MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax-AVN) - The specifications of a combat aircraft being developed by the Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer are still being adjusted, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
"I have decided to somewhat reduce the velocity parameters that were set in the technical-tactical target of the design," Mikhailov said.
The adjustment "will not downgrade the plane's combat potential and will also help avoid many construction problems that would inevitably arise if the targeted velocity parameters remained at the original level," he said.
"The new Mach number is still more than enough for carrying out the tasks that the fifth generation aircraft will be designed for," Mikhailov said.
"The fifth generation aircraft's technical-tactical target is not a dogma, which is true for any plan. Creation of a fifth generation warplane is a creative process," he stressed.
Mikhailov praised the rule of computer simulation in the aircraft development. "We used to destroy planes and engines to determine their strength parameters. Now we create various conditions on computer screens and see vividly strength specifications of all components and systems. Computer simulation makes it possible to calculate possible variants without mistakes and to choose optimal solutions," he said.
"That is why it is simply inadmissible to estimate things by the eye, relying on designer's intuition, as we used to do before. While designing the fifth generation plane, we must realign ourselves and reach maximal technological levels," he said.
According to Mikhailov, the fifth generation warplane will make its maiden flight in 2007.