Su-35 fighter jet to premiere at Le Bourget

The 50th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, which will be held on June 17-23, will feature 27 national pavilions and at least 110 aircraft. Russia’s Su-35 fighter jet will be making its world premiere at the show.

"The UAC will present two combat aircraft in Paris: the Yak-130, produced by the Irkut corporation, and Sukhoi's Su-35. This will be the Su-35's first public appearance abroad," said the official spokesperson for the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Boris Krylov. He added that the aircraft would take part in the show's flight displays too.

The advanced, fourth-generation, air-superiority, Su-35 fighter jet has been designed by the Sukhoi design bureau. Under a 2009 contract, the Russian Defense Ministry commissioned 48 Su-35C (the series name) aircraft from Sukhoi, which are supposed to enter service by 2015. The number of the aircraft is expected to double later. At the moment, the Defense Ministry has at least 11 Su-35 aircraft worth $85 million, including three test aircraft. Sukhoi is expected to deliver 12 more aircraft by the end of 2013.

The first foreign country to buy the new Russian aircraft is likely to be China. As reported by Russian media earlier, the two sides are discussing a contract for 24 Russian fighter jets to be supplied to China.

During tests in late 2012, the Su-35 demonstrated a speed of 1,553 mph and a service ceiling of 11.8 miles. The aircraft has a range is 2,112 miles and a combat radius of 995 miles.

The Su-35 has a 30mm gun and 12 wing and fuselage stations with a capacity of 17,636 pounds of ordnance. It is capable of detecting air targets at a distance of over 250 miles.

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According to Sukhoi's corporate brochure, the aircraft's distinguishing features include: improved avionics based on a digital fly-by-wire system; a new, phased-array radar capable of detecting airborne targets at a large distance; and more powerful and thrust-vectoring engines.

As Paris Air Show chairman Emeric D’Arcimoles said, visitors to the show will once again be able to see an example of Russian-French cooperation in the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 civilian aircraft, which has been presented at Le Bourget previously.

"The flight displays will involve the participation of a Ka-52 ('Alligator') gunship, while the Le Bourget static display will feature a Ka-100 helicopter and a model of the MS-21 aircraft," Gilles Fournier, managing director of the air show, told journalists.

The space section of the show will feature a new-generation control system for a future launch vehicle based on the Angara rocket, designed by the N.A. Pilyugin Scientific-Production Center of Automatics and Instrument-Making.

Famous Russian aerobatic display teams – Russkiye Vityazi and Strizhi – are expected to perform at the Le Bourget show.

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