According to information published by the Russian press agency TASS on December 25, 2020, the Russian Air Force has taken delivery of the first batch of Russian-made Su-57 multi-role fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the production version of the PAK FA.
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Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter aircraft. (Picture source Air Recognition)
The first of Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft will be delivered to a regiment in the Southern Military District. In August 2020, the Russian press agency TASS announced that acceptance trials of a development batch of Su-57 would be completed this year.
On December 7, the Russian defense industry has announced via ROSTEC that the first serial production of the Su-57 with a first stage engine would be provided for the Russian military by the end of 2020, and the first Sukhoi-57 equipped with the second stage engine would be assembled in 2022.
According to the Russian Minister of Defense, a total of 22 Su-57 fighters will be delivered by the end of 2024, under a contract concluded in 2019. A total of 76 Sukhoi-57s must be delivered by the end of 2028.
The Su-57, NATO reporting name Felon, is stealth, single-seat, twin-engine multirole fifth-generation jet fighter being developed by the Russian company Sukhoi since 2002.
The design of the Sukhoi Su-57 is based on a blended wing body fuselage and incorporates all-moving horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The aircraft incorporates thrust vectoring and has adjustable leading–edge vortex controllers (LEVCONs) designed to control vortices generated by the leading edge root extensions, and can provide trim and improve high angle of attack behavior, including a quick stall recovery if the thrust vectoring system fails. According to the Russian Defense industry, the Su-57 use stealth technology.
The Su-57 is fitted with two large internal weapon bays mounted in tandem between the engines. The aircraft can carry weapons up to 7,500 kg. The fighter is armed with 30mm GSh-30-1 single-barrel cannon. It has 10 internal and 6 external hardpoints able to launch the R-74M and R-77M air-to-air missiles, Kh-38M air-to-surface missiles, Kh-31AD and Kh-35U (AS-20 Kayak) anti-ship missiles, Kh-31PD and Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missiles, KAB-250, KAB-500 and KAB-1500 guided bombs.
