The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has handed over the first batch of new Su-57 fighters to the Russian Air and Space Forces in 2024. Air Force pilots performed a full cycle of factory tests and tested the aircraft in various operating modes. After all the checks were completed, the aircraft flew to the place of permanent basing. This was reported in the press service of UAC.
According to Rostec’s First Deputy Director General Vladimir Artyakov, the number of fighters to be transferred will be regularly increased, the Su-57s of the next batches are in varying degrees of readiness. The Su-35S aircraft are also in a high degree of readiness.
The transferred batch of Su-57s is a continuation of the contract signed in June 2019 by the Russian Ministry of Defence with Sukhoi Company PJSC for the delivery to the Armed Forces of a total of 76 serial Su-57 fighters (including the first two aircraft separately contracted in 2018) with a contract completion date in 2027.
Earlier in August, it was reported that production of the new S-71 missile, which is also classified as a strike drone, has been launched to increase the strike capabilities of the Su-57 fighters. The munition has received approval from the Russian Ministry of Defence after design changes based on the experience of its use in Ukraine.
The new S-71 low-observable tactical missile for hitting static and moving targets was developed by the Tactical Missile Armament Concern as part of the Su-57 fighter’s ammunition upgrade programme. The Sukhoi Design Bureau’s publication for the 85th anniversary of its foundation states that the weapon is offered in two variants: the S-71K (‘Carpet’), an air-to-ground guided missile, and the S-71M (‘Monochrome’), a more powerful autonomous UAV. The S-71K is equipped with cluster munitions. Among the several warhead options of the S-71M is the fragmentation-fragmentation shaped charge.
To increase the pace of construction of new 5th generation aircraft at the Gagarin Aircraft Factory in Komsomolsk. Gagarin Aviation Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (KnAAZ) continues to upgrade its production facilities. Construction and installation work on new facilities at the flight test station has been completed. To expand serial production of the Su-57, construction of an additional building has begun, where the systems of the 5th generation aircraft will be tested. In 2023, the fighter assembly flow line was upgraded at the plant, and bottlenecks in the assembly process were eliminated.
As of 1 January 2024, the total number of serial Su-57 fighters delivered to the Air Force reached 20-21 machines. Given that the Russian Air Force has now received at least three Su-57s, the total number of Su-57s in the forces could be 23-24 aircraft.
The UAC report of 12 September says that simultaneously with the Su-57s, the Ministry of Defence also received Su-35S fighters of the 4++ generation. Information on the number of the transferred machines was not disclosed, nor did UAC provide photos and videos of the aircraft.
