Russian Air Force Begins Flying Su-57 Fighters - Defence Ministry

The Russian Defence Ministry announced on March 25th that pilots from the Russian Air Force had for the first time begun flying Su-57 fighters and had familiarised themselves with the next generation stealth platforms’ various modes of combat. The Su-57 is Russia’s most sophisticated fighter and the only entirely new airframe design to enter mass production since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The fighter entered mass production in July 2019, but advanced combat capable prototypes have seen limited combat from February 2018 with the jets dispatched for low intensity operations in Syria up to four at a time. The beginning of flights by Air Force indicate that a formal entry of the fighter class into service is imminent, despite multiple delays since the first prototype flew in January 2010, with the fighters previously having been flown only by test pilots from the manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation.

The Su-57 was initially expected to enter service primarily as a fifth generation air superiority fighter, although Russia’s development of enhanced ‘4+’ and ‘4++ generation’ designs such as the MiG-31BSM and Su-35 has left its need for such a fighter questionable. Russia’s acquisition strategy appears to prioritise these cheaper and older designs, while the Su-57 is simultaneously developed into a sixth generation fighter at which point orders will increase. Planned acquisitions of Su-57 fighters from 2019 to 2027, limited to approximately ten airframes per year, are exceeded by the number of F-35 fifth generation fighters the U.S. Air Force expects to receive in the year 2020 alone - although the F-35 is a much lighter and less specialised single engine design intended to prioritise low costs. This is partly explained by the fact that the U.S. is simultaneously acquiring just two new fighter classes - the bulk of them F-35s alongside a small number of F-15EXs. For Russia, by contrast, the Su-57 makes up just a small fraction of new fighters being ordered - with the majority being Su-35, Su-30SM and MiG-35 jets. As the Su-57 is further refined, equipped with next generation technologies including Saturn 30 engines, hypersonic ballistic missiles and laser weapons, it is expected to form a much greater proportion of the Russian Air Force’s annual orders.