Su-57 Felon - Engine
The creation of a fifth generation jet with stealth technology, the Su-57, began in early 2001 and it is planned to be commissioned in 2019, while models with advanced engines are scheduled to arrive by 2025. The Russian Air Force was planning to acquire the first batch of 12 jets in 2019.
Russia's "Beyond The Headlines" website reported 07 July 2013 that Russia announced at the Paris Air Show that it had completed the fifth-generation fighter T-50 engine development work [an optimistic report]. The Russian military said they had completed the first phase of T-50 flight tests, the results showed that the Russian T-50 and US F-22 fighter can Raptor comparable to or even in certain aspects even better than the F-22. Russia's United Aircraft Corporation President Mikhail Mikhail Pogosyan said five T-50 fighter aircraft were being tested, which would enable designers to accelerate the development of Russia's process of narrowing the gap between Russia and the US.
In February 2017 it was reported that the 5th-generation T-50 (PAK FA) jet fighters would be delivered to the Russian Air Force after 2018, according to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov. "Most likely this will be part of the next State Armament Program for the 2018-2025," said Borisov, adding that the fighter still needs to be perfected and the military will not rush to buy the new expensive planes. For now their functions will be performed by the 4++ generation Su-35S fighters. "We bought a small number of the T-50s, and we’re watching how they perform in tests," said Borisov. "We’re looking for defects and will make the necessary improvements so that it will eventually be the best fighter plane possible."
There was still a range of problems. In the first several years after their acquisition by the Air Force, the T-50s would have to be modernized, Pavel Bulat, director of the Mechanics and Energy Systems international Laboratory at the University of Information Technologies, said 06 February 2017. "The 5th-generation engines still do not exist, and the PAK FA still flies on modified engines from the Su-27, Su-30 and other aircraft from that series," said Bulat.
The new engine under development would help the T-50 accelerate to supersonic speed and maintain that speed during flight. "I think it will have speeds of 1.6 Mach, (about 1,200 miles per hour), depending on the location over which the flight takes place," added Bulat. "The engine will also improve the PAK FA's stealth capacity thanks to new composite materials." The new jet fighter engine would be tested within the next 18 months, and it would most likely be ready for service in 2020. "In addition to the engine, two other things must be done – perfecting the radar systems, and removing the last defects in the concept of the airframe, which makes it the most modern plane in the world today," said Bulat.
Prototypes and initial production aircraft would feature many elements from the Su-35. The aircraft would be equipped with the same engines -- two AL41F1s, an improved version of the AL-41F on the Su-27, delivering 142kN (vs 123kN). The future engine would not be ready until 2017, at least three years later than the initial 2015 deadline. The combat aircraft is fitted with 117S (upgraded AL-31) turbofan engines from the Russian aircraft engine manufacturer Saturn.
It was reported that the T-50 with the advanced (main) engine would perform its debut flight in the fourth quarter of 2017. Currently, the so-called first stage engine 117S is mounted on the Russian fighter. The new engine had not initially received its name and was conventionally designated as the second stage engine. The ninth prototype of the T-50 had been equipped with the Izdelie-30, fifth-generation engine, which wasw to be tested at the end of 2017. Compared to the Izdelie-117, the engine is a new development and has already been installed in the latest Su-57. The Izdelie-117 is a modernized version of the AI-31 engine - the “heart” of the original Su-27. The new engine would enable the Su-57 to maintain cruising speed during supersonic flight, meaning the jet would be able to fly consistently at 2,000 km/h (1,200 mph).
It won’t be until 2019 that Russia’s Air Force would be beefed up with Su-57s fully loaded with the new technology, including the Izdelie-30. The engine would need to be put through a long string of tests and would be mounted on the Su-57 aircraft no earlier than 2019 or 2020. Unlike previous prototypes, the ninth prototype of the Su-57 is equipped with the full set of radio-electronic equipment that would be installed on the completed version of the jet. This would allow the aircraft to evade modern air defense systems.
By 2019, nine of the 10 existing versions of the Su-57 make use of the aging Saturn AL-41F1S engine, which can't provide the plane with the thrust or fuel efficiency it needs, nor the low-observable and thrust vectoring capabilities of newer engines like Saturn's Izdeliye 30, which is still under development. Models with advanced engines are scheduled to arrive by 2025.
The designers are working on a new fifth generation engine, Izdeliye-30 [Product-30], in order for the fighter to meet all the challenges of the new era. Flight tests of the new engine would start at the end of 2017, or in early 2018. It would take the designers another two or three years to finalize the project before the aircraft goes into series production and into service with the Russian Air Force.
The new engine would make it possible for aircraft to maintain cruising speeds during supersonic flights, with a speed of Mach 1.6, (about 1,200 mph), depending on the location over which the plane flies. The engine would also significantly improve the PAK FA's stealth capacity and cloak it from enemy radar thanks to new composite materials. Development of the engine stalled in the 1990s and early 2000s due to the collapse of the country. Scientific and technical research programs were either closed or curtailed. Hence, designers have to catch up in a short period of time.
Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet, known during its development as PAK FA and T-50, on 20 February 2018 performed its maiden flight with a new engine, designed specifically for the cutting-edge military plane. The test flight was successfully performed on Tuesday and lasted some 17 minutes, according to the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry’s press service. A Su-57 aircraft, fitted with new engines known as ‘Product 30,’ was piloted by a chief pilot of the Sukhoi company, Sergey Bogdan.
The new Izdeliye 30 engines increase the Su-57 thrust to 11,000 kg without afterburner and 19,000 kg in afterburner according to reports. The successful test flight of the plane with the new engines proved that Russian aircraft builders are capable of creating cutting-edge advanced systems, the press service said, citing Minister Denis Manturov. While little is known about the specifications of the new ‘Product 30,’ the engine-building company that designed it said earlier this year that it is an entirely new device, fully suitable for the fifth-generation planes.
After testing is completed the new engine would enable the Su-57 to accelerate in non-afterburner mode to supersonic speed, and maintain this velocity for its entire flight. “I think the speed would be 1.6 Mach, about 2,000 km/h, depending on where it would be flying. The engine would also improve the Su-57’s stealth capacity thanks to new composite materials,” said Pavel Bulat, avionics expert and director of Kupol. According to the expert, the upgrade would be fully integrated by 2020. The Sukhoi Corporation, which builds the jets, is also planning to improve its radar system. Bulat believes the aircraft is the most advanced 5th generation jet in the world.
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