Is Russia’s Su-57 5th-Generation Stealth Fighter Truly Attacking Ukraine?

Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) 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, however actual specifics are naturally tough to find.

Russia’s Su-57 & The F-35

Nevertheless, the Su-57 may present a significant threat to both Ukraine and the West given its reported specs, technologies and stealthy configuration. 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 if 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, on board 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 US Navy’s Block III Super Hornet. The F-18s IRST is designed to operate effectively in a “jamming” environment

Video Above: Colonel Michael Stefanovic, Director of the Strategic Studies Institute for the Air Force sits down for an exclusive interview with Kris Osborn