Bharat Rakshak

[8] MIG 1.44 / PAK-FA, THE NEXT GENERATION

* While the MiG OKB was working in a "step forward step back" fashion on second-generation MiG-29 concepts in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, the organization's engineers were also working in fits and starts on a true next-generation fighter under the "Multirole Tactical Fighter (Mnogofunktsionahll'nyy Frontovoi Istrebitel / MFI)" program.

The MFI program had been initiated in 1986 to counter Western efforts to develop next-generation fighters, such as the US "Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF)", which would become the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The MiG MFI design team was originally led by Grigoriy Sedov and later by Yuri Vorontnikov. Initial MFI prototype construction began in 1989, with the prototype, the "MiG 1.44", finally rolled out in early 1994. It performed taxi trials later that year, but the program then bogged down to a halt, to remain in darkness for the next several years. Rumors circulated in the West about the secret "MiG 1.42", along with speculations about its features.

However, work on the MFI was only dormant, not dead, and the type was finally unveiled in January 1999. The designation was announced as the "MiG 1.44", the MiG 1.42 code apparently having been only for the overall development program. The MiG 1.44 looked something like a child of the MiG-29 and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The MiG 1.44 shared the Typhoon's canard layout, an unusual configuration by Russian standards, and the twin underslung engine intakes, but it was clearly not a Eurofighter copy.

MIKOYAN MIG 1.44:
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spec metric english
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wingspan 16.4 meters 53 feet 10 inches
length 21.7 meters 71 feet 2 inches
normal loaded weight 28,000 kilograms 61,730 pounds
max speed at altitude 2,500 KPH 1,550 MPH / 1,350 KT
range 4,500 kilometers 1,553 MI / 2,430 NMI
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The wings were of cropped-delta configuration, with a 45-degree sweep and no LERXs. They had full-span leading edge flaps and big two-section elevons in the rear. The large canards were placed behind the canopy and had a dogtooth leading edge. Unlike the Eurofighter and like the MiG-29, the MiG 1.44 had twin tailfins with a slight outward cant. There were ventral fins under the tailfins.

The MiG 1.44 was made of steel alloy, aluminum-lithium alloy, and composites. Its lines reflected some degree of "stealth" design, and a production version was to be coated with "radar absorbing material (RAM)" to improve stealth. The aircraft was powered by twin Lyul'ka-Saturn AL-41F bypass turbojets with an afterburning thrust of 17,840 kilograms (39,340 pounds) each. The engines gave the MiG 1.44 a "supersonic cruise" capability; some reports indicated that they had thrust-vectoring nozzles as well. The MiG 1.44 had twin-wheel nose gear that retracted backward, while the single-wheel main gear retracted forward.

The demonstrator lacked most combat avionics systems, though it did feature an advanced FBW control system and was fitted with a GSh-301 30-millimeter cannon. In the production version, stores were to be carried in a weapons bay in the center fuselage, though the demonstrator didn't have this feature. Munitions could also be carried on external stores pylons.

* In 2001, the Russian government announced a next-generation fighter effort under the "Future Air Complex for Frontal Air Forces (Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Frontovoi Aviatsyi / PAK-FA)" program, specifying an aircraft that could compete with the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for service beginning in 2010. A group of Russian industries led by Sukhoi and another group led by MiG and Yakovlev competed for the PAK-FA contract; in late April 2002, the Russian government announced that the Sukhoi group had won the award.

The government specified that MiG and Yakovlev would get workshares in the program, but the loss of the competition was still clearly a blow to MiG. The MiG 1.44 demonstrator has apparently been used for trials of PAK-FA technology.

Russia is developing two fifth-generation fighters, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Army General Vladimir Mikhailov said on Friday.

"Development of the fifth-generation fighter is underway, deadlines are met, and all financial issues are settled in full this year. At the same time, we are designing a light fifth-generation fighter," Mikhailov told reporters.

He added that "all the work ( for the LFI project ? ) is underway at facilities of the MIG corporation."

Only one fifth-generation fighter project will be developed with financial assistance from the Russian government, said Director of the Russian Agency for Industry Boris Aleshin.

"The State Arms Program envisages that funding will be provided for the development of only one project of a fifth-generation tactical aircraft.

It is possible that a light fighter project will be launched subsequently, but without the state party involved," he said.

