The Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA – PAK FA means Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation – is a milestone in Russian aircraft production. From what we have seen of it it is believed to be a fifth-generation aircraft with stealth features, big internal weapon bays, and top modern avionics. It has not been introduced yet and therefore a lot is unknown about it and there are many opinions about it since it has not been in actual combat. However, using trusted sources we can get an overview of the fighter and by that try to understand what the world will see when Sukhoi introduces it in 2016.
What is the PAK FA?
First some backgrounds about the project. The Sukhoi PAK FA or the T-50 is a joint project between the Russians and Indians. It has been claimed that the Chinese were also invited, but that they refused, claiming they had a better idea of their own. The reason for the Russians to need partners was the fact that after the fall of the Soviet Union the Russian economy suffered a financial crisis in the late 90ies, following Gorbachov’s economic reforms (one of the reasons) in 1987 and 1988. They, therefore, needed partners and turned to their allies in the South. The Indians are, by a contract signed in 2001, supposed to pay 25% of the development cost of the fighter, and for this they do not only get PAK FAs, but also their own especially made HAL FGFA, which is an upgraded version of the T-50, featuring more than 43 improvements from the PAK FA, among others better avionics, better stealth, and the capability to mount Indian missiles and rockets on the hardpoints. The T-50 program is expected to cost about $20 billion and the unit cost is predicted to be ~$50 million. The Russians hope to keep the cost down for the PAK FA not only because they want to buy it for their own Air Force, but because it would be a very affordable fighter for export.
The outside of the T-50
The Sukhoi PAK FA T-50
Starting with the exterior: There are lots of pictures of the T-50 available, (almost) all show the same thing. A twin-engine configuration with a small visual signature from the front as it is very thin. But with its 19.8m it is bigger than most modern fighters – as can be seen in the table:
| Fighter: | Length: |
| PAK FA | 19.8m |
| F-22 Raptor | 18.9m |
| F-35 Lightning II | 15.7m |
| MiG-35 | 17.3m |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | 15.96m |
| Su-27 | 21.936m |
It has swept-back dihedral wings with two horizontal and two vertical stabilizers. The engine intakes are also thin and are located close to the fuselage. The engines feature 3d thrust vectoring which means that it can alter its exhaust nozzles to direct the hot gases in any way it wants which makes it capable of turning faster. The Russians have gone with a tailed delta wing configuration just like with their MiGs, and not with the trapezoidal which the Americans has gone with. This is remarkable as many tend to say that Russian airplanes are copy-cats of the Western ones but judging from the shape of the generation fifth fighter jets that is certainly not the case. After we have a closer look, one can recognize that the shape of the PAK FA has been developed from the Sukhoi Flankers (as can be seen in the picture below). That the Russians have “borrowed” some ideas from the US Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program is however very likely since they use planform alignment on the PAK FA to get invisible to radar, which is one of the things that was developed in the ATF program.
Similarities between the PAK FA and Su-35
How stealthy is the Russian stealth jet?
The exact radar cross-section of the PAK FA is not known as Sukhoi has chosen not to reveal it yet. But we can see that the Russians are extensively using the previously mentioned planform alignment which decreases the radar signature enormously. It is also built by using a lot of composite materials which absorbs the radar waves. Engine inlets are “melted” with the fuselage, and it features internal weapon bays. Two things that probably makes it less stealthy than its US counterpart is that it has round engine nozzles and a round IRST at the windshield. Sukhoi has claimed that the RCS of the PAK FA will be 1/40 of the Su-35S’s which would then be somewhere between -13 and -19 dBsM. Here are some quotes about the stealthiness of the PAK FA made by Air Power Australia:
The low observable design shaping employed in the PAK-FA prototype shows an excellent grasp of the design rules employed by American designers in the development of the F-22A and YF-23 Advanced Tactical Fighter…” – Air Power Australia, 2010
Where the PAK-FA falls well short of the F-22A and YF-23 is the shaping design of the lower fuselage and side fuselage, where the general configuration, wing/fuselage join angles, and inlet/engine nacelle join angles” – Air Power Australia, 2010
The “Fifth-generation engines”
The 3d TV featuring nozzles of the PAK FA
The engines of the T-50 which have been claimed to be the “fifth-generation engines” are one of the most interesting parts of the PAK FA according to many. The first of the T-50s produced will use the 117 engines, developed from the old AL-31 engines which are used on the Sukhoi Su-27. They are really powerful, and although the exact figures remain classified, it has been said by sources familiar with the topic that the thrust is increased by 24,500N over the AL-31s. This would result in a Thrust-to-weight ratio of a very high 1.19 for the PAK FA. The American counterpart, the F-22 Raptor has currently with its Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines a Thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.09. As if this was not enough, the later units of the PAK FA program will instead feature two Izdeliye 30 engines, which might give the fighter a thrust to weight ratio of 1.41 – a huge number. The top speed of the PAK FA is high, thanks to its NPO Saturn engines which allows it to supercruise at Mach 1.6 and to have a top speed of Mach 2.3. Supercruise is a feature that many gen 4.5 and gen 5 fighters possess. It means that they can fly at supersonic speeds without using afterburners. This reduces the use of fuel and so increases the range, reduces the heat signature (vs IR-guided missiles) and gives the aircraft a higher flexibility as it can fly faster for longer periods of time. The range of the PAK FA with 117 engines is supposedly over 3,500 kilometers at subsonic speeds.
