Fighter Jet Sukhoi

[Emelia Lute]

TheSukhoi Su-57 (Russian: Сухой Су-57; NATO reporting name: Felon)[3][4] is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi.[5] It is the product of the PAK FA (Russian: ПАК ФА, prospective aeronautical complex of front-line aviation) programme, which was initiated in 1999 as a more modern and affordable alternative to the MFI (Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42). Sukhoi's internal designation for the aircraft is T-50. The Su-57 is the first aircraft in Russian military service designed with stealth technology and is intended to be the basis for a family of stealth combat aircraft.

A multirole fighter capable of aerial combat as well as ground and maritime strike, the Su-57 incorporates stealth, supermaneuverability, supercruise, integrated avionics and large payload capacity.[6] The aircraft is expected to succeed the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian military service and has also been marketed for export. The first prototype aircraft flew in 2010, but the program experienced a protracted development due to various structural and technical issues that emerged during trials, including the destruction of the first production aircraft in a crash before its delivery.

Due to a lack of funds after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the MFI was repeatedly delayed and the first flight of the MiG 1.44/1.42 prototype did not occur until 2000, nine years behind schedule.[10] Owing to the high costs, the MFI and LFI were eventually cancelled while the Russian Ministry of Defence began work on a new next-generation fighter programme; in 1999, the ministry initiated the PAK FA or I-21 programme, with the competition announced in April 2001.[N 3] Because of Russia's financial difficulties, the programme aimed to rein in costs by producing a single multirole fifth-generation fighter that would replace both the Su-27 and the MiG-29. Further cost-saving measures include an intended size in between that of the Su-27 and the MiG-29 and normal takeoff weight considerably smaller than the MiG MFI's 28.6 tonnes (63,000 lb) and the Su-47's 26.8 tonnes (59,000 lb).[11][12]

In December 2004, the T-50's conceptual design and shape was complete and approved by the Ministry of Defence; government funding of the programme began in 2005 and drastically increased in 2006 when detailed design was underway.[26][19] On 8 August 2007, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Alexander Zelin was quoted by Russian news agencies that the programme's development stage was complete and construction of the first aircraft for flight testing would begin, with three flyable T-50 prototypes planned to be built by 2009.[citation needed] In 2009, the aircraft's design was officially approved.[citation needed] The T-50 was named Su-57 in July 2017.[5]

The T-50's maiden flight was repeatedly postponed from early 2007 after encountering unspecified technical problems. In August 2009, Alexander Zelin acknowledged that problems with the engine and in technical research remained unsolved.[33] On 28 February 2009, Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pogosyan announced that the airframe was almost finished and that the first prototype should be ready by August 2009.[34] On 20 August 2009, Pogosyan said that the first flight would be by year's end. Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies said that "even with delays", the aircraft would likely make its first flight by January or February, adding that it would take five to ten years for commercial production.[35]

Flight testing was further delayed when Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov announced in December 2009 that the first trials would begin in 2010.[36] The first taxi test was successfully completed on 24 December 2009, and the maiden flight of the first prototype aircraft, T-50-1, occurred on 29 January 2010.[37][38] Piloted by Sukhoi test pilot Sergey Bogdan, the aircraft's 47-minute maiden flight took place at KnAAPO's Dzemgi Airport in the Russian Far East.[6][39] Construction of the prototypes would progress slower than initially planned; by the end of October 2013, the test programme had amassed more than 450 flights across five aircraft.[40]

A total of ten flying and three non-flying T-50 prototypes would be built for preliminary flight tests and state trials.[41] Initially, the program was planned to have up to six prototypes before the start of serial production; however testing would reveal that the initial prototypes did not have adequate fatigue life, with early structural cracks forming in the airframe.[42]

The aircraft subsequently underwent a structural redesign, with changes including increased composite material usage, reinforced airframe to meet full life cycle requirements, elongated tail "sting", and slightly greater wingspan; the sixth flyable prototype was the first of the redesigned "second stage" aircraft, with the five initial prototypes consequently considered "first stage" vehicles and requiring additional structural reinforcements in order to continue flight tests.[N 7][43][44][45] The last two flying prototypes were test articles of production Su-57 aircraft with full mission systems on board.[46] While the "second stage" structural redesign reduced the weight growth from the required strengthening of the "first stage" design, the normal takeoff weight still increased to approximately 25 tonnes (55,000 lb).[47] Issues and accidents during the testing resulted in repeated delays to the programme, with the delivery of the first production aircraft pushed back from 2015 to 2020.[48]

