Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said...

"Flight tests of the fifth-generation fighter are continuing successfully," Putin said.

"Once again I want to thank everyone who worked on this machine, as well as those who are now putting it in the air," the premier continued.

The first Russian fifth-generation fighter jet was delivered to Zhukovsky in the Moscow Region for a flight test on April 8.

The fighter performed its maiden flight on January 29, when the jet spent 47 minutes in the air.

The Sukhoi design bureau started project development of the aircraft after it received the tender in April 2002. Last summer, the fighter"s design was approved, and the prototype blueprints were delivered to the KNAAPO aviation construction company based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The T-50 is the domestic name of the plane which had been developed as the Advanced Front-Line Aviation Complex (PAK FA) for Russia"s Air Force. The PAK FA can carry either eight next-generation air-to-air R-77 missiles, or two large

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