ABU DHABI (Sputnik) – The development of a Russia-UAE fifth-generation fighter jet based on the MiG-29 (NATO reporting name: "Fulcrum") will be completed no earlier than 2025, the CEO of the Rostec State Corporation said Monday.
"We shall probably begin this work next year. The project is difficult, I think the plane will be created in seven or eight years, no earlier, Sergei Chemezov said during the IDEX-2017 military expo.
According to the Rostec CEO, the project will be most likely based on the MiG-29 plane.
The Russian Aerospace Forces presently have only 4++ generation fighters on service. At the same time, Sukhoi is developing and testing the fifth-generation fighter aircraft and Russia is expected to start PAK FA production on schedule in 2017, according to Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Viktor Bondarev.
At the moment, only the United States have fifth-generation aircraft on service, namely F-22 and F-35 fighters.