Aircraft
Various Obstacles Confront Russia’s T-50 Project
A Sukhoi T-50 prototype is towed under wraps at the recent Moscow Air Show. (Photo: Reuben F. Johnson)
A Sukhoi T-50 prototype is towed under wraps at the recent Moscow Air Show. (Photo: Reuben F. Johnson)

There is no shortage of uncertainty about the future of Russia’s Sukhoi Perspektivniy Aviatsonnoi Kompleks-Frontovoi Aviatsii (PAK-FA)/T-50 fifth-generation fighter project. These doubts are driven by problems with major subsystems, delays with the aircraft’s introduction into service, and plans to defray some of the R&D cost by making India a developmental partner on the aircraft.