http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/6-2001/di/rsqr/
This article is a little old (from 2004) but it gets the point across. Do the Russians have the resources to successfully develop a 5th generation fighter?
From what I've gathered their falling behind drasticlly in weaponary and avionics, and as the analyst in the article points out the big difference between the 5th generation fighters and the 4th generation will not be their airframes but rather there electronics, computer hardware and software combined with advanced weapons. Which are all areas Russia has fallen behind in.
Theres also the major question of can they afford to develop a totally new fighter, the prohibitive cost of developing new engines (to allow for supercruising), avionics and technoligy required for a 5th generation fighter may put it out of their current price range given their military is already stretched too thin trying to maintain the soviet era equipment their already have.
An interesting alternative the article proposes is to simply enhance a design currently in service and use that as a go-between until they have the cash to develop a true 5th gen fighter. This would be similar to what the U.S did with the Superhornet allowing them to develop a replacement fighter faster and more cheaply that isen't the best in the world but 'gets the job done' none the less.
This article is a little old (from 2004) but it gets the point across. Do the Russians have the resources to successfully develop a 5th generation fighter?
From what I've gathered their falling behind drasticlly in weaponary and avionics, and as the analyst in the article points out the big difference between the 5th generation fighters and the 4th generation will not be their airframes but rather there electronics, computer hardware and software combined with advanced weapons. Which are all areas Russia has fallen behind in.
Theres also the major question of can they afford to develop a totally new fighter, the prohibitive cost of developing new engines (to allow for supercruising), avionics and technoligy required for a 5th generation fighter may put it out of their current price range given their military is already stretched too thin trying to maintain the soviet era equipment their already have.
An interesting alternative the article proposes is to simply enhance a design currently in service and use that as a go-between until they have the cash to develop a true 5th gen fighter. This would be similar to what the U.S did with the Superhornet allowing them to develop a replacement fighter faster and more cheaply that isen't the best in the world but 'gets the job done' none the less.
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