He added that the development of the new aircraft is vested in the Sukhoi company that should cooperate with many Russian firms within the framework of the project. According to earlier reports, the fifth- generation fighter will enter the class of aircraft with takeoff weight from 25 to 30 tons.

Meanwhile, the Russian MIG Aircraft Corporation is developing an export- oriented light new-generation fighter. Its technological appearance is being formulated, the marketing analysis is under way, as well as talks with potential clients.

According to Valery Bezverkhny, the head of the United Aircraft Building Consortium - a not-for-profit partnership, if an export niche is discovered for the new-generation light mutirole aircraft, the development of such a fighter may well be put on the priority list of the United Aircraft Company, now being established. "The fifth- generation light aircraft project is now being thought over, and has not been recognized viable yet," he said.

p_saggu, singha, all of the above are artist's impressions and it is unlikely that any will have a similarity with the final product.

NO official pictures have yet been released as of yet. even the saturn picture is a fake.

so it's too early to speak of the "stealth" aspects of the t-50's backside !!

Summary of news and estimated technical information.
There was a lot of speculation following the publication of several articles in Russian and international press about the S-37 fighter. The first article to appear was the ITAR-TASS report of October 8, 1997, which informed the public about the test flights of the "S-32" fighter with forward-swept wing design piloted by Sukhoi's test pilot Igor Votintsev. he article mentioned

Sukhoi S-37 "Berkut", Russia's 5th generation fighter. New in Sukhoi fighters forward-swept wing design integrated into the tandem triplane configuration. Visible in the tail section of the aircraft are two "stingers". One of them may contain a rearward-looking radar and the other - a break parachute. A rather interesting element: the "stingers" are of different length. At first it might appear that this is a perspective optical illusion, however, after a closer examination the difference in length of the "stingers" is obvious. It is reasonable to conclude that the longer "stinger" contains a spin-recovery parachute. However, the difference in size of the "stingers" can be also explained by a possibility of an aft facing radar.
that the S-32 fighter is designed to use the thrust-vectoring AL-37FU engines, however, during the first test flights was using the more powerful D-30F6 engines from MiG-31, Russia's most advanced high-speed interceptor aircraft.
The next piece of information about the S-32 appeared simultaneously in Russian newspapers Kommersant-Daily and Nezavisimaya Gazeta (October 24, 1997), shortly followed by an Associated Press article. The article in Kommersant-Daily was accompanied by a photo of the S-32 fighter, which was referred to as S-37 "Berkut" (or "Golden Eagle"). The change of name from S-32 to S-37 caused a short-lived confusion whether the "Berkut" is the same S-37 fighter project officially confirmed by Sukhoi in 1991 which later came to a stall due to the lack of funding (its cancellation was never officially confirmed). The original, 1991 S-37 project was a smaller aircraft with a delta wing design and a single AL-41F engine. This apparently was not the case with the 1997 S-37 "Berkut": the new aircraft is significantly larger, it is equipped with two engines, and employs a forward-swept wing design. Thus, the "Berkut", apparently, took the place of the original S-37.
Perhaps one of the most interesting and confusing technical issue about the new Russian fighter is its engines. The Kommersant-Daily mentioned that the combined thrust of S-37's engines is 25 tons, or lb., no make of engine, however, was mentioned. The thrust of lb. is consistent with the two AL-31F engines commonly used on Russian Su-27 fighters. This, however, raised very interesting questions: why the significantly more powerful D-30F6 engines were used during the initial flight tests when there were AL-37FU engines available and why the engine thrust mentioned by the Kommersant-Daily is consistent only with the older AL-31F engines?
The available information suggests that the basic dimensions and weight of the S-37 "Berkut" are similar to those of Su-37 (see table below). While the main advantage of the forward-swept wing design is the improved maneuverability at subsonic speeds and high angles of attack its primary drawbacks are the reduced lift and handling problems at supersonic speeds. A natural way to counter such problems is by using more powerful engines and an advanced thrust-vectoring controls. There is little doubt that the S-37 would require more powerful engines than the AL-31Fs for stable performance. This conclusion is fully supported by the fact that the initial flight tests were conducted with the powerful D-30F6 engines, though there is no knowledge of any thrust-vectoring version of these engines. Considering all these arguments and facts an interesting possibility arises.
The 1991 S-37 project was designed with very powerful AL-41F engines in mind. There is a strong possibility that a thrust-vectoring version of this engine exists. The AL-41F would be able to satisfy the power requirements of the S-37, as well as to explain why MiG-31's D-30F6 engines were used for initial test flights (this was suggested to me by Yevgeniy Chizhikov from rec.aviation.military).


