The plan to modernize the Russian aviation has also been confirmed by Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Viktor Bondarev.
"If we stop our work now it will never resume again. The work is underway on a sixth-generation jet, and probably a seventh-generation fighter," he said.
Sukhoi’s facilities are firing on all cylinders, an article in The Fiscal Times read. The company recently signed a set of agreements to deliver Su-35S 4++-generation multirole fighters to China and Indonesia.
Furthermore, Russia is expected to complete tests of the T-50 (PAK FA) fifth-generation jet in 2016. The aircraft is designed as a rival to the US-made F-22 Raptor.
"A new fighter from Moscow likely wouldn’t be airborne for years, if not decades. But it does raise the stakes for the US, which is trying to determine what comes after the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, America’s own fifth-generation warplane," the author underscored.
"Any US proposal would face incredible scrutiny both inside the Defense Department and on Capitol Hill after the F-35’s troubled development. The program has been, and remains, plagued with technical glitches that have driven its price tag up to around $400 billion, making the jet the most expensive weapons effort in US history," the article read.
A sixth-generation fighter program would be another multi-billion addition to the US Air Force’s list of developments, the author wrote. Besides the F-35, the list already includes new aerial tankers and bombers.