The PAK FA weapon carry capacity
Picture showing the four internal weapon bays of the PAK FA
But you can’t take out your enemy using engines and aerodynamics – you need weapons. The PAK FA is currently capable to house a wide variety of weapons, both Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground, and it has a 30 mm gun.
As we can see they have about the same capacity of weapons, with the PAK FA having a slight advantage – weapon-wise – in stealth-mode (only internal weapon bays) while the Raptor has an advantage in missions that do not require stealth (external hardpoints can be fitted as well). The Russian fighter has a slightly larger variety of weapons. They both feature guns on the right side of their fuselage with the following guns mounted:
| Fighter: | PAK FA | F-22 |
| Name of the gun: | Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-301 | M61 Vulcan |
| Caliber: | 30mm | 20mm |
| Rate of fire: | 1,500-1800 rounds per minute | 6,000-6,600 rounds per minute |
| Action: | Short recoil operated | Gatling |
| Barrels: | 1 | 6 |
| Muzzle velocity: | 860meters per second | 1,050 meters per second |
So the F-22 Raptor has both a higher muzzle velocity and a higher rate of fire. But the PAK FA still has very good features in both of these aspects. The higher caliber of the PAK FA’s GSh-301 will theoretically have a bigger impact in a fight than the 20 mm gun of the Raptor will. But with muzzle velocities of over 1000m/s the Raptor’s gun is extremely dangerous. So you better don’t have either one of them at your six.
The conclusion of this article is that the PAK FA seems like a very capable fighter once it enters service and production. However, at the current stage, we know the capability on paper and kind of what modules will be used. But how they cooperate together is unknown as we have not seen many tests of it. It features a strong engine, a big internal weapon bay, stealth and maneuverability similar to the (very capable) predecessor Flanker. And what might be its selling point is the price that is assumed to be much lower than Western counterparts. But we certainly don’t know enough to give an educated statement at this point – and there might be some surprises upcoming. But one thing is sure – even if it features some technologies that the F-22 and other stealth fighters have – it is certainly not a copy. Spying into each other’s activities is normal in the defense industry. But the Russian approach is strongly based on proven own developments.
Additional reading:
- Which fighter is the best – The F-22 Raptor vs The Eurofighter Typhoon
- Read about the trillion dollar project: 5th generation fighter jets too expensive?
- Want to read about the Kalinin K-7, an enormous bomber project from the 30’s? Do it here.
Sources:
- Redstar.gr
- Deagel.com
- Ausairpower.net
- Butowski, Piotr. “Russian Supercruiser”. Air International, February 2011, pp. 34. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing.
- Russiandefenseblog.org
- Ipsnews.net
its useless to compare it with the F-22 , now its the F35 !
We americans don like comparing our apples to apples of another, your apples vs our oranges ! That’s how bad azz we are.
russians indians china, they will soon wipeout the americans wether you like it or not, so be prepered.
lololol
haha…hang on to that pipe dream. lol. Not even 99.99% of anyone on this planet truly knows what our 5th gen’s are capable of doing. why would we show our hand to the enemy? plus, the original always wins against cheap copies. Russia is a washed up nation. india? wtf? china would never touch us be cause we fuel their economy too heavily. so basically, no, you are just an ill-informed, propaganda ridden jackass.
Technically “jackass” your country owes so much money to China they wouldn’t think twice about attacking! And seeing how devoted China’s army is I don’t think the U.S. Have a chance of winning, unless America starts forcing every kindergarten kid to learn kunfu and basically start preparing their youth for a future war.
