Friday, August 24, 2007
MOSCOW: Russia unveiled on Thursday the mock-up of a pilotless bomber plane that its constructors say will be even better than the famous US stealth fighter at evading enemy radars and anti-aircraft fire.
NTV television showed a full-sized model of the bat-like plane known as Skat, which means “stingray,” at an air show just outside Moscow the first public glimpse of the project run by Russia’s MiG Corporation.
The aircraft has a flattened, swept-back profile reminiscent of the US air force’s stealth aircraft, with a bubble-like cockpit area, although the plane will not have a pilot, NTV reported.
According to the report, the Skat’s constructors claim the stealth technology will make it even less vulnerable than the US version to radar detection.
“Many firms are trying to work in this area, but few so far have achieved results. Today we have begun real work on building an assault craft,” the director of MiG’s Mikoyan design bureau, Vladimir Barkovsky, said on NTV television.
---EOE---
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=69502