Russia unveils top secret new fighter

Touted rival of US F-22 stealth jet

Russia on Friday unveiled a new fighter aircraft touted as a rival of the U.S. F-22 stealth jet and developed amid the highest secrecy as part of a plan to modernize the armed forces.

The fifth generation fighter, manufactured by the Sukhoi company and known as the PAK FA, made a maiden flight of just over 45 minutes at the firm's home base of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Far East region.

Pictures broadcast on state television showed the fighter jet -- which has been kept closely under wraps for years -- flying at altitude and then landing on a snow-surrounded runway. "The plane performed very well," said Kayukova."All our expectations for this first flight were met. The premiere was a success." The new jet has the capability of carrying out long flights above the speed of sound as well as simultaneously attacking different targets. Russia is currently embarking on a major program to re-equip its military, not least the air force which is still using largely Soviet-era equipment and suffers from frequent crashes. The new fighter, which has been in development since the 1990s, is due to enter the armed forces in 2015, Russian news agencies said. The first flight of the PAK FA (Prospective Aviation System of Frontline Aviation) is being seen in Russia as a major boost for the military after the project was hit by repeated delays over the last years. "There is no doubt that the plane is needed," the ex-commander of the Russian air force, Anatoly Kornukov, told the Interfax news agency. "Our Su-27 and MiG-29 planes are good but have aged. They are 20 or more years old and it's time to have something as a replacement," he said. He said the new plane could easily stand comparison with the U.S. F-22, also a fifth generation stealth fighter. "It's going to be no worse than an F-22. I've been in an F-22 and I know."