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Despite J-20 Stealth Jet, Why Is China Keen To Acquire Another Stealth Fighter – Russian Su-57 To Its Arsenal?

Russia will upgrade its Su-57 Felon, a multirole stealth fighter jet, to enable it to better compete with US’ F-35 and F-22 Raptors. The super-maneuverable Su-57 has found few takers in the global market since it entered serial production a few years ago, with the possible exception of China.   

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Mark Episkopos wrote in the National Interest that Russia is poised to pitch its fifth-generation fighter to China. Russia has already cleared the Su-57 for export.

The article quoted Viktor Kladov, an official from the Russian state-own defense and technology conglomerate, Rostec as saying–

“China has recently taken delivery of 24 Su-35 aircraft, and in the next two years [China] will make a decision to either procure additional Su-35s, build the Su-35 within China, or to buy a fifth-generation fighter aircraft. This could be another opportunity for the Su-57E [the export variant].”

The Russian Su-57 made its maiden flight a decade ago but entered serial production only two years ago and the first unit was delivered later that year. The production of the upgraded version of the Su-57 is expected to start in 2025, The EurAsian Times reported last week.

The upgraded version of the fighter is part of the Megapolis research and development project and comes with a completely upgraded cockpit with top-of-the-line avionics to be installed.

Additionally, the aircraft will be equipped with a second-stage power unit. According to the Russian news agency, TASS. The mass production of the upgraded Su-57 is anticipated to begin from 2025.

‘Big Makeover’ For Russian Su-57 Fighter Jet As Moscow Looks To Boost Exports, Challenge US’ F-35 Aircraft

A Checkered Beginning

While the Su-57 had exhibited stellar performance, the fighter jet had a rough ‘take-off’. The first serially produced Su-57 had reportedly crashed in Russia’s Far East during its initial testing in December 2019. This coincided around the same time when India had expressed reservations about buying the Su-57.




Su-57
The Su-57 Felon

RAND Corporation, a US-based think tank, had raised questions about whether the Su-57 can even be considered a fifth-generation aircraft. It pointed out that current prototypes have been outfitted with an older engine.

Sergei Chemezov, managing director of the Russian state-owned Rostec, said that the second stage engine will be assembled in 2022, as per the schedule.

He also clarified that the new Su-57 fighter will be made in a single-seat version. TASS had reported that the Su-57 will be designed with a two-seat modification in order to control a swarm of heavy Okhotnik combat drones.

The Russian aircraft is touted as a direct competitor to the US F-22 and the Chinese J-20. However, Su-57 lacks a true stealth profile when compared to its counterparts.

An argument addressing this view is that stealth is not the Su-57’s core priority, by design. Instead, it is an option the Su-57 offers to the end-user. This school of thought is of the view that the Russian and Chinese fighters are incomparable as they are designed for distinct roles and missions.

Going from this point of view, the J-20 is a stealth missile platform designed to penetrate sophisticated enemy air defenses in order to destroy military installations.

On the other hand, the Su-57 is primarily an air superiority platform, excelling in close-combat air warfare, that could be tempting Beijing. 

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