Russia’s 5th-Gen Stealth Su-57 On Attack in Ukraine

by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

There has been an interesting flurry of reports suggesting that Russia is using its stealthy 5th-generation Su-57 aircraft to attack Ukrainian targets such as air defenses a few months ago.

However, actual specifics are naturally tough to find. Nevertheless, the Su-57 may present a significant threat to both Ukraine and the West given its reported specs, technologies, and stealthy configuration.

Su-57 Felon: What We Know

The aircraft certainly looks stealthy with its flat, rounded-wing, body-blended fuselage, has a reported range as far as 2,200 miles, and reaches speeds of Mach 2.

The quality of its computing, sensing, weapons, and targeting are likely much more difficult to determine, yet answers to those questions are likely to indicate whether the Su-57 can, in fact, rival an F-35.

What kind of range and resolution do the Su-57s sensors have? What about mission systems, onboard computing, and weapons guidance? The F-35 has, for instance, shown in wargames that its computing and long-range, high-fidelity sensors are able to see and destroy large numbers of enemy fighters from stand-off ranges where it remains undetected. How does the Su-57 compare in this respect?

Available data says the Su-57 operates with an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar and phased array radar, supported by extensive electronic countermeasures and infrared search and track targeting technology (IRST). The IRST on the Su-57 may or may not be similar to the one currently operating on the U.S. Navy’s Block III Super Hornet. The F-18s IRST is designed to operate effectively in a “jamming” environment

However, regardless of the extent to which the Su-57 can truly rival U.S. 5th-generation aircraft, Russia’s next-generation aircraft primarily suffers from a numbers problem. There are just not that many of them, as multiple public reports say there are currently somewhere between 4 and 15 operational Su-57 aircraft, and Russia’s TASS news agency has reported plans for the country to acquire 76 Su-57s over the next five years.