flateric said:With the *new* engines hopefully arriving in prototype form in 2015, we hopefully will have see IOC Su-something ca.2020-2022.
This is OPTIMISTIC forecast.
I hope I will live long enough to see the event. Need to check my blood pressure, though.
Eat lots of fiber. Moderate exercise. Wear your seatbelt
YF-22 construction began in January 1990 and the first operational flight took place in January 2003 . . . 13 years of development in between. If we can believe reports that a PAK FA prototype is under construction this year, and if Sukhoi keeps the same pace as Lockheed, that takes us into the early 2020s for operational status. God knows what will be happening in the world by then.
On the other hand, maybe Sukhoi can move a little faster. What takes 13 years?