The fifth-generation PAK FA T-50 jet fighter will have a higher maximum speed, longer maximum flight time and greater freight capacity than the American-made F-22 and the Chinese J-20, Air Force Colonel General Alexander Zelin said Monday, RIA-Novosti reported. The new Russian fighter plane, first shown off in August at the 2011 MAKS air show outside Moscow, also has a shorter required takeoff distance than the American and Chinese fighters currently in use.
Production of the American F-22 was ceased by manufacturer Lockheed Martin in December. The latest American jet fighter, the F-35, was first tested in 2006 and is set to enter the field in 2016.
Zelin also announced Monday that a new missile will be developed this year for the S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft defense system. The S-400 system has been in service since 2007 and owes its name to its capability to hit targets at a distance of 400 kilometers.
