’s Air Force chief says there will be no such target on the scene of operations that the fighter would not be able to engage.

When compared to American F-22 or F-35 5G fighter jets, Sukhoi PAK-FA (T-50) is going to “outperform them in all technical aspects,” the commander of the Russian Air Forces, Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev said on Thursday.

The PAK-FA fighter jet is going to be truly multirole, being able to equally engage targets “on the ground, in the air and on the sea,” he said, confirming that in 2016 the Air Force will first get the aircraft, then in 2017 the PAK-FA will go into serial production.

With the cutting-edge equipment installed on already manufactured machines, there are more features in development to be integrated into the fighter’s systems on later stages, said Bondarev, mentioning “practical stealth” program being applied in the PAK-FA’s development.

Earlier this week Vladimir Mikheev, an advisor to the deputy head of the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern [KRET], said that the Sukhoi PAK-FA fighter jet is “already to some degree a flying robot,” where“the reaction of the aviator is a part of the control loop.”

He also said that PAK-FA is going to be less observable on radars than generally recognized American stealth trendsetter, the F-22 fighter jet.

“The T-50 is now ahead of not only all other fighters of the Russian Army, but also foreign models. For example, the visibility of the American fifth-generation F-22 fighter is 0.3-0.4 square meters," the developer stressed.

The Sukhoi PAK FA’s visibility stands at between 0.1 and 1 square meters, KRET added. The US military officials have expressed a certain concern in regards of the upcoming Russian 5G fighter jet.

“Performance-wise it certainly looks to compete with the Raptor,” The National Interest cited senior US military official comparing the F-22 and PAK-FA.

Last year, former US Air Force intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula commented to the National Interest that PAK-FA has “pretty sophisticated design that is at least equal to, and some have said even superior to US fifth-generation aircraft.”

The National Interest named PAK-FA “an air superiority fighter, rather than a multi-role aircraft like the F-35,” putting the capability to cruise supersonically ahead other features.

According to Bondarev, which mentioned that PAK-FA’s top speed exceeds Mach 2.0, other features are decisive for modern fighter jet, which are “low-signature, wide variety of armament and super maneuverability.”

The Russian Air Force plans to purchase 55 T-50 fighter jets between 2016 and 2020, was reported in December.