Russian Defence Minister Details Air Force Modernisation Plans: Su-57 to Make Up Almost 25% of All Acquisitions Until 2025
Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff
Su-57 Next Generation Fighters
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has revealed new details regarding acquisition plans for the Su-57 next generation fighter jet, announcing that the Air Force would receive 22 of the jets by the start of 2025 before the rate of production subsequently increased. The minister stated during an annual meeting with the Russian Defence Ministry Board: “In terms of aviation equipment, an early delivery of 94 aircraft and helicopters is planned ahead of schedule by the end of 2024… Twenty-two Su-57 fighters will be among them, the number of which will be increased to 76 by 2028.” The Su-57 went into serial production in mid-2019, with 76 ordered for the military’s ten year plan which ends in 2027. The aircraft is in production alongside multiple other fighter designs including the Su-35, Su-34, Su-30, MiG-35 and MiG-29M, meaning it cannot currently be allocated the bulk of production lines in Russia as the United States has done with its own much smaller stealth fighter the F-35.
Production rates for the Su-57 are expected to increase drastically after 2027, with orders for the Su-34, Su-35 and Su-30 expected to fall and the production lines of the last two potentially being merged. Even at current low level production rates however, the Su-57 makes up 23% of all aircraft being delivered, with this rate set to rise drastically after 2025. The fighter’s capabilities are expected to improve considerably after 2022 when the aircraft begins to integrate the Saturn 30 engine, which is reportedly over 30% more powerful than the current AL-41 stopgap engine currently in use. This will give the fighter more thrust than any other aircraft in the world built for air to air combat. Su-57 prototypes are currently being used to test a number of advanced sixth generation technologies such as artificial intelligence and in future laser weapons, with the aircraft being designed primarily for combat at a sixth generation level.
