A fifth flying prototype of Russia's future T-50 fighter jet has flown for the first time at a manufacturing plant in the country's Far East, the Sukhoi aircraft maker said.
The 50-minute flight at the Gagarin factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur has successfully tested the aircraft's overall performance, including its stability in the air and the work of its engines.
"The aircraft performed well in all phases of the planned flight program. The pilot confirmed reliability of all systems and equipment," Sukhoi said in a statement.
The T-50, which will be the core of Russia's future fighter fleet, is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft featuring stealth and nano-technology, super-maneuverability, supercruise capability — supersonic flight without use of afterburner — and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar, according to Sukhoi.
