RIA Novosti,
MOSCOW: Russia's fifth-generation fighter plane will be ready in 2007, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Vladimir Mikhailov said Tuesday.
“Work to build the fifth-generation plane is going according to schedule,” he said.
Mikhailov said, however, that the project had encountered some financial problems after civilian aircraft were produced using the money allocated in the budget for the fighter planes.
“Clearly, the development of aviation technology will depend on specific military and economic conditions, determining the progress of reform in the Russian armed forces and the country's aircraft construction industry. However, Russia will continue to be a leading aircraft-building power,” he said.
Mikhailov also said the Russian Air Force would also receive new Su-34 bombers and Mi-28 combat helicopters during 2006.
The Air Force also expects to get a Yak-130 military aircraft trainer by the end of the year and the modernization of Su-27, Su-24 and Su-25 fighters is continuing, the general said.
“We are actively working on the modernization of MiG-29 and MiG-31 planes. New equipment could be installed in their cockpits that will increase their efficiency two and a half to three times,” he said.
