http://www.defencetalk.com/russian-airforce-to-get-first-t-50-fighters-in-2013-42648/

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Ready by 2019? If they are lucky, plan on 2025, when advanced designs for a sixth generation fighter will be in the works in the US and so many mods will have been added to the F-22 and F-35 that they will be 5.5 generation if not already.

 

Those who dream that India with its money and Russia who can't build anything new since the collapse of the soviet union other than modifying aircraft and giving them a new name are hopeful wishers to a return of Soviet aircraft of quality which there never was.

If I were the Indians I would look less at the cost growth of the F-22 vs. the T-50 and more at the cost growth of the T-50 vs. the INS Vikramaditya.   Particularly when it comes to splitting up the latest cost increases

The reality of all this is the Americans have finished their planned run of F-22's and the oposition is still "discussing the dollars",, when you have 6 billion Indian dollars, you will most certianly have 6 million Indian accountants trying to squeeze it sideways...

The Russians will be saying "more, more we need much more" and the Indians will be saying "but you said" and "less, less, less" and this doesn't begin to adress corruption which as we all know is out of control, AT ALL LEVELS in both countries...

And then there's the issue of engines, "the China Engine" yike's too scary to think about, the Americans must be struggling to keep a straight face...

 

I love it.... 

Well the IAF wants a '360 degree AESA'(?), composite skin to withstand cruising at mach 1.7 and 40-50 goodies over the regular Pak-Fa and roughly at $100 million a pop. Well, with these expectations in mind, I see no reason why FGFA will not break all barriers of cost escalation. 

Nope, I gave a lloonngg time ago. 

A lot of hubris here, 

 

 There is a danger of falling for the simplification of n'th generational terminology - I don't think any of the criticism of Russian/Indian procurement programs is necessarily unfair except that you have to (I think) view this n a wider context - to confidently assert that 'nth' generational advance (ill-defined) renders your product/s invulnerable and exemplary ignores the non-linear development curve in key technologies that can and do, from time to time, cut across previously defined constraints, often as retrofits. 

 

F-35 development costs are going to be a minimum of $60bn, and conceivably a lot more - T-50's dev cost is $6bn and even if that becomes $20bn with avionics it does give you some idea as to the respective technological sophistication being developed for each platform - as I said before, I think comparing these platforms on a like-for-like basis might be the wrong way to look at it, Russia/India seem to want an intermediate level of signature management coupled with an airframe capable of utilising large, power-hungry sensors (current and future) and operating at high altitude. 

 

R 

"in 7-10 years, it may already be made obsolete by cheaper, unmanned, stealthy fighters."

 

Like it or not, Flyboys, this is the future.  No 'Raptor Cough' with a UAV.  No POW/MIA.  Let the grunts on the ground control the CAS missions while automation takes care of the flight envelope, and then it returns back home by itself.

 

12G turns, no problem.

 

Less Blue on Blue because you don't have the same level of adrenaline flowing when the pilot, er, controller is 5000 miles away.  Better decisions.

 

Sure there are still benefits to manned aircraft, but for how much longer?