Russia’s new Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA fighter jet has just been given another capability – the means to destroy surface warships. Sputnik spoke to military expert Andrei Golovatyuk to find out whether it’s now appropriate to add ‘ship slayer’ to the fifth-generation aircraft’s list of capabilities. On Wednesday, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper reported that the Kh-35UE tactical cruise missile, an upgrade of the Kh-35 jet-launched subsonic anti-ship missile, has been incorporated into the Sukhoi T-50’s array of potential armaments. The weapon, capable of targeting and destroying everything from landing craft to aircraft carriers, as well as ground targets, including hard points, warehouses and even mobile military equipment, is able to bypass missile defense interceptor systems, as well as advanced electronic jamming, thanks to its dual-band active/passing homing guidance system. It is the ability to target an array of ground-based targets, along with a shorter intake and folding wings, which distinguish the Kh-35EU from its predecessor.
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