The fifth-generation Russian Su-57 fighter aircraft continues to attract public attention with its advanced combat capabilities, as stated by journalists from the American military magazine Military Watch Magazine (MWM). In their new material for the publication, they talk about the status of deliveries of these aircraft and what to expect from them in the future.

On December 27, the Russian Ministry of Defense received the final batch of fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, delivery of which is scheduled for 2023. It is reported that this year the aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur produced 12 aircraft. This represents a successful doubling of production from 2022, when just six aircraft were delivered, and brings the total fleet size to 22 aircraft.

The state-owned United Aircraft Corporation said initiatives in 2023 to improve the Su-57 assembly line helped expand production, boosting output and removing bottlenecks in the production cycle. This impacted not only the final assembly shop, but also the entire production process. Key to this was solving problems with the supply of high-tech components from supplier factories and exploring options for improving assembly technologies.

General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar highlighted the ongoing modernization of production facilities, with several key structures expected to come online in 2024 that will better support future modernization projects associated with the Su-57 program.

The Russian Air Force received its first Su-57 fighter in 2020, followed by three more in 2021 and six more in 2022, bringing the fleet size to ten fighters by early 2023. Further significant production expansion is expected to eventually increase deliveries by more than 20 aircraft per year, allowing the fleet to grow to 76 aircraft in 2027, leaving room for exports.

Multiple sources say Algeria has already placed orders. However, the scale of Russian aircraft production will remain dwarfed not only by the much smaller American single-engine F-35 fighter, which is produced in three main variants for more than a dozen customers at a rate of more than 140 aircraft per year, but also by comparison with the heavy Chinese twin-engine The J-20 fighter, which is produced in three main variants for more than a dozen customers at a rate of more than 140 aircraft per year, although produced exclusively for domestic use, is expected to exceed 120 aircraft by 2024.

The Russian Air Force was initially expected to begin receiving Su-57s before 2012, but this was later delayed until 2015, when it was planned that 50 aircraft would enter service by 2020, and 200 by 2025. Delays followed the complete collapse of the previous Russian program to create a fifth-generation fighter, the MiG 1.42, the development of which began in the late 1970s and was much more ambitious for its time.

Despite significant development delays, the deployment of the Su-57 to operations in Ukraine has made the Russian Air Force the only service in the world with experience operating fifth-generation fighters in intense combat environments.

Combat deployments have been very widely reported since March 2022, with the Su-57 reported to perform roles such as strikes, air defense suppression, support for electronic warfare efforts, and even beyond visual range air-to-air combat.

Later reports indicate that the aircraft’s powerful sensor suite, integrating six AESA radars and an infrared sensor, also allowed it to serve as a highly valuable airborne early warning and control platform, sharing data with friendly units in theater.

A UK Ministry of Defense report published in January 2023 confirmed that Su-57s had “launched long-range air-to-surface or air-to-air missiles into Ukraine” and had been doing so “since at least June 2022.” , and the British conservative publication The Conversation subsequently reported in mid-February that Su-57s fired missiles at Ukrainian aircraft beyond visual range.

With the first full force expected to be fielded in early 2024, much remains to be seen about the future of the Su-57 program, including how widely it will be produced, where and by which services it will be deployed, and when production will transition to the advanced variant. Su-57M remains uncertain.