Su-47 Berkut successfully serves as flying laboratory — Sukhoi Design Bureau chief pilot

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. The Su-47 Berkut fighter jet has successfully served as a "flying laboratory," Sergey Bogdan, Honored Test Pilot and Chief Pilot of the Sukhoi Design Bureau at the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the state tech corporation Rostec) told TASS. "Besides its forward-swept wing, the Berkut aircraft had another important feature. First of all, it was equipped with a cargo compartment, the solutions for which were later used in the development of fifth-generation aircraft. The Berkut fulfilled its role as a 'flying laboratory' in two key areas: the characteristics of the forward-swept wing were tested, including critical phenomena; and secondly, a lot of flights with cargo compartments were conducted," he said. According to him, the technological solutions used in the development of the Berkut cargo compartments were later successfully applied in the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter. Earlier, in an interview with TASS, Sergey Bogdan spoke about an emergency that occurred during a Berkut test flight. According to the distinguished test pilot, the fighter’s navigation instruments failed during the tests, which caused difficulties in flying through cloud cover. However, it successfully landed with emergency fuel reserves, accompanied by another aircraft.