Context
Visitors at the MAKS air show 2011 witnessed the first-ever public performance of the Sukhoi fifth-generation fighter aircraft T-50. The airliner is likely to replace the Sukhoi SU-27 and challenge the US F-22 Raptor stealth aircraft.
The long-awaited warplane is an India-Russia joint development. Once production starts, expected by as soon as 2015, the jet fighter will become Russian Air Force’s first-ever stealth aircraft. Eventually, Moscow aims to equip its forces with as many as 200 T-50s.
