Russia’s Su-57 Felon is a troubled aircraft, and a poor stealth fighter, with an abnormally high radar cross-section and just 10 in active service.
Fifth generation stealth aircraft are appearing in every major military air arm at the moment. Russia is one air arm that has its own, in the form of the Sukhoi Su-57 Felon. The Su-57 first flew in January 2010, but remarkably the aircraft would not enter service until December 2020. A protracted development program meant that the aircraft suffered from various delays and cost overruns. Even now, a very limited number of the Su-57 are actually in Russian Air Force service.
Furthermore, for an aircraft that should have stealth capabilities, the Su-57 falls remarkably short in this area. Aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II have it beaten in this department. As such, it’s arguable the Su-57 is the world’s worst stealth aircraft currently in service. Here’s why.
The Su-57’s Development Was Full Of Problems
The Su-57 has had one of the most troubled development programs of any modern fighter. What was