Russia to sign contract for 12 Su-57 fighters
As reported by Sputniknews, Russia’s Deputy Defense Ministry Alexey Krivoruchko disclosed during a briefing in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Jun. 30 that “The first contract for 12 Su-57 stealth fighters will be signed soon, and the deliveries under this contract will begin shortly.”
As we have previously reported Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov during a visit at Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant in February told that Russia would have signed the contract for the delivery of the first batch of 12 Su-57s this year.
The Su-57 is the product of the PAK FA (literally “Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation”) program. The Su-57 is a single-seat, twin-engine multirole fifth-generation fighter aircraft designed for air superiority and attack roles and will be the first aircraft in Russian military service to use stealth technology.
Former head of the Russian Aerospace Force (now chairman of the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee) Chief Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev told last year that thanks to its advanced features (which include supercruise, supermaneuverability, advanced weapons, an active phased array radar and a revolutionary avionics system capable of autonomous calculations of the battlefield situation to assist the pilot) the aircraft will be able to outperform the F-22 Raptor.
Furthermore Bondarev added last November that his country could turn the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter, into a sixth-generation fighter.
“This is actually a splendid plane and it can embrace both fifth-and sixth-generation features. It has huge modernization potential,” Bondarev said. “Importantly, it is the best among the existing versions by its stealth characteristics. It incorporates all the best that is available in modern aviation science both in Russia and in the world,” he explained.
Photo credit: Rulexip via Wikimedia Commons
