2018 - PAK FA Program
The first test flight of the Su-57 took place at Zhukovsky airport on December 5, 2017. Flight tests were later resumed in February, 2018 and the plane made its debut at the Victory Day Parade on 09 May 2018 on Moscow's Red Square.
"We are buying Su-57 jets for combat trials. The first stage of state trials has been concluded," Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said, speaking to reporters during a visit to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant on 08 February 2018. The plant is expected to build the planes when mass production kicks in. According to the senior officer, a contract for the delivery of a pilot batch of 12 Su-57s will be signed in 2018. Borisov clarified that the first two planes from this batch may enter service with the Armed Forces in 2019. He added that 12 Su-57s have already been built during the development of the aircraft, known as the PAK FA, or 'Prospective Aviation Complex of Frontline Aviation' before being christened the Su-57 last year, with ten of them continuing flight testing.
Asked about the state of development work of the Su-57's new, truly fifth-gen engines, the deputy defense minister said it was too early to say at this stage. "Right now it's hard to say, because there has only been one flight. Everything seems normal, but as you might imagine, this is a whole range of trials. Many test flights must be carried out. As a rule, such testing requires two-three years."
Four state-of-the-art Russian Su-57 stealth fighters, which have reportedly been deployed to Syria, will not be engaged in active combat, according to Kommersant, a Russian daily. The newspaper Kommersant cited military sources as saying that the Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets were deployed to Syria to test radar systems and electronic warfare. The Su-57s will not take part in combat missions in Syria, the sources said, adding that the decision on the deployment was made during the 2017 MAKS airshow in Zhukovsky outside Moscow. READ MORE: Another Two Russian Fifth Gen. Su-57 Jets Reportedly Land in Syria's Hmeymim According to Kommersant, the planes were due to be deployed to Syria on the eve of Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day, which is celebrated on 23 February 2018.
The National Interest's staff claimed in their article May 29, 2018 that "the Su-57 does not have a particularly bright future" because the warplane is allegedly based on "the systems developed for" Russia's fourth generation Su-35S fighter. "The Russians seem to recognize that the initial version of the Su-57 will not offer a particularly more useful capability than the Su-35. Moscow only plans to purchase a dozen of the initial AL-41F1-powered version of the Su-57. The Kremlin will likely buy as many as 60 of the second stage Su-57 with the new engine, but given the sheer expense and the limited jump in performance of the new aircraft over the Su-35, it does not seem likely that the Russians will adopt the PAK-FA as the mainstay of their air force. Indeed, it is probably much more likely that Moscow will further upgrade its Su-30SM and Su-35S fleets by retrofitting those jets with avionics technology from the Su-57."
The Russian military will soon sign the first state procurement contract for 12 fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets, Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko said 30 June 2018. "The first contract for 12 aircraft will be signed soon, and the deliveries under this contract will begin shortly," he told reporters at a briefing in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The southeastern Russian city is home to a plant of Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker, which produces cutting-edge Su-57 stealth fighters.
It seemed that the project of the Russian fighter of the fifth generation of Su-57 can be safely "put a cross". At least, this was the conclusion that comes after the interview of the Head of the State Duma Commission on legal support of the Russian military-industrial complex, Vladimir Gutenev. He told journalists of the Interfax news agency 09 July 2018 that the Su-57 will not be purchased in the interests of the Russian Federation Air Force, but, according to the deputy, "the car has a wonderful export potential." Gutenev said that his views on this issue fully coincide with the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who in the current government oversees the defense complex, and in the past worked as deputy defense minister.
It should be understood that statements about the "excellent export potential" of the airplane are, rather, an attempt to make a good face for an obviously bad game, for it is unlikely that anyone in the world will buy an unfinished fighter that even the own armed forces did not want. But why does the Russian army reject the latest development of the Russian military-industrial complex, which for many years was given to the Russians as a domestic weapon of the future and a worthy response by the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. And why the project, which has already invested huge funds, will not be fully implemented?
Yuri Borisov generally praises the Su-57, said that the aircraft showed itself perfectly in real combat conditions of Syria. But according to the official, Russia already has a fighter, which is considered one of the best in the world in terms of its performance characteristics. This Su-35S. This aicraft belongs to the fourth generation (to "4+", as they like to repeat), and at least as good as its American counterparts F-15 and F-16.
But the Su-35S also has two more important advantages: firstly, this fighter is much cheaper than the "heaped" Su-57, and, secondly, it is already in mass production and tested in the troops. Of course, the plans for the PAK FA were more than fascinating. Work on this project began in 2001, and by 2010 about 30 billion rubles were spent on it. This figure was voiced by President Putin himself. How much of all the money "ate" Su-57 for its almost twenty-year history can only be guessed.
It was planned that in 2016 a new fighter would begin to enter the troops. All in all, until 2020, they expected to buy 52 aicraft for the VKS. However, something went wrong. Moreover, the Su-57 is still not ready: its tests continue, although they are in the final stage. Gutenev states fairly obvious facts: "... for a number of objective reasons was delayed, due to the very dynamic development of technology - this applies to electronic warfare systems, and new composite materials, and new opportunities that provide additive technologies in terms of constructive cheaper cars ".
And this was very difficult to argue: the development of machines of the fifth generation began in the USSR and the US at the same time - back in the 1980s. Americans already in 2005 were able to launch their "Raptor" F-22 in operation. Moreover, it has been withdrawn from production for seven years, now it is being replaced by the multifunctional F-35. And the engine of the second stage was still not ready for the Su-57, many questions to ensure the unobtrusive nature of the fighter, and also to the quality of its avionics. The new engine is promised to be created only by 2023-2025, when, probably, the fifth generation of fighters as a whole will already be in the sunset.
It is because of these circumstances that the Indians left the Su-57 project. In May 2018, they said that "avionics, radars and sensors of Russian development do not meet the standards of the fifth generation aircraft." At the same time in the Indian edition of the Hindustan Times appeared material, which says that the Indian Air Force command does not see the prospects of the Su-57. Its only advantage over American analogues F-22 and F-35 was named high maneuverability.
Gutenev proposed not to spend money and energy on the further development of a fifth-generation fighter, but immediately move on to the sixth.
Russia will altogether purchase 50-60 of the Su-57s with the AL-41F1 engines. The first 12 will be used for combat, while the rest will be used for testing. Production of the Su-57, which made its maiden flight in 2010, has not only been hampered by budgetary problems also delays, accidents, and rumors of massive design changes.
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