MOSCOW: Russia’s prototype fifth-generation fighter has made a second test flight in the Far East, a Defense Ministry official told RIA Novosti on Friday.
“Russian specialists have been carefully monitoring the U.S. F-22 Raptor, so we can compare the newest Russian fighter with it,” the official said, adding that the plane had “a very bright future.”
After a number of test flights in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the aircraft will be transported to the Zhukovsky airbase near Moscow for final testing.
A prototype of the fighter made a 47-minute maiden flight in Russia’s Far East on January 29.
Russia has been developing its newest fighter since the 1990s. The current prototype, known as the T-50, was designed by the Sukhoi design bureau and built at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Russian officials have already hailed the fighter as “a unique warplane” that combines the capabilities of an air superiority fighter and attack aircraft.
Earlier this week, Russia’s Air Force chief said the first batch of fifth-generation fighters would go into service in 2015.
