By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A Russian-Indian advanced multirole fighter is being developed by Sukhoi, which is part of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under an intergovernmental agreement signed in October as Russia begins manufacturing the fifth-generation combat aircraft.
“At present, we have prepared detailed work design documentation for the fifth-generation aircraft,” Rusaia’s air force chief Colonel General Alexander Zelin said Wednesday.
“The documentation has been passed to the manufacturer and it has begun the construction of the prototype,” he said.
The new fighter aircraft, which will feature high maneuverability and stealth to ensure air superiority and precision in destroying ground and sea targets, will be built at the Komsomolesk-on-Amur aircraft-manufacturing plant in Russia’s Far East.
Flight tests of the fifth-generation fighter will begin as early as 2009 and mass production of the aircraft may start by 2015, the Sukhoi aircraft maker earlier said.