The world is getting a fresh look at Russia’s newest stealth fighter jet after images were posted on the manufacturer’s website.
Most of the photos show the twin-engine Sukhoi T-50 jet operating from runways on a snow-covered airfield, although a location was not given in a report on RT.com, which surfaced the pictures on Sunday.
According to the metadata on the photos released by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant, the images were taken last Thursday.
Russian media reported in October that the ninth prototype of the T-50 would be undergoing trials later this year.
The single-seat T-50 is Russia’s first stealth fighter.
It is seen as a rival to US F-22 and F-35 stealth jets and China’s J-20 stealth fighter, which was shown to the public for the first time in November.
The new Russian jet carries a price tag of $50 million, according to a report from state-sponsored Sputnik News.
Sputnik said the T-50 came “at a bargain basement price and with far greater capabilities when compared to the budgetary eyesore that is America’s F-35 stealth fighter.”
The F-35, which is just entering US and allied forces, is expected to cost about $135 million per unit.
“Not only does the T-50 have superior maneuverability compared to the F-35, but it also travels at a 30% higher speed with a range over 2,000 miles farther,” Sputnik said.
Russia media has also boasted about the T-50’s 30mm cannon.
“The cannon’s one-of-a-kind automatic fire system enables it to fire up to 1,800 rounds per minute — the best such performance for this type of weapon around,” Sputnik reported after a test of the weapon in September.
“The … cannon can fire blast-fragmentation, incendiary and armor-piercing tracer rounds and is effective against even lightly armored ground, sea and aerial targets.
“The cannon can hit ground targets up to 1,800 meters (1.1 miles) away and aerial targets at a maximum distance of 1,200 meters (.75 miles),” Sputnik said.
The T-50 is expected to go into mass production in 2017 with a squadron to be bought by the Russian military in 2018, Sputnik reported earlier this year.
A version of the jet is also expected to be bought by the Indian Air Force.