Russia’s sixth-generation fighter jet will be equipped with an artificial intelligence system capable of making key decisions without the pilot’s involvement.

In an exclusive interview with the Russian news network Zvezda, Sergei Korotkov, Chief Designer of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), specifically focused on the advanced characteristics of the Russian sixth-generation fighter.

“This plane will not just perform the tasks set by its crew, but it will be also capable of taking decisions on its own in certain emergency situations,” Korotkov said.

The interview came at the Army-2017 military forum which took place last week in the Moscow Region.

In March 2016, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer had begun the development of a sixth-generation jet fighter.

“Of course, there were talks today about planned work, ideas for the creation of a sixth-generation fighter. Of course, we are still working on the fifth generation, but the developers are looking forward and that is the right thing to do,” Rogozin said.

His comments came after Aerospace Forces Commander Colonel General Viktor Bondarev said that Russia was also working on a seventh-generation jet fighter.

Earlier, it was reported that the onboard equipment of Russia’s fifth-generation fighter T-50 PAK FA will be able to make a decision about the pilot’s ejection without his involvement.

In July 2017, Ilya Tarasenko, head of the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, said that the development of the PAK DP, Russia's fifth-generation fighter-interceptor, will begin in the immediate future, and that the work is on schedule.

According to Tarasenko, the life cycle of the PAC DP’s predecessor, the MiG-31 aircraft, will wrap up in 10 years which is why it should be replaced with a more sophisticated warplane.

Also in July, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said that the work on the PAK FA is at the final stage and that in 2017, “we will receive the 10th and 11th models which will be tested, while the first serial procurement of the T-50 fighters is scheduled for the next state armament program for 2018-2025.”

The Sukhoi T-50 is a fifth-generation fighter and the first to use stealth technology in Russia. It is a single-seat, twin-engine multirole jet fighter designed for air superiority and attack roles.