Sukhoi T-50 Russian Stealth Fighter
Sukhoi’s latest offering to military aviation is the T-50, a fifth generation fighter intended to be Russia’s entry into the market of stealth jets. More like an evolutionary design from the successful line started by the Su-27 and Su-33, the T-50 incorporates some features that bear some superficial resemblance to the F-22 Raptor, prompting comparisons between the two. News has it that India is a development partner and potential first export user of the single-seat model.
This very first kit of the prototype was issued by Zvezda of Russia in 1/72 scale format. The molding of the kit has very fine lines and a very basic cockpit. One complaint that I have is that the fuselage has a pebbly finish to the plastic whether intentional or not, does not provide a good base for the paintwork finish. This kit was built by my son, Joel who promptly entered it together with the the other Sukhoi (Su-47) for Nordic-Con competition.
One major modification was to the tail stabilizers where the actuator housing was molded to the fuselage instead. Joel sawed off the port and starboard housings from the fuselage and re-attached them to their respective fins.
The splinter camouflage pattern made for very busy work with all the masking needed. The 3-tone camouflage comprise of Light Ghost Grey, Medium Grey and Sea Blue. The camouflage extended to the underside of the jet (and interesting arrangement that makes it hard for an observer to tell the jet’s orientation at a glance).
Enjoy the pictures!
Very nice work by Joel – who has obviously learned well from the master craftsman. Camo job came out very nice, despite the “pebbly” finish of the plastic.
Does the SU-50 have “vectored thrust” capability from the two exhaust nozzles? Looks like there’s a relatively small amount of clearance from the control surfaces for such a system (albeit only with the nozzles in their “narrow” configuration).
Also interesting to see no canards on the forward fuselage. My initial conclusion is that this is a typical Russian “brute force” design – relatively simple and not a dogfighter.
Finally, if the Russians sell this plane to India, they will likely also sell it to the Pakistanis. Certainly Pakistan will pay top dollar (or ruble) to stay tactically balanced with their arch-rival India.
Keep ’em coming!
Dave Hardy
Hi Dave,
A lot of the details surrounding this aircraft has not been revealed to the West so all we can see are from pictures of the prototype. The twin engines look conventional and do not seem to have vectored trust, unless it is using some sort of system very different from the Raptor.
As for selling to the Pakistanis, that has historically not happened as Russian military aviation ties with India are very deep and go back to the 1960’s. The Pakistanis are in it with China, taking on their J-10 Vigorus Dragon “stealth” fighter which in truth is not a full fifth generation stealth fighter like the Raptor but a hybrid 4th generation more similar to the Eurofighter Typhoon. The Chinese might eventually let the Pakistanis in on the recently touted J-20 Stealth fighter.