Russia’s Next Generation Fighter Enters Serial Production - Su-57 Set to Receive Priority Funding

Following two major consecutive orders to accelerate plans for acquisition of the Su-57 fifth generation air superiority fighter, Russia’s Sukhoi Aircraft Company has reportedly begun serial production of the aircraft on a large scale. The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov stated in July 29th regarding this development: "A state contract was signed at the Army 2019 international arms exhibition between the Defense Ministry of Russia and the Sukhoi Company for the delivery of a batch of Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets. The Sukhoi has started to fulfil its contractual obligations. He described the aircraft as “the most advanced fifth generation multirole fighter jet, which will boost the domestic Aerospace Force’s combat capabilities.” The contract reportedly covers 76 fighters which are to be delivered by the year 2027, although an expansion of the order is likely to take place before that date. It was reported in June that production facilities for large scale manufacture of the aircraft were ready, and with a number of export clients reportedly showing considerable interest in the platform investments in such facilities could prove highly profitable.

The Su-57 is the fourth fighter of its generation to enter serial production after the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lighting II and the Chinese J-20. The aircraft is designed primarily for the purpose of air to air combat and carries a high payload of up to ten air to air missiles - which include advanced new platforms such as the R-37M hypersonic missile and K-77 which integrates special active phase array antenna guidance. While Western analysts widely speculated in 2018 that the Su-57 program was dead due to the previously small size of planned orders, which many attributed to the success of Western economic warfare efforts targeting Russian from 2014, the aircraft’s cost was brought down significantlyand planned orders greatly increased in May 2019 which will provide the Russian Air Force with three full strength regiments of the aircraft by the mid-2020s. It is as of yet unclear whether the aircraft will phase out earlier variants of the Su-27 fourth generation air superiority fighters currently in service, or possibly older variants of the MiG-31 fourth generation interceptor, as an expansion of the Russian Air Force’s active fighter fleet remains unlikely in the near future. Russia’s government and armed forces have shown considerable faith in the Su-57 design, and the platform’s airframe has been used as a testbed for a number of advanced sixth generation technologies which are set to be integrated onto it in future.

While Russian military sources have expressed considerable confidence in the capabilities of existing combat jets such as the MiG-31BSM and Su-35 to counter the elite of Western air fleets such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, the Su-57 is expected to go head to head with future American fighters currently under development such as the Sixth Generation Air Dominance Fighter and Penetrating Counter Air Fighter. These are expected to be considerably more capable than the F-22 or anything currently in Russian service. It has been speculated that reports on American progress developing these aircraft has forced Russia to prioritise funding for the Su-57 and quickly escalate acquisition plans, and the elite fighters and their future armaments appear set to receive priority funding despite considerable cuts to the Russian defence budget.