MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia is simultaneously developing both manned and unmanned sixth-generation jet fighters, Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Viktor Bondarev said Friday.
"Simultaneously, of course… Work is in progress here as well as abroad. We have an excellent aviation industry and design bureaus. I think that the sixth generation is not far off," Bondarev told reporters.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the Moscow-based Sukhoi Design Bureau, part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), has presented its first designs for a sixth-generation jet. In 2014, the UAC said it plans to complete the first sixth-generation aircraft by the late 2020s.
Currently, Russia's fifth-generation Sukhoi PAK FA stealth multirole fighter project is in advanced stages of development and is undergoing flight testing. The aircraft is expected to complete tests this year before serial production commences in 2017.
