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Showing posts with label MAKS-2011. Show all posts

New military and civilian aircraft from all over the world are showcased at the 10th International MAKS-2011 Air Show, which opened at Zhukovsky Airfield near Moscow, on August 16. Photo: Russian MiG-35 multirole fighter during a demonstration flight at the MAKS-2011 air show.

The Russian air force wants to procure 120 Sukhoi Su-34 strike aircraft, the service's commander has revealed.

Speaking at the MAKS air show in Moscow, Gen Aleksander Zelin said five squadrons will eventually be armed with the two-seat type, with each to have 24 aircraft.

The Russian defence ministry's procurement plan for this year includes 12 Su-34s, and production activities at Sukhoi's NAPO plant in Novosibirsk are gradually picking up.

Orders have been confirmed for 32 Su-34s so far, with seven of these having been accepted into squadron service and a handful more being used by the defence ministry's weapons-assessment units and industry.

The air force is now working with United Aircraft and Sukhoi to firm-up contacts for follow-on batches, and intends to have 70 of the aircraft operational in 2015.

The Russian military will use new MiG-35D multirole fighters as an equal to the U.S. F-35 fighters, the Air Force chief said on Tuesday.

"We have not given up on the MiG-35D light aircraft project, but we will transfer to the T-50 [heavy fighter] in the future," Gen. Alexander Zelin, the Russian Air Force commander, said during his visit to the six-day air show MAKS-2011 that opened near Moscow on Tuesday.

The U.S. Air Force began using the F-22 fifth generation fighter in the 2000s. America is now developing a lighter and less expensive version, the F-35.

The MiG-35 is an advanced derivative of the MiG-29, which uses air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles and the Zhuk A radar (Zhuk AE in exports).