The Russian Air Force expects to have a fifth-generation fighter aircraft enter its inventory early next decade to challenge the supremacy of the F-22 and F-35, RIA Novosti, the Russian News and Information Agency, reported yesterday. “We will begin test flights in 2009 and hope to receive the aircraft in 2013,” Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, commander of the Russian Air Force, said Monday, according to the news service. The new multirole fighter, tentatively designated as the Sukhoi PAK FA or T-50, will reportedly have a stealthy airframe and two powerful engines capable of thrust vectoring.
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…