Russia to deploy Sukhoi T-50 air-launched missiles by 2014
The Russian Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) has said that the development of advanced tactical air-launched missile systems for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter will be completed by 2014.
RIA Novosti quoted KTRV head, Boris Obnosov, saying: "The development of Kh-35UE (AS-20 Kayak), Kh-38ME, Kh-58UShKE (AS-11 Kilter), and RVV-MD (AA-11 Archer) class missiles will be completed in 2012-2013."
The Kh-35UE tactical anti-ship missile has a maximum range of 260km while the Kh-31PD anti-radiation missile can fly up to 250km and is used to strike against air defence systems.
Aimed to destroy pulse radars, the Kh-58UShKE missile can hit targets within 245km, and the short-range RVV-MD air-to-air missile has a maximum range of 40km.
Russia has already tested Kh-31PD (AS-17 Mod 2) class missiles intended for the fighters using fourth-generation Sukhoi Su-34 strike aircraft, Obnosov added.
The T-50 fighter missile systems will be fully operational by the time the aircraft enters service with the Russian Air Force in 2014.
The Sukhoi T-50, developed under the Future Aviation System for Tactical Air Force (PAK FA) programme, will replace the Russian Air Force's MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi / HAL FGFA project being developed with India.
Equipped with radar-evading stealth technology, the multirole stealth fighter aircraft weighs around 18,500kg with a maximum speed of 600km/h, endurance of three hours, and a take-off weight of 37,000kg while hitting the targets within a 400km range.
The first and second prototypes of the jet performed their maiden sorties in January and February 2011 and have since been undergoing flight tests. The aircraft is expected to enter operational service in 2015 as the country's first new warplane since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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