Russian T50 Stealth Fighter

[SUBS17]

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Russia-premieres-new-stealth-fighter/ss/events/wl/012910russianstealth#photoViewer=/100129/photos_sc_afp/58ed5c36dec950c4a7fdab3a45244c1b

Looks nice.

[Intrepid]

You are right Subs17, looks nice
Also looks like a direct copy af the F 22 
I wonder if there is only the two ways ,or designs that works stealthy, the F-22 style and the F-117 diamond pattern. I would think there would be other ways to achieve the same goal 
Randy

[JamesChams]

Hmmm.... interesting! 

[skimmer]

Surprised? Im not. Look at their space shuttle.Copy.There first migs during Korea conflict. Copy. Saber Thats just a couple

[neutrino]

Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 first flight - Jan 29, 2010

[Sludge]

Yup, 'nother Russian copy of a US design.  The only time the Russians made a good aircraft was the SU-27, and even that was a hybrid copy of the F-15 and F-18.

Guess all their German WWII scientists have passed on and now they cant even innovate or create anything on their own, as this is CLEARLY another rip off of a US design with some ugly looking Russian modifications to it.  I wonder if theyve learned to flatten out their rivet heads on their aircraft to make a smooth skin?  If youve ever seen a MiG-29 upclose, like the display at Nellis in Vegas, you can see the rivets that ARENT FLUSH with the surface of the skin.  But hey, maybe their COPY will get operational before our F-22, since they can simply SHOOT their designers and company men who try to draw out budget strings.  ALA the F-22, which has gone from RFP (request for proposal) to active use w/out operational status in 25 years.  And before anybody tries to say the F-22 is operational, show me where it is deployed in our ongoing War on Terror.  You cant, cause it isnt.  The most it does is Homeland defense CAP flights and airshows, nothing more.

Anyway, 'nuff of my rant, interesting story and pictures though.  Gotta wonder about its avionics package and if they have the AESA radars?  Im guessing they do, considering Russia's alliances with China and India.  Also, how good is the internal cockpit design?  Are they more suited to 1 v 1 dogfighting, and hence more helmet mounted-IR missile cueing?  One thing that the Russians do better than us is the close in dogfight and their IR missiles, especially off-boresight shots.  Would expect them to maintain that advantage, since its been part of every Red Aircraft since the MiG-29.

Im out, see ya at the San Fran Cat and Trap session today!
Later
Sludge

[fael097]

oh god so creative

[SUBS17]

Yup, 'nother Russian copy of a US design.  The only time the Russians made a good aircraft was the SU-27, and even that was a hybrid copy of the F-15 and F-18.

Guess all their German WWII scientists have passed on and now they cant even innovate or create anything on their own, as this is CLEARLY another rip off of a US design with some ugly looking Russian modifications to it.  I wonder if theyve learned to flatten out their rivet heads on their aircraft to make a smooth skin?  If youve ever seen a MiG-29 upclose, like the display at Nellis in Vegas, you can see the rivets that ARENT FLUSH with the surface of the skin.  But hey, maybe their COPY will get operational before our F-22, since they can simply SHOOT their designers and company men who try to draw out budget strings.  ALA the F-22, which has gone from RFP (request for proposal) to active use w/out operational status in 25 years.  And before anybody tries to say the F-22 is operational, show me where it is deployed in our ongoing War on Terror.  You cant, cause it isnt.  The most it does is Homeland defense CAP flights and airshows, nothing more.

Anyway, 'nuff of my rant, interesting story and pictures though.  Gotta wonder about its avionics package and if they have the AESA radars?  Im guessing they do, considering Russia's alliances with China and India.  Also, how good is the internal cockpit design?  Are they more suited to 1 v 1 dogfighting, and hence more helmet mounted-IR missile cueing?  One thing that the Russians do better than us is the close in dogfight and their IR missiles, especially off-boresight shots.  Would expect them to maintain that advantage, since its been part of every Red Aircraft since the MiG-29.

Im out, see ya at the San Fran Cat and Trap session today!
Later
Sludge

Yes it has AESA radar, FYI both the US and Russia have been copying each other for years its what they do. This T50 looks closer to a YF23 than an F22 is some areas. I'm looking forward to seeing it compared to the F22s gadgets which are very interesting. BTW of course it has flush rivets have a look in the video.

[AceFlyboy]

The new fifth generation Russian prototype Sukhoi fighter looks stealthy from the front but not so much from the rear. The nose may be a little F-35 or F-22 but the cockpit is more like that from the old 1982 'Firefox' film with Clint Eastwood' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_(film) or much more like that of the YF-23.
If you take the time to do a quick run through these sites and Youtube videos below you will get the gist of how the new Russian design is an extremely skillful blend of several design aspects brought together.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0244.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_military_aircraft  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35_Lightning_II

