Prototype: An example flying with no visible marking or paint scheme
Picture courtesy of www.globalbearings.net
INTRODUCTION
Here and now, Mother Russia enters the realm of semi-stealth MRCA fighters capable of doing everything from strike, air to air interdiction, surveillance and whatever else that needs to be done in the name of combat aviation.
SPECIFICATIONS
Specs wise, it's hard to tell, but it'll certainly be customized to arm the next generation of BVR missiles and totting the latest in avionics comparable to the AESA radar or i dare say bettering it! Check this out for more info on the specs.
FIRST IMPRESSION
From first impression, the PAK FA or should we say T-50 is developed to counter western types, namely the F-22 Raptor and the problematic F-35 Lightning II more in terms to challenge the former for market share rather than technological superiority. Looking at this in the business sense, the PAK FA has a very promising outlook as eastern bloc harware has always come across as the cheaper alternative compared to those of western types. From the picture above, it looks roughly like the American Lockheed Martin F-22 and the Chinese Chengdu J-20. Here's a pictorial comparison.
Comparison: Su-27, J-20, F22, T-50 & F-22A
Picture courtesy of http://media.moddb.com
Putting this into a rough comparison, the Mig-25 has been countered by the F-14, the Mig-29 with the F-16, the Su-27 with the F-15, the Su-30 with the F-22 and now, the latest development, the PAK FA. Please note that the comparisons are just merely to state the point that every advancement will be met by a counter-advancement and not in any way prove a direct match for each other. All of the above have been upgraded from time to time and most if not all have overlaps with each other.
PERFORMANCE
With it's first prototype flying in Jan 2010, it's performance has only lately been released to the public during MAKS 2011. Question, how did it do? Honestly, judging from Youtube footage, i personally think that the SU-30 has better performance! Of course there are alot of other factors to consider, for example, the SU-30 is based on the SU-27 thus pilots would have much more experience with it compared to the PAK FA which has only recently taken flight. Furthermore, it's a prototype, so i would think that the test pilots have been instructed to go easy on it! It's not yet a proven design! LOL
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, the PAK FA is still at it's infancy, and like i said, it hold a lot of potential in a couple of years. Already, this airframe has receive interest from the Indian Air Force and sources have said that the PAK FA will also be considered for future aquisitions from the Republic of Korea Air Force. This would be one airframe to look out for in the coming years.
Will update when there are more solid updates of course. Chiow!
