Maksim covers aerospace developments in Central Asia for Aviation Week. He has worked for Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine and was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications after working for the Moscow-based CAST defense think tank.
Maksim has a degree in international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow.
FARNBOROUGH — The Russian air force will take delivery of its first Su-35S fighter by the end of 2010, with a Libyan deal for the aircraft also anticipated to be concluded in the same time frame
Maxim Pyadushkin (Farnborough), Michael A. Taverna (Farnborough)
The Russian air force will take delivery of its first Sukhoi Su-35S fighter by the end of the year, with a Libyan deal for the aircraft also anticipated to be concluded in the same time frame. Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan confirmed here that the air force would begin to receive the latest upgrade of the Su-27 Flanker before the year is out. The Su-35S, sometimes also known as the Su-27M2, matches the Flanker airframe with more powerful 117S engines, thrust vector control and new avionics and systems.
Maxim Pyadushkin (Moscow), Douglas Barrie (London)
Moscow continues to pursue a comparatively aggressive schedule for its fifth-generation fighter, with a pre-production batch of the Sukhoi T-50 planned to enter manufacturing in 2012. The defense ministry, however, appears to be moderating previous claims that the aircraft would enter service in 2015, with senior officials now suggesting delivery of the first operational standard of the aircraft would begin in 2016. It remains to be seen if, even with a year’s slip, the revised schedule can be met.
