The Russian government will sign a contract for the procurement of another batch of Su-57 fighter jets next year, TASS reports.
A source in the Russian aircraft industry told TASS on January 16, 2019, “In 2020, we plan to sign the second contract to manufacture and deliver 13 Su-57 fighter jets, some of them equipped with the second-stage engines. The preliminary timeframe for the new contract is five years.”
TASS noted that United Aircraft Corporation did not comment on the information.
In regards to the first contract, he said, “In line with the contract signed in 2018, one serial Su-57 jet with first-stage engines will be delivered to the Aerospace Forces this year, the other aircraft featuring the same type of engine – in 2020.”
At present, the prototype T-50 jets are undergoing testing utilizing ‘first-stage’ engines, which are upgraded models of engines used on the Su-35. The ‘second-stage’ engine, eventually to become the serial engine for the jet, is still in development. In 2017, Russia fitted one of the T-50s with a single second-stage engine as well as a first-stage engine in order to carry out flight testing.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