Plans were greatly cut down in 2015 as a result of technical obstacles encountered during testing, India's unclear commitment to the partnership, and Russia's economic downturn due to international sanctions after its annexation of Crimea and the drop in oil prices. Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Yury Borisov stated in 2015 that the Russian Air Force would slow production, reduce its initial order to 12 fighters, and operate large fleets of upgraded fourth-generation fighters such as the Su-35S and the Su-30SM.[52][53] In 2017, Borisov stated that the PAK FA would most likely enter service in 2018 and be part of the new State Armament Programme from 2018 to 2027 (GPV-2027).[54] On 30 June 2018, an order for 12 aircraft was agreed, while deliveries to the Russian Armed Forces was pushed back again to 2019 with the first aircraft planned to join fighter regiments at the Lipetsk Air Center.[55][56][57] At the same time, Borisov praised the Su-35S, stating that it was comparable to the Su-57 except for the stealth features while being more affordable.[58][59][60]

Due to the substantially higher cost of the Su-57 compared to the Su-35S and Su-30SM, the design was placed on hold for mass production until the need arises. On 22 August 2018, during the International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2018, the Defence Ministry and Sukhoi signed the first contract for delivery of two serial Su-57 fighters scheduled for 2019 and 2020 respectively.[61] In January 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced they hoped to conclude a second contract for 13 more aircraft in 2020.[62]

However, on 15 May 2019, the acquisition plan drastically changed when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that 76 aircraft would be purchased and delivered to the Aerospace Forces by 2028. This came after the negotiations were able to lower the price of the Su-57 and equipment by 20%.[63] The contract for the 76 aircraft was formally signed on 27 June 2019 at the International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2019.[64][65] The same month, General Director of Tactical Missiles Corporation (KRTV) Boris Obnosov reported, a contract for serial production of ammunition for Su-57 fighters was signed, and is being inducted.[66]

Serial production of the aircraft began in July 2019, with the first production aircraft scheduled to be delivered by the end of the year; following the crash of the first production aircraft, the Russian Aerospace Forces[N 1] took delivery of the second Su-57 as its first aircraft in December 2020.[67] By May 2022, four more aircraft were delivered, and production has progressed slower than planned with total of six aircraft delivered by end of the year.[68] However with the opening of new production line in 2022, production of Su-57 increased and in total 12 new aircraft were delivered to Russian Air Force by end of 2023. According to Yuri Slyusar, another 20 aircraft are expected to be built in 2024 what would make the Su-57 the most produced jet fighter in Russia.[69][70]

The formal contract was signed in 2018, although preliminary work had begun earlier. In 2020, flight test of the improved variant was planned to begin in 2022, with serial production in the mid-2020s. The second flying T-50 prototype was used to test the new izdeliye 30 engine starting in 2017; the third prototype was configured for teaming tests with the Okhotnik UCAV in 2018.[71] Additionally, work is underway to make a variant of the aircraft that can operate on aircraft carriers.[72][73][74][75]

As of 2024[update], international sanctions on Russia's defence industries has made it far more difficult for Russia to source the Western avionics and micro-electronics that have been essential components of its advanced fighter and attack aircraft cockpits.[78][79]

The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) reported that an upgraded Su-57 aircraft made its first flight on 21 October 2022. It is yet unclear whether this airframe represents a Su-57M, as the "second-stage engine" (alluding to the Izdeliye 30) was reportedly not mounted. The flight was carried out by Russian test-pilot Sergey Bogdan.[80]

The Su-57 is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft and the first operational stealth aircraft for the Russian armed forces. In addition to stealth, the fighter emphasizes supermaneuverability in all aircraft axes, capacious internal payload bays for multirole versatility, and advanced sensor systems such as active phased-array radar as well as the integration of these systems to achieve high levels of automation.[21][81]

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