Me being a well informed ” jackass “(one of the 0.01% people who know what your f22 & f35 are capable of) your f22 raptors can only drop shit from sky (…..well if they can fly……)
No Andul, the chinks, Hindus or Cossacks ARENT going to wipe out the US! The Russians and Chinese together DO NOT have the naval forces or even offensive combat aircraft to equal what the US deploys globally !!
And the Indians?? They actually want the US on their side against China and Pakistan!
Reality is the Chinese and Russians want what you sand monkeys have ( cheap oil reserves for the Chinese and wheat and mineral reserves for the Russians )
And unlike the US , they will brutally TAKE your sorry assed shot from you like they have done to others historically and without caring about human rights!
If the world got rid of all you desert savages their might be a bit more peace in this world
First of all you’re racist
Second even the us don’t have any capability to invade china,russia or even india
Lastly even the americans do war crimes
First of all you’re racist
Second even the us don’t have any capability to invade china,russia or even india
Lastly even the americans do war crimes
sorry, but you are out of your skull with stupidity
That’s funny.. didn’t we prove in a world war II and world war I that multiple countries at once can’t stop us get over yourself buddy the Russians can keep continuing to try to copy our stuff and fail like they do but guaranteed we have stuff that you don’t know about and by a click of a button one could be wiped out we just played in the Middle East just to gain funds and patriotism and it worked. Keep dreaming buddy the whole world will be our playground
Have the Chinese perfected the maunfacturing of single crystal super alloys ? Have the Russians done so as well?
Comparing the two is useless as the PAK FA will wipe out the F-35
F35 is not an air superiority fighter its too slow and less maneuverable
it’s multirole. you don’t go mach 2 in a dogfight and its stealth prevents long range attacks. so in a turning fight, I think it will take on almost anything the weak, broke, rusty Russian “air force” can come up with.
Ahahahahaha. Did you even fly one of those F-35 Lighting fighters? More importantly, did you even engage in a dogfight with the PAK FA? If the answer is no, then why did you even exist in this world? You’re probably looking at specifications, but never underestimate anything. Make good use with your life.
Russians have a benefit of hindsight regarding the problems US encountered. They also designed the PAK-FA with their doctrine in mind as well as with their own philosophy of combat application. Russians did say that they have plans on dealing with hiding the nozzles. Would be interesting to see how they will do it…
my opinion…if are something real stuff I don’t know, anyway better than injuries or other bad jokes ( anyway I don’t like too much Russian, we from eastern europeans countries, ave very good reasons ) as I see till now..russian PAK-FA is not a copy but can be ( maybe ), BUT in facts this made myself to left with opened mouth Russian cannot aford to copy pieces by pieces or entire F-22 technology , WHY ? because technology are very complex to use and to apllied as only Americans know to do, …by other hand, Russian have problems with finding funds, they tried a cooperation with India (maybe to share the huge budget needed to development ) but is still behind of F-22 , they tried to compensate as usual by maneuverability, tactics, maybe’re using long range of radar, the surface not so absorbable by radar waves (easy to maintain, in Russia winter are heavy) and they cannot applied ”entire” theft technology, beacuse is not applicable to them and also is expansive to apply..is a Russsian solution from inspired F-22 technology ( let’s recognize, Americans was first in all military applied technology and that counts because you have already gained experience, Russian is still in ”childhood” whit this )
Direct F-22 copy
You can’t copy the F 22 by looking at it idiot
Stealth aircrfat have nono steath coatings and most of the real stuff are the electronics and they are inside
Stealth aircrafts are limited to certain designs
All stealth bombers will be similar to B2 even with independant R&D
All stealth interceptors will look like the F22 and you can’t do anything about it
From same problems belongs similar solution. look at sharks and doplhin. Their shape may seem the same but one is a fish, the other is a mammal… T-50 has more features than F-22. The little wings incapsulated in the front profile of the main wings gives a canard effect without needing a delta wing that decrease agility. Pak fa has front radar, side radar and rear radar. F-22 doesn’t. The T-50 has a more capacitive bay than the american. Pak fa is less expensive than F-22…
Stealth only reduces visibility and does not mean invisibility. Why doesn’t USA test this F-22 by flying into the Russian air space and see if they will fly back to base. We want to see if it will be able to evade the S-400 anti aircraft complexes.
Yeah! We all want to see Americans try! But they won’t. S400 is the real deal.
Pak fa vs raptors a very good match up. Hope the Russians hurry up and make pak fa production up and running.
Ahahahahaha. Did you even fly one of those F-22 fighters? More importantly, did you even engage in a dogfight with the PAK FA? You’re probably looking at specifications, but never underestimate the F-22. The Russians made the PAK FA with budget and low maintenance costs priorities. The aircraft’s skin may not have radar absorbent features. That’s because radar-absorbent material is sensitive. But why did America manage to do it with the F-22? That’s because they have superior technology. F-22’s avionics may (or surely) be better than the PAK FA’s. A variety of weapons dosen’t mean the fighter is superior immediately. The F-22 has less weapons because those weapons are multi-role, top of the line and hyper-lethal. No need for the izieedelizs missiles or the schukefjoa missiles (whatever, they spell like scientific names). A squadron of F-22’s with AMRAAMs and AIM-9 Sidewinders will easily take down the whole Russian Air Force. Make good use with your life. So before you judge, either test the jets out in a dogfight or at least improve you grammar.
The T-50 borrowed a lot of ideas, but you can still see the Russian/Sukhoi influence. A lot of the principals to stealth will translate to any design as they have to share that specific commonality.
It is a solid design and I’m curious to see how it progresses, much as the F22 did.
All-in-all, I see it as a design of its own, and a good one at that. I think it’s far better than the chinese garbage that will fall apart shortly after take off.
I’m intrigued to see some of the other stuff that Russia is sure to be testing soon.
hopefully they are spending the little money they have left on parachutes and rescue choppers. they will need those if they ever decide to challenge the f-22 or even the f-35 or the f-15. have you forgot that the f-15 has never lost a combat encounter. Even against the Russian aircrap…..I mean craft 😉
YEP! That’s right! While the F-15 never lost any combat encounter/engagements, the F-22 is even superior to them! PAK FA, ready your ejector seats, for any combat encounters with the F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22, and F-35 shall surely end with your pilot shrieking with fear and pressing/pulling the ejection button/lever before an AMRAAM hit you and make you explode into oblivion.
They probably used the tech they used from the Berkut, the T-50 is more of a fusion of the F-22 and the Su-27. I think it’s a rather marvelous looking aircraft. If they used the Raptor to build it, so what?
The Russians are the best in military advance technologies world wide….the t-50 is so far high than raptor
Can’t see that it is a copy. There are no internal stores, the wing span is just huge & if anything, it’s a natural progression of a plane that has been around a while.
I apologise there are internal storage bays but it would be interesting to see how big. Every picture I see has the air to air weapons external along with the sensors where the F22 carrys them internally.
Doesn’t external weapons compromise the stealth?
External arms? Stealth dislikes…
America is falling behind russia and americans are too ignorant to understand,russia has more billonaires than usa,russia is several miles ahead of usa.
And facts? The US has the advantage in GDP, defense budget, numerical, logistic, stealth, radar etc.
The Irbis-E only is only a ‘longer range’ radar when using specific settings. On typical search, it’s inferior to the APG-77 and other US radars. Not to mention its PESA, all US air superiority fighters are AESA. The stealth on the Pak FA is worse than that of the F-35, and not even close to the F-22 (it’s not bad either).
Also, the F-22 carries 6 AMRAAMs and two Sidwinder missiles, the artical failed to mention that. The AIM-9X gave the US the same off-bore sight capability of the Russian jets, which was their greatest advantage. This went into service in 2003.
In terms of Russian advantages, they are: longer range missiles, sligly more manueverable and IRSAT. The missile range is negated by better US stealth, IRSAT is a good back up (not replacement) to radar but is still shorter range and pilot training is far more important during a dogfight than the slight manueverability, as seen by numerous F-15 kills of Su-27 and other jets.
This being said, the Pak FA is still amazing. The advantages the Rapter holds are mainly due to it being a more expensive, thus higher tech, aircraft. Russia couldn’t afford to dump piles and piles of money into developing a better fighter. In fact, China will probobly soon replace Russia as the US’ main millitary competitor simply due to budget. At thus point, I’m just going to point out the GDPs of these two nations: US-16.8 trillion, Russia 2.1 trillion. Russia won’t have a hope of catching the US with thise kinds of numbers. It takes a lot of money to make fantastic aircraft; it takes a stupid amount more to make the best.
someone tell me exact fights of “numerous F-15 kills of Su-27 and other jets”.. the guy that wrote dont know much about airplanes….
someone tell me exact fights of “numerous F-15 kills of Su-27 and other jets”.. the guy that wrote dont know much about airplanes….
So, what is wrong? American planes killed a lot of Russian and Soviet planes, as fact.
U maybe idiot son,where u see russian airplane lose dor americans cmon dont lie ,Ur f-22 f-35 total shit its maybe little beautiful and can nothing more no speed no power ,And what russians aircraft can in THE air nobady can like that ok .continue lie like Ur president .
And thats why america is bankrupt so how can Russia make a f22 equal fighter jet and they don’t have as these 2 nations will never use them at one another the first weapons would be nukes and that would be the end.
Funniest comment ever. The only thing Russia has an advantage over America is vodka.
Like Ur post just dont need lie saying russia is behind EUA is maybe 15 years old not today.
Oh dear, thanks to the Russians, if Russia does not keep America on check, then what would this world become one day? Soon actually! It is of their own ideas (the Russians) that keep them afloat, though many may hate them, I adore them. Yes, they maybe working with the Indians for the purpose of sharing the cost, but the Indians are gaining technologically from this deal. The Americans work with the British, sharing costs and ideas throughout, and that’s lovely, we all love that. In the same love, let us cherish the Russians and the Indians. Imagine this world, with America as the boss, without Russia. So thumbs up for Russia, we love you Russo.
An F-22 copy? No. The Pak FA seems to me to be just the end point of the Su-27 family. It appears to be designed with front aspect stealth as the primary concern. The huge round nozzles seem to not care about minimizing the IR signature, not to mention they compromise the stealth. Cheaper, yes.
Easy say in demonstrations su-35 pak fa what do no have plane like do in air finish coment.ok bye open ur fucking eyes And mind why lie???
Keep bitching about this project but it won’t change the fact that this pose a legitimate threat to American air superiority. If FA can’t outmatch F22/F35, FGFA will.
The so-called stealth technology dictates design. It’s a classic case of form following function much like the rocket and space shuttle design. As requirements and doctrine for air warfare changes and manufacturing techniques improve, so do aircraft and their design requirements which is why we see a huge leap from third generation F4-F5- and Mig-21s-23s-25s in fourth generation designs with F14-F15-F16-F18 and Mig-29 Su-27 on Soviet side.
Third generation was way too optimistic in the efficiency of beyond visual range engagement so maneuverability was a distant second in aircraft design guidelines. However BVR proved not to be a home run due to counter-measures and inherent shortcomings of the weapons so eventually it was realized maneuverability was as important hence newer aircraft were to be not only fast but agile and maneuverable. Fifth generation was built around “stealth” so agility and other aspects were dialed down a notch to give the aircraft radar evading qualities, also resulting in aircraft that looked similar as a result.
The F-22 has an internal capacity of 8. The capacity only drops to 6 when carrying an air to ground loadout
Can F-22 do a cobra?
Can a T-50 launch a missile at an F-22, F-35, F-15, F-18, or any other US Fighter and strike it while the US aircraft is at it’s own missiles maximum distance range? While it(T-50) is doing a “Cobra” air show/entertainment only maneuver? Didn’t think so. Didn’t care really. But i just thought I’d send you some REAL useful facts instead of insinuating the importance & effectiveness of a flight maneuver created for entertainment purposes only & has ZERO reflection of the real world battle scenarios & what kind of engagements the opposing militaries would actually employ as actual tactical war engagements.
Conclusion: The T-50 would never win a battle against any US Fighter Jet while it was performing a maneuver like the cobra, and would most likely be shot down by the US FJ while still making the maneuver as it had no idea the USFJ had locked & launched & headed back to it’s base.
According to basic google searches from several sites. The t-50 is a few km faster in top speed then the f 22. Also, the t-50 has a radar finding range of 400 km vs the f22 245km. (i might be wrong but this is simply what i found). In theory we have no proof if either one of the stealth aspects is that good. The russian plane, also probably has the electromagnetical system that screws with all electronics in a certain radius other then the plane’s. This simply won’t let rockets target it. For those people saying that is a hoax; please read up on it. The f-15 is a faster aircraft, but is outmatched by around 400 kms by the mig 31s speed. In total, the t-50 is a much cheaper and easier to make aircraft. Once more, I am basing this of of statistics. Therefore it looks like the Russian jets out class those of America.
The su-37 terminator better than f22 and t50 better than su-37 so t50 better than f22.and the engine of f22 is copy of Russia’s engine.
f 22 and f35 are chaff before t 50