Sukhoi PAK FA T-50–1 – the Russian airspace conquest fighter – prototype

PAK FA T-50 is the latest Russian fifth-generation airspace conquest fighter, designed by P. Sukhoi Construction Bureau. The prototype first took to the air on January 29, 2010. The aircraft was tested at the factory airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. According to the plans, the machine was to be adopted for service in 2015 and be designated Su-50. However, as is customary in Russia, work was delayed and in June 2019, at the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2019", held in Kubinka near Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the supply of 76 Su-57s (even the designation has changed), and production is scheduled for 2028. Production of another series of "second-stage" fighters with new "30th product" (Izdeliiy 30) engines is planned to begin after 2020. In 2018 Russian military experts announced, that the start of serial production of the Su-57 was suspended due to technical difficulties in production. Despite this information, the production process of the Su-57 continued. In February 2018, four Su-57s took part in combat test flights in Syria, attacking ground targets with guided missiles; they were deployed there again in 2019. In June 2019 news appeared around a contract between Sukhoi Construction Bureau and the Russian Ministry of Defense for the supply of 76 Su-57 fighters by 2028. In December 2019, progress was reported in testing fighters with Product 30 (izdeliye 30) engines. On December 24, 2019, during a test flight, 111 km from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur airport, the first Su-57 fighter crashed, the first serial production model, before it was delivered to the troops. According to independently unconfirmed reports from Russian authorities, several Su-57s were used in several sorties to counter Ukrainian air defense systems during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first half of 2022. In 2022, the first six aircraft were transferred to a fighter regiment, starting its rearmament with this type of aircraft. Previously, the fighters were delivered to training centers for pilot retraining. On March 22, 2023, Russia announced, that the Su-57 had entered operational service with an undisclosed regiment of the Eastern Military District, most likely, the 23rd Guards Fighter Regiment, at the Dziomgi airfield, located adjacent to the aircraft factory. On the night of June 7/8, 2024, one Su-57 was damaged by Ukrainian drones during an attack on the Akhtubinsk air base.

Large, complex, well-designed and richly detailed model. The full version (with detailing of the cockpit, visible engine parts, chassis and its niches, external assemblies and parts) is recommended only for modelers with medium experience and experienced. Since the model recreates the appearance of the first prototype, there is no outboard armament. The color reserve is considerable. There are, one might say, no text instructions at all - just a few notes, the graphic one is large and will serve you well in the model production process.