!["Serial Production Of Russian 5G Fighter To Begin Next Year"](/sites/default/files/Russian%20PAK-FA%20T-50%20%28Att%29.jpg ""Serial Production Of Russian 5G Fighter To Begin Next Year"")
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"Serial Production Of Russian 5G Fighter To Begin Next Year"
Russia's new fifth-generation fighter jet will go into serial production in 2017, according to military officials in the country.
Testing for the first batch of PAK-FA fighter jets will be completed later this year, according to the Russian Air Force.
It's the country's first military aircraft to be developed from scratch since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The PAK-FA's helmet-mounted sight and display
Air Force Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev told RIA Novosti he is very happy with the pace of the aircraft’s development:
"The 11th T-50 aircraft [prototype name for the PAK-FA] is on berth and is 60-70% ready," he said.
"This aircraft is going to be the final one in the test series. Next year the aircraft goes into serial production."
Bondarev added that the the PAK-FA's operational engine, dubbed 'Type 30', will go into production in 2018 after testing next year.
It's currently flying with two AL-41F1 engines which give it a top speed of 2,600 km/h (1,600 mph), and a range of 5,500 km (3,400 miles).
Russian state media has reported that the operational engine is expected to be faster and more fuel efficient, however.
Bondarev played down a 2014 incident where one of the test planes caught fire at an airfield near Moscow, meanwhile.
"The aircraft has been restored and it is flying. This serves as proof the aircraft is highly maintainable, we do need such machines," he said.
The Air Force Commander-in-Chief also said Russia’s future bomber PAK-DA could begin testing earlier than previously expected.
“Design works for the PAK-DA are underway and we’re satisfied with the pace. The task is to make a test machine fly in 2021, but if the work continues the way it is now, this could happen earlier,” he added.
With thanks to Alex Beltyukov and Vitaly V. Kuzmin for photography.
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