Just when it all seemed to be going so well, one of Sukhoi’s prototype PAK-FA/T-50 fighters looks set to be out of action for a little while, due to a little bit of fire damage.
There’s a popular post-prang saying in UK military circles: “That’ll buff-out”, and that is indeed the line that Sukhoi has adopted since the mishap – which occurred in Zhukovsky just as the jet was landing, with the aircraft expected to be repaired.
The incident happened just a few days after my colleague Dominic Perry had interviewed Sukhoi and United Aircraft president Mikhail Pogosyan in Moscow. As he reports, production appeared to be on track for deliveries to the Russian air force from 2016.
Dom was busy during his time in Moscow: it’s worth also checking out his stories on a potential fifth-generation product to be derived from the MiG-35, and on the ambitious sales goals of Irkut linked to its Yak-130 advanced jet trainer. We’re not sure about the former of these ideas, but let’s wait and see…
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