Keeping you on the cutting edge.

No Ads... No Nonsense. Just Flight Test News and Analysis.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Sukhoi Su-35S Passes Flight Test Milestone

The stealthy fighter has shown some pretty impressive performance.  The altitude of 59,000 feet is particularly interesting, since most Western manufacturers won't send a pilot above about 50K' without a pressure suit.  That kind of altitude also says something about the plane's ultimate mission.  The over-the-horizon sensor range from that altitude is huge, but there is little point putting a stealthy platform that high and turning on the radar since everyone within 500 miles will see you, so the plane starts to sound more line an intel-gathering platform than a fighter.  This implies something about the Russian comsat constellation.  Interesting stuff!

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2012/04/05/500th-test-flight-for-Russian-fighter/UPI-92051333646840/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Feel free to join the discussion! Do you know something more about a recent flight test? Jot a line and let us know how it went! Think you know what will be coming next? Tell us what to expect! (Comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.)