MOSCOW. Aug 12 (Interfax-AVN) - The current Air Force modernization program will last for no more than two to three years, Air Force Commander Vladimir Mikhailov said on Sunday.
"In this period of time we will upgrade up to 30 percent of frontline aviation aircraft to the level of Generation Four Plus, and starting from 2005, we will get a new future plane of the Sukhoi design bureau," Mikhailov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Modernization of long-range and military transport aviation planes is progressing at a good pace as well, he said.
Aircraft of the third and fourth generations, these being SU- 24 Fencer, SU-25 Frogfoot, SU-27 Flanker, MIG-29 Fulcrum and MIG- 31 Foxhound, form the core of Russia's military aviation stock. They can compete with foreign analogues successfully for the next five to ten years in case proper modernization is provided, the commander said.
The Russian Air Force celebrates is 80th birthday on Monday.