Instead of debating how and if a “Su-50I” will ever be accomplished, we can try listing out the potential enhancements:

1. Second seat for co-pilot
2. Indian manufactured MFDs
3. Elbit HMDS (as seen in MiG-29K)
4. Integration of Indian LGBs
5. Integration of Astra AAM
6. Indian EW suite
7. India manufactured composite materials
8. Integration with Vinten recce pods
9. Integration with Litening LDP
10. Integration with Israeli EW and ECM pods
11. HAL INCOM communications suite
12. IFF
13. Datalink with A-50EI and MKI

The aspect where Su-30MKI will always trump the Su-50I is integration with Brahmos. MKI has a heavy duty centreline pod which still requires modification to ferry the Brahmos.

I also doubt there will be a MKI variant of the PAKFA. With India sharing the costs it makes sense for both countries to share at least some of the equipment.

The F-35 looks more like a baby T-50 than a baby F-22 as some folks found it :diablo:

5,500 K range seems too much

MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s fifth-generation fighter performed its maiden flight on Friday.

* The T-50 is the domestic name of Russia’s fifth-generation fighter plane which has been developed as the Advanced Front-Line Aviation Complex (PAK FA) for Russia’s Air Force.

* The project started its development by the Sukhoi design bureau since it won the tender in April 2002.

* The Tikhomirov Institute of Instrument Design, which developed the Irbis radar for the Su-35BM Flanker, has been working on the T-50 radar. The new fighter’s radar and fire-control system will be designed on the basis of the Su-35BM’s systems.

* The new fighter’s exterior design was approved on December 10, 2004.

* Last summer, the fighter’s design was approved, and the prototype blueprints were delivered to the KNAAPO aircraft building company based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where three experimental fighters will be built for testing.

* In February 2009, the first prototype was constructed. After the plane was successfully tested on the runway, a decision was made to stage the maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, rather than in Moscow.

* The prototype fifth-generation fighter made a 47-minute maiden flight on January 29, 2010, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

* Although T-50 specifications remain classified, fragmentary data on its engines imply that this heavy-duty fighter will have a take-off weight of more than 30 metric tons and will be close in dimension to the well-known Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker.

* The new fighter’s exterior was designed using Stealth technology, also known as LO technology (low observable technology).

* The combat aircraft is fitted with 117S (upgraded AL-31) turbofan engines from the Russian aircraft engine manufacturer Saturn.

* The PAK FA can carry either eight next-generation air-to-air R-77 missiles, or two large controllable anti-ship bombs weighing 1,500 kg each.

* The new jet can also carry two long-range missiles developed by the Novator Bureau which can hit targets within a 400 kilometer range.

* The jet can use a take-off strip of just 300-400 meters, and perform sustained supersonic flight at speeds over 2,000 km/h, including repeated in-flight refueling. The highly-maneuverable plane has a range of about 5,500 kilometers.

* The fifth-generation fighter is equipped with advanced avionics to combine an automatic flight control system and a radar locator with a phased array antenna.

* The newest combat aircraft are planned to be mass produced in Komsomolsk-on-Amur from 2015.

Any pics of PAF F-16B S/n suffix 605?

How many load stations does the Jaguar have? The main thing i don’t know is fuselage points. Normally in RAF service it would of had 2 drop tanks on the inner wing and sidewinders on the over wing points. What was the normal load for the outer wing points and fuselage points?

ID the centreline pod?

Here is one picture of Ulka:

http://vayu-sena.indianmilitaryhistory.org/today-IAF-nuclear-weapons-development.shtml

+ some info on some other interesting air launched stuff 😉

Apologies for being verbose. I completely missed the Aero-India discussions when all these Rustom-* were being discussed.

As Rahul once said in one of the discussions, one would almost think that Rustom in India means a UAV….:D

Rayrubik had put up snap of the same mockup. I just wanted to see a snap which mentioned it specifically to be the Rustom UAV since the one below was also mentioned to be Rustom:

Thanks for the Chakor UAV info. Google kept given the Northrop UAV as the query result. Former BR poster JCage said this:

Damn. BR archives are a complete gold mine of information.

Regards,
Ashish.

Could someone enlighten me why the only news about RAF, RN and British Army ever is related to

1) Reducing the seize of the force
2) No helicopters

Whats wrong? Why is Britain hell bent on cutting her armed forces when the boys are always at War? Is it really that the UK is short of funds? Were these forces too large to begin with?

Can anyone identify this Mi-17 variant used in Mumbai op?

I have highlighted the mysterious parts on the fuselage.

It also has fenders which I have seen for the first time in a Hip