Marina Lystseva via the
youngster
Of the jets in production that promise to take military
fighters deep into the 21st century and beyond, the U.S. F-35, the Chinese J-20, and the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA are at the top of
the heap.
The T-50 will be offered to countries —
and Russian allies — looking for an alternative to the F-35, Lockheed Martin's
long-delayed fifth generation fighter. The Russians expect to sell
about 1,000 fighters
worldwide.
See why it won't compete
>
But those
countries won't be training pilots any time soon. According to Russia’s Centre for
Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) the delivery schedule
could be decades away for some purchasing nations. Malaysia won't get their
T-50s until 2035 at the earliest.
And if Americans thought they were alone in
questioning the need for an advanced fighter program in today's drone-filled
skies, many Russians are also wondering at the need for their new
aircraft.
"There is no mission and no adversary for
such plane," Russian defense analyst Konovalov says. "It would be more expedient
to fit modern avionics to older generation jets."
