VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW
Sukhoi chief says fifth-generation design will be crucial for country's competitiveness
OKB Sukhoi and RSK MiG have submitted detailed proposals for the LFI fifth-generation fighter to the Russian defence ministry, and are expecting announcements on the comparative studies from a tender committee by March.
Last month, Russian air force deputy commander Lt Gen Yuri Klishin said a winner will be named this year. The defence ministry is thought to be more interested in maintaining a competitive environment than making an early decision, which other state officials are insisting they do. The ministry could order a competitive fly-off before it selects a winning bidder.
RSKMiG and Sukhoi have separately created consortia to bid for the LFI contract - in some cases the same firms are in both groupings. RSK MiG has deals with the Irkutsk (IAPO) and Komsomolsk-na-Amur (KnAAPO) factories, which are responsible for various members of the Sukhoi Su-27/30 family, and Sokol, having built the MiG-29UB and MiG-31 Foxhound.
Sukhoi has teamed up with 13 research institutes, Su-32/34 manufacturer NAPO at Novosibirsk, and KnAAPO. It is also holding talks with IAPO and Sokol.
Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pogosyan says that, to be economically justified, 500-1,000 aircraft need to be built for domestic and export markets. The LFI should cost between $35 million and $40 million, while "offering superior performance" to the US-developed Joint Strike Fighter, he says.
Pogosyan confirms Sukhoi's earlier $1.5 billion estimate of LFI development cost, which would include manufacturing prototypes, adding that because of "lower labour costs in Russia, this translates into $6 billion to $10 billion for the same work in the USA".
The funding should be provided by the defence ministry, industry and overseas partners. "In reality, a new design oriented only on the domestic market is not going to succeed," Pogosyan says. Sukhoi predicts that the Su-27-family aircraft will continue to sell well in the next two to three years, but sales will start to decline by 2005, falling to zero within 10 years.
The LFI is needed to maintain Russian competitiveness in international markets. "To maintain sales, we should bring a new design to the market in 2008-2010," says Pogosyan. As for doubts over the LFI's short development period, he adds: "Fifth-generation fighter work began in the Soviet Union in 1983, and technologies have been developed. That's why seven to eight years is sufficient".
Source: Flight International
