The first prototype of the fifth-generation T-50 fighter jet (later renamed into Su-57) took off and flew for 45 minutes ten years ago in January 2010. Merited test pilot and Hero of Russia Sergey Bogdan flew the aircraft. Gazeta.ru online publication writes about the program to develop the Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation (PAK FA).

 Su-57 (Picture source: Russian MoD)

The tenth anniversary of the first flight of T-50 designed by the Sukhoi Company was marked on January 29, 2020.

Su-57 is a stealth jet and can fight any adversary aircraft and destroy ground and sea targets. It was designed to replace Su-27 and its modifications.

It was known as T-50 until August 2017. In 2013, small batch production was launched by the Gagarin Aircraft Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (KnAAZ). In 2018, T-50 and its new weapons were tested in real combat in Syria. Batch production was launched in 2019. Major funds were appropriated to the T-50/Su-57 program which was designed for at least 50 years.

The Russian fifth-generation jet fills in all the niches of combat engagement. It has attack and fighter jet functions to win supremacy in the air.

Su-57 is smaller than Su-27, but bigger than US F-35. It can carry a major payload although Russian electronic equipment and guided weapons are heavier than the American ones.

The fifth-generation engine for Su-57 is being developed. The first serial aircraft will be powered by available AL-41F1 engines (or item 117). They will be replaced by item 30 in future. The new engines have been tested in the air since late 2017.

Su-57 batch production in Russia shows that the market of fifth-generation fighter jets becomes more congested. The USA, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea are engaged in their own projects. So far three aircraft are in batch production: US F-22 and F-35 and Chinese J-20. Little is known about technical characteristics of Su-57. Despite a decade of test flights, many specifics of the Russian jet remain secret for the public. The same concerns foreign projects.

The Russian Defense Ministry will receive 76 Su-57 worth over 150 bln rubles according to a contract signed with Sukhoi in late June 2019. The aircraft will be supplied by 2028 to arm three fighter jet regiments of two squadrons each. The Su-57 regiments will defend strategic directions. One will be deployed in the Far East, another in the west of the country and the third in the southwestern Black Sea region, Gazeta.ru writes.

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