Some of the latest articles about the S-37 Berkut indicate that it is still unclear what engines are being used on this aircraft. As is evident from the latest photos of the S-37 fighter, it has large canards mounted on the intake side, close to the leading edge of the forward-swept wing. It is also apparent that the vertical stabilizers are canted slightly outward, and not inward, as was previously believed. After closer examination of some photos, two large auxiliary intake doors are visible on the center fuselage section. Their purpose is unclear. It previously suggested that the nose section of the S-37 was similar to the one of Su-27 family. However, better photographs showed that it is rather similar to the original S-37 design announced in 1991 and later canceled. It is now clear that the S-37 fighter is intended to be more than just a technology demonstrator, as OKB Sukhoi is pushing this aircraft to become Russia's fifth generation fighter.

he Sukhoi Design Bureau of Moscow, Russia has developed the Su-47 (previously called the S-37 Berkut or Golden Eagle) fighter aircraft, which first flew in September 1997. Su-47 is in a forward swept wing configuration and uses a highly unstable triplane (with three main lifting surfaces) aerodynamic configuration. The Su-47 completed the first stage of flight trials in December 2001. In May 2002, Sukhoi was selected as prime contractor for the next-generation Russian PAK FA fighter programme. The PAK FA will be a development of the Su-47 but without the forward swept wings.

The design of the very high manoeuvrability prototype is based on the avionics and aerodynamics technologies developed for the Su-27 upgrade programme. Some of the systems and component designs from the Su-27, (the all weather supersonic fighter aircraft with NATO reporting name Flanker), have been used in the Su-47, for example the design of the canopy, landing gear, some of the avionics and the near-vertical tails.

MANOEUVRABILITY

The Su-47 has extremely high agility at subsonic speeds enabling the aircraft to alter its angle of attack and its flight path very quickly, and it also retains manoeuvrability in supersonic flight.

Originally known as the S-37, Sukhoi redesignated its advanced test aircraft as the Su-47 in 2002 reflecting the decision to market the design as a production fighter rather than as an experimental prototype. Also commonly referred to as the Berkut (Golden Eagle), the Su-47 was originally built as Russia's principle testbed for composite materials andsophisticated fly-by-wire control systems.

The aircraft makes use of forward-swept wings allowing superb maneuverability and operation at angles of attack up to 45° or more. The advantages of forward sweep have long been known as such wings offer lower wave drag, reduced bending moments, and delayed stall when compared to more traditional wing shapes.
Unfortunately, forward sweep also induces significant wing twist that would shear most wings off the aircraft. To solve this problem, the Su-47 makes use of composite materials carefully tailored to resist twisting while still allowing the wing to bend for improved aerodynamic behavior. To reduce development costs, the S-37 borrowed the forward fuselage, vertical tails, and landing gear of the Su-27 family.
Nonetheless, the aircraft includes reduced radar signature features (including radar absorbent materials), an internal weapons bay, and space set aside for an advanced radar.

Sukhoi S-37 ad Mikoyan MFI: Russian Fifth-Generation Fighter Demonstrators (Aerofax Series)Though similar in overall concept to the American X-29 research aircraft of the 1980s, the Su-47 is about twice the size and far closer to an actual combat aircraft than the US design.
Su-47 has shown far superior manuvering in the air to any aircraft known to this date.
Like the X-29 though, the Su-47 was primarily a technology demonstrator, one intended to lay the foundation for the next Russian fighter. Such a fighter must not only be as advanced as the US F-22 and Eurofighter Typhoon, but must also compete for funding with the more conventional MiGs.

I think T-50 is not the aircraft that will become Russias 5th generation aircraft -it will be most likely the Golden Eagle with its revolutionary forward swept wing and AL-41 engines and maybe plasma stealth technology .Plasma stealth needs lot of power and hence the need for extra powerful engines apart from aerodynamic reasons as detailed below

Recent investigations of aircraft configurations indicates that a significant number of benefits may be achieved by utilizing a forward swept wing (FSW) planform. When an FSW is used in combination with a canard at transonic and low supersonic maneuvering flight, favorable interference is provided over the inboard portion of the wing where the shock is strongest. This leads to higher aerodynamic efficiency than with the use of aft swept wings. In an aft-swept wing configuration the spanwise flow normally thickens the boundary layer at the tips. The flow on an FSW tends to separate first at the inboard section while good flow conditions can be maintained at the tip because of low induced angles of attack of the outer wing sections and because the air tends to flow toward the root rather than to the tip as it does on a sweptback wing. These flow conditions result in stall characteristics which allow the ailerons to remain effective at high angles of attack, even after most of the wing has stalled. Thus the FSW aircraft is more controllable at higher lift coefficients.

Extensive investigation of various aircraft configurations indicates that significant benefits may be achieved by utilizing the forward swept wing configuration. Forward swept wings have some potentially attractive aerodynamic features including a higher geometric sweep at the shock position, `good` stalling characteristics due to the more highly loaded inner wing, and lower wing root bending moments leading to a lighter wing structure than the equivalent aft swept wing.

In an aft-swept wing configuration, spanwise air flow normally thickens the boundary layer at the wingtips. In a forward swept wing configuration, air flow tends to separate first at the inboard section of the wing while good flow conditions are maintained at the wingtips. Thus, higher aerodynamic efficiency is exhibited with forward swept wings than with aft swept wings. Such flow conditions result in stall characteristics which render the ailerons effective at high angles of attack after most of the wing has stalled, making the aircraft controllable at relatively high lift coefficients. Since a forward swept wing tends to stall first on the inboard wing sections rather than on the outboard sections, air flow control over the fuselage must be carefully controlled to insure stability in low speed flight, at high angles of attack, and at high subsonic speeds.

They do have some disadvantages, not the least of which is the aerodynamic design of the inner wing region. The outer wing design is fairly straight forward and it is not difficult to maintain well swept isobars. Over the inner wing, however, there is a tendency for a very strong, unswept shock to form at high subsonic Mach numbers and at high lift coefficients.

Aeroelastic divergence occurs when a forward swept wing bends upwardly due to high angles of attack or gust loads. Because of the forward sweep geometry of the wing, the resultant torsional deflection increases the angle of attack of the wing. The increase in angle of attack of the wing increases aerodynamic load still further causing yet additional increases in the angle of attack. This self-propagating "divergence" can lead to structural damage or failure of the wing. Forward swept wings of metal are limited in their use due to the static stability phenomenon of divergence at high speed flight conditions. Making the wing out of composite materials offers relief from this phenomenon.

SU-30 MKK
The Su 30 MKI started a new trend in Russian aero space industry. Creating new versions to meet the specific need of customers .The next spin off was developed for PLAAF and hence the designation Su 30 MKK. The Su-30 MKK differs from Indian version both structurally and in equipment, incorporating some of the features of Su-35.It lacks the canard and TVC features of Su 30 MKI being powered by standard AL 31Fs .On the other hand it has a tall thick square tipped CFRP fins of the Su 35 incorporating fuel tanks.

The Su 30 MKK prototype was created from the very first Su 30- T 10 PU 05 blue in early 1999 and its maiden flight was on 9th March. It was decided to build the Su 30 MKK at KnAAPO which until then has produced only single seat fighters aprt from initial production of Su 27UBs .

Coded 501 blue first pre production aircraft was flown first on 19/5/99.The second preproduction aircraft 502 blue in mid summer. The first batch of 10 Su 30 MKK was
Reportedly delivered in late 2000.Interestingly PLAAF also took delivery of 4 nos Su 27 UB built by IAPO. Chinese production of the flanker switched to Su-30 MKK after 80 aircraft. However china reportedly ordered 45 KnAAPO built Su 30 MKK and placed a supplementary order 24 more likely 40 aircraft in June 2001.The first batch of 10 Su-30MKK was delivered to China on Dec 2001.Nine more followed in March/April 2001 followed by 10 more on August.

501 blue was seen flying with standard weapon fits as follows – 2x Kh 31 ARM +2X Kh 59M AGM + 2X R-73 +2X R-77