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.
MOSCOW and LONDON — Prompted by Western and competitive air-to-air developments and renewed domestic funding, Russia is now offering upgraded versions of its own weaponry in the export arena. Russian industry claims testing of an improved version of an active radar-guided medium range air-to-air missile is already complete.
The first flight of the PAK FA (T-50) tactical fighter, the fifth-generation replacement for Russia’s Su-27 fleet, has been officially postponed until the end of the year. Government and military officials report, however, that development is continuing and there will be no delay in the overall program. The T-50 is slated to enter service with the Russian air force in 2015.
MOSCOW — Static fatigue tests already are under way here on a Sukhoi T-50 prototype airframe, according to Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, the chief of the Russian air force. The T-50 is being developed by Sukhoi to meet the air force’s fifth-generation fighter requirement, known as PAK FA. The Russian air force commander says that a first flight is due in November.