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Also from studying closely, pausing and running again and again, all the Russian TV clips on Youtube, one sees the plane more clearly........
See the sharp nose angles.
The forward undercarriage is behind the pilot, the cockpit is well forward, as per Su-27/30, the air intakes are extremely widely separated, long flattish & and narrow (more rectangular) just like F/A-18E-F ones only on their sides. The cockpit is small and neatly shoehorned in. The intakes are raked back ala F-22 and seem to be angled down a little more on the outer side to the inner side. They will bend internally to hide the highly reflective engine fan block.  
The shoulder wings have quite a long leading edge, from the intakes to the tips, and are set further back, more akin to a double delta planform. With leading and trailing edge flaps.
In forward aspect on the runway they do not appear to have much twist or camber.
The horizontal stabilators are ala F-22 or YF-23 and small in size.
In fact the plane has some definite YF-23 similarities to it with its widely separated engines & twin tails which are relatively small in area, whilst acutely angled and rising from sponsons as per F-35/YF-23.
A lot of computer aided design has gone into this, and use of a triplex or quadruplex FBW/FCS system to fly and control the plane which will be deliberately unstable.
The main undercarriage is so separated that stability in landing looks excellent.
The prototype rear is conventional but very neat, the engine exhausts are very F-14/F/A-18, seemingly without vectoring, widely splayed out and angled up, and with a small kind of 'parsons nose' like center tail between them.
In fact if pictures of the underside of an F/A-18E-F are studied the similarity is revealed, the same area ruling, curved engine bays and neat exhausts. Without the F-14 'tunnel' as the weapon bays fill that.
The widely separated engines create a large internal space for a weapon bay/fuel tankage area. The cross sections look thin for good stealth characteristics.
Twin in line weapon bays, sophisticated intake geometry, perhaps extra intake relief vane doors below intake, very large wing sponsons with internal volume for fuel, to which the wings are attached, widely spaced undercarriage neatly packaged, huge leading edge extensions over intakes, wide forward fuselage... its a brilliant design.
Range may be moderate.
It looks a good and beautiful design and should fly extremely well if the Russians can afford it, but then there are a lot of industrially or oil wealthy nations who would sponsor development and buy or build.......and I am sure Russia would be willing for the right country/ies and price........
The prototype is definitely only a metal/composite without stealthy coatings or radar/electronics but outwardly is so well designed it looks likely to be a success.
The prototype handled well in the video clips with carriage down, compare it to some clips with an Su-27/30/35 twin seat chase plane, it also landed lightly on the runway (lightly loaded, low fuel) and the winds were low and not gusting. No crabbing, side slip or instability. Use of drogue parachutes from a small bay on top of the rear fuselage that also looks like a speedbrake. (no other speedbrakes or lift dumping was evident)
A good clear cold day for flying.
The ground staff were jubilant and the number of Russian TV channels that carried the subject showed that the states public release of it flying reveals confidence in themselves, the funding and the design.
To me a brilliant design that should be a success.
Latest update to the info after prototype first flight......
see stunning photo of underside.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PAK-FA_T-50.jpg
explains a hell of a lot about its layout.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PAKFA_SU27.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pak_fa_up.JPG
  The sites below also reveal striking similarities to the final design

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[SUBS17]

Appearantly the range is supposed to be about 3000miles and the wing leading edge has AESA the lack of airbrake suggests a plan to use virtual speed braking like the Superhornet or F22.

[tifosi77]

It's the fuselage of the YF-23, the wing and tail surfaces of the YF-22, the engines of the Flanker series.  What's the Russian word for 'mongrel'?

The thing's going to be about as stealthy as a frickin' barn door.  Any gains they make in using RAM or matching angles on the surfaces will be undone by the decidedly unstealthy engine nacelles.  They'll be a massive radar reflector.

And to what others have mentioned, I've read that NATO will be giving this bird the callsign 'Firefox' if it makes it to production.  I'm not kidding.

[SUBS17]

Now that is a cool NATO name for it if they did.

[AceFlyboy]

дворовая собака (dvoróvaja sobáka)      

'the new Russian design is an extremely skillful blend of several design aspects brought together'
A mongrel can often do a job better than a pure breed.......
'looks stealthy from the front but not so much from the rear' ...... doesn't mean its stealthy.
'prototype' means development, perhaps to a stealthier rear end in the future, even vectored stealth nozzles. Maybe because of cost these compromises have been made...initially to get it flying?
The Su-27 was developed from a prototype concept, so was the F-22.... both after long and costly redesign.
Boeing didn't get it right with the X-32 JSF prototype and had to redesign the rear end from pure delta to include horizontal stabilators......but was too late and so missed the boat.

'The cross sections look thin for good stealth characteristics'  from the front.........

Also note long 'v' shapes running along the undersides of inner wings just outside of the undercarriage....possible weapon enclosures for missiles?
Also.... does it have any cannon port/s?
Those internal weapon bays located between the engines are long enough and big enough for some quite interesting weapons.... a designed in multi purpose capability?

Be as disparaging and blinkered as you like, the F-35 is a compromise aircraft with huge increasing cost, the F-22 is a perfected design only as a pure fighter at huge unaffordable cost.....
The PAK FA is a compromise.....who's paying.....? ' there are a lot of industrially or oil wealthy nations who would sponsor development and buy or build.......and I am sure Russia would be willing for the right country/ies and price........'
Not even the United States of America can afford the best anymore.....its too costly and they are now too much in debt.
Maybe to some possible recipients absolute stealth is not so important in their region...but overall capability is.... maybe it is an acceptable compromise on cost, sphere of influence grounds and affordability for internal or export consumption.
Be certain about it, the design has been created to match current and future opposing forces...and fill a long time gap in Russian capability.

If it looks right, then ...........

Go here for latest info plus a four view color profile.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_PAK_FA
or directly here;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sukhoi_PAK-FA_isometric.svg

This webpage is very good and packed with pictures...
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?149828-Sukhoi-T-50-PAK-FA

This webpage has performance info;
http://warfare.ru/?linkid=2280&catid=255

More info;
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100129/157717728.html
http://en.rian.ru/trend/fifth_generation_fighter/

Discussion here;
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread130829/pg1