Where have you been for the last 8 months jessmo? This has been the F-22/35 fanboy’s big stick to beat the T-50 with!!

Let me spell it out. That thing that the likes of kapedani so rejoiced over- is patently not the compressor face. Imho, it’s a device to control/direct the airflow to the unusual vertical & lateral cant of the engine compressor face, it probably also doubles as a FOD screen.

The the T-50 does not have an orthodox S-duct. It has a more unusual semi-duct or ‘banana’ duct as Rodolfo once termed it. They’re using an integrated solution to reduce engine RCS including semi-screening of the c-face, canted angles and a radar blocker device (which has several patents pending). Why?
-because by avoiding the classical vertical s-duct they can keep the profile as low as possible. Why? because ‘flat’ is good for stealth.

Don’t worry, you guys still have little sticks to beat the programme with- Like…err….rivets!! and round nacelles!!! et-theteraa, et-theteraa…

I also agree with Otaku that not all is what it seems with the T-50’s inlets, but am open to being proved wrong 🙂

The recently released KnAAPO pics were taken from 20-23 Dec. ’09.

Red line = [lateral] line-of-sight of engine, Blue line = l-o-s of ‘phantom c-face’, which tilts neither inwards nor downwards:

…but just to keep everyone happy:

😀

I guess the Indian delegation liked what it saw in August:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-to-spend-over-25-billion-to-induct-250-5th-gen-stealth-fighters/articleshow/6685002.cms

Ho-ho-ho-Tee-hee!! :diablo:, (‘CSI’ laserpen not required :p).

Rear view- engine converges with ‘red box’, front view- ‘comp-face’ di-verges with red box…

Using the centreline of the w/bays as a reference, it’s clear that the engines are canted inwards and downwards:

…which means this cannot be the compressor face, (unless the engine is banana shaped).

Nice summary Soyuz. To your bottom list I’d like to add- 4. SSNs.

Much of the problems you cite are due to the ‘overhang’ of the dissolution of the USSR and the chaotic 1990s, where funds evaporated, infrastructure was allowed to decay compounded by the loss of highly skilled personel (including the brain-drain that headed West and to Israel and never returned).

When the Russian Government/MoD and strategic planners eventually decide what sort of armed forces they want (or more importantly need), then infrastructure & technology investment can make meaningful steps forward, the intention to set up a Russian DARPA is such an approach.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3adc3f3b4b-3eb9-41b9-89fc-fbce431bb48c&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Ofcourse, this is not the place to critically dissect Russia’s MIC, so I’ll stop here.

Some v. nice Tu-22M3 pics:

http://vitalykuzmin.net/?q=node/327

MiG-25RBT, pic taken yesterday @ Voronezh, RF:

To India with love:

C/o QuadroFX.