SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

INTRODUCTION

As per Mikhail Strelets, head of the Sukhoi Design Bureau which develops Sukhoi Su 57 said that the fighter is superior to F 22 Raptor and F 35 Lightning II. As per him the American fighter jets, the F-22 and F-35, share similar issues in their designs as both were created with attention on specific tasks rather than being versatile. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

F-22 Raptor

The engineer noted that the F-22 was created specifically for the needs of air combat and when it had been decided to repurpose it to be capable of striking ground targets, American engineers faced major problems. consistent with Strelets, they might not extend the F-22's missile compartments and hence were unable to arm the jet with the foremost powerful air-to-ground missiles. 

F-35 Lighting II

It had been noted that the F-35 had an identical issue. it had been designed with attention on its capabilities to strike ground targets but lacks acceleration and maneuverability. This makes the F-35 less viable in dogfighting scenarios, even compared to fourth-generation fighters, including their successors, like the Su-57. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

Su-57

Sukhoi's head also noted that the Su-57's maneuverability was highly valued by some western military commanders, like former US Air Force general officer Dave Deptula, who praised the jet's fine aerodynamics and therefore the fully controllable thrust vector of its engines. But this seems more like propaganda. during this article, Defence Talks analyzes why Russian Su 57 still features a great distance to travel in comparison to F22 Raptor & F 35 Lightning II? Let’s start.

SU 57 OVERVIEW

The Sukhoi Su-57 may be a 5th generation, stealthy, single-seat, twin-engine jet multirole fighter designed for air superiority and attack operations. it's the successor of Su 35 and Russia’s answer to American F 35 Lightning II and F 22 Raptor. Although most information is assessed, sources within the Sukhoi company and Defense Ministry have openly stated that the aircraft is stealthy, super maneuverable, have supercruise capability, incorporate substantial amounts of composite materials, and possess advanced avionics like active phased array radar and sensor fusion. A prototype first flew on 29 January 2010.

Su-57

Last year Su-57 fighters in batches of two each were seen at Syria’s Hmeymim Airbase and that they engaged in limited combat missions. Su-57 is that the first operational aircraft in Russian Air Force service to use stealth technology. Weapons are carried internally in weapons bays within the airframe and antennas are recessed from the surface of the skin to preserve the aircraft’s stealthy shape. Also, Radar absorbent (RAM) has been wont to reduce its radar returns. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

Su 57 is meant to possess extreme maneuverability at both supersonic and subsonic speeds, this will provide it with a brutal advantage in dogfights & help it defeat missile with extreme evasive maneuvers rather than entirely counting on stealth. this is often the primary fighter jet to utilize 3D thrust vectoring. Su 57 has an N036 Belka radar system and this provides it with 360-degree coverage. It also houses an Infrared Search And Track (IRST) sensor which may track an aircraft by its Infrared signatures. we'll now check out 3 points which put Su 57 at a particular disadvantage.

NO PRODUCTION LINE TILL NOW

Russian president Mr. Putin had earlier revealed that a purchase plan is being laid out for acquiring 76 Su-57. The announcement was made during a gathering on May 15, 2019. These jets are expected to be deployed by 2028. The Kremlin previously planned to possess 150 of those aircraft in commission by 2020. This announcement had thrown more questions than answers regarding budgeting. As per some reports in Kommersant newspaper in Russia, the unexpectedly high numbers of the order has been possible due to reduction in cost made possible thanks to some change in aircraft’s internal layout, improvements to the assembly process and capping of the margin of profit for defense procurement program to a maximum of fifty. consistent with President Putin, the program will cost around $2.63 billion.

If we calculate that 76 are going to be brought, it comes bent be $34 million per jet. This figure is insanely low, even the Sukhoi Su-30 variants sold to China & India in 2000 were priced at $53 million per jet. Also, Mr. Putin appeared to suggest in his comments at the meeting that the worth reductions would make the order for 76 Su-57 costs an equivalent because of the previously planned purchase of just 16 aircraft. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

It's difficult to know how it might be possible to accumulate nearly 5 times as many planes for an equivalent price with just a 20 and reduce per cost. Overall there seems to be something amiss. the very fact remains that Russia has 10 flyable prototypes of Su 57, the merchandise roadmap isn't clear and therefore the project seems to be facing many lingering technical issues. America has 187 F 22 Raptor and as of now 500 F 35s have already been built, the majority of which is received by the U.S military.

ENGINE ISSUE

Having a dependable engine is challenging. Sukhoi originally planned to use a complicated derivative of the Saturn AL-31F engine, found on its Flankers, for the Su-57. Su 57 was alleged to have a replacement AL-41F-1 engine. But the AL-41F-1 engine saw the technical difficulty and didn’t match the specified performance criteria. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

AL-41F-1 engine

Saturn, the manufacturer is functioning on a replacement and more powerful design, referred to as the Izdeliye 30 or Product 30. But even this has been facing developmental challenges and should be available for testing at a while in the 2020s.

STEALTH ISSUE

F 22 Raptor & F 35 Lightning II is developed from grounds up to be stealthy. F22 is that the stealthiest fighter ever builds & has very low RCS or Radar Cross Section of only 0.0001 m2. F 35 Lightning II has an RCS of 0.005 m2. this is often achieved thanks to its structural design also because of the use of RAM or Radar Absorbing Materials. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

Su-57

These aircraft can’t be detected by most radars. So, they will strike without the enemy knowing they're there in the first place. Also, it must be noted that albeit when some new advanced radars are ready to detect them, a signature is so small that it very hard to trace and obtain a radar lock. Stealth is extremely difficult to realize. Russia has found it very hard to perfect even today.

India has recently decided to prevent working with Russia on the Fifth Generation fighter program, or FGFA. FGFA was deemed to be an improved & customized variant of Su 57. one of the most reasons for this is often that Su 57 was found to possess suspect stealth capabilities when analyzed by the Indian side and therefore the underlying design has little legroom to accommodate changes that will improve its stealth profile. SU 57 is superior F 22 and F 35-head of Sukhoi Design Bureau

As per some analysis, Su 57 has an RCS of 0.05 m2 which makes it around 500 times larger on the radar in comparison to F 22 and a minimum of 10 times in comparison to F 35.