Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW
Russia is to introduce a fifth-generation fighter by 2010, according to Maj Gen Sergey Kolyadin, the chairman of the Russian Air Forces Scientific Engineering Committee.
Kolyadin's comments in a recent interview with the Russian media are one of the strongest indications yet that the air force is pushing forward with plans to field a rival to Lockheed Martin's F-22.
The impoverished Russian combat aircraft industry has been working on advanced fighter proposals for several years without any prospects of the funds being available for a full development programme. The outlook for the industry appears to have improved, however, with large increases announced for the defence budget and the election of Vladimir Putin as the country's President.
Kolyadin says the air force considers the MAPO MiG 1.44 and Sukhoi S-37 Berkut forward swept-wing fighter as experimental aircraft to develop and evaluate new technologies rather than as competing prototypes. Whether either will evolve into serious contenders for production should the requirement progress remains to be seen.
For now, flight tests of both aircraft continue. The MiG 1.44 has made only one flight and some reports suggest that adjustments to the digital flight control system must be made before the tests resume. On the other hand, Sukhoi has gained such confidence in its S-37 Berkut that it is talking about an international debut for the forward-swept winged fighter at July's Farnborough Air Show.
• A Russian air force MiG-31 interceptor crashed on landing at Kotlas air base in the Archangel region of northern Russia on 6 April. One of the two pilots was killed. Since it reached initial operational capability in 1981, 36 MiG-31s have been lost in accidents and 20 pilots killed, one of the worst safety records in the air force.
Source: Flight International
