A private Russian design bureau has conducted a maiden flight of an SR-10 dual-pilot forward-swept wing aerobatic trainer aircraft. It was earlier reported that it is planned to produce 16 SR-10 jets for the Defense Ministry.
The development of the fully composite twin-seater began at the Modern Aviation Technologies (KB SAT) design engineering bureau in 2007. The initial engineering development model was presented at MAKS-2009 airshow, but in the following years the project encountered financial problems.
On December 25, SR-10 made its first flight at an airfield near Vorotynsk, in the Kaluga Region, sdelanounas.ru website reports.
The SR-10 is a subsonic, single engine, all-composite dual-pilot aircraft with a moderate forward-swept wing scheme. Its reported maximum takeoff weight is 2,700 kilograms. The aircraft can reportedly be powered with either a Soviet design AI-25TLSh engine or a modern Russian-made AL-55 gas-turbine jet engine.
The SR-10’s flying quality parameters largely depend on the power unit. It was designed to have 900kph maximum horizontal flight speed, 1,500 km range capability and a 6,000-meter practical ceiling. Its cruising speed at the 6,000-meter height is 520kph.
In 2014, the SR-10 lost a Russian Defense Ministry primary training aircraft tender to Yakovlev Yak-152 turboprop trainer aircraft.However, KB SAT is still offering the aircraft to the Air Force as an intermediate trainer.
Dagestan’s Industry, Trade and Investment Ministry revealed plans to produce up to 16 SR-10 aircraft for Russia’s Defense Ministry, which is expected to allocate up to 2.5 billion rubles into the SR-10 project, the regional bureau of RIA news agency reported in mid-September.
As of now, Russia’s Air Force is actively using the recently developed Yakovlev Yak-130 as an advanced jet trainer. This aircraft is also delivered to foreign militaries, being positioned also as light attack aircraft.
Until now, the only operable forward-swept wing aircraft in Russia has been the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle) fighter jet, which never went into mass production, yet became an advanced concept technology demonstrator and a testing ground for technical solutions later integrated into Russia’s 5G fighter jet PAK-FA.