PROCUREMENT BLUES: Russia’s New PAK-FA Stealth Fighter Has A Big Problem.

Russia’s Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA stealth fighter program has suffered another delay. Testing of the of the powerful new jet’s second stage engine, which was supposed to start later this year, has been pushed back to 2018.

“At the moment, works are being carried out within the framework of contacts with the Russian Defense Ministry,” United Aircraft Corporation, Sergei Korotkov told the TASS news agency. “Flight tests are underway. We plan to enter the second stage of trials next year.”

The new engine was expected to make its first flight installed onboard the PAK-FA in the fourth quarter of 2017. “The first flight of the aircraft with the new engine is expected in the fourth quarter of 2017,” a United Engine Corporation spokesman told TASS earlier in the year.

Engines are comparatively easy, next to stealth and the advanced avionics needed to bring it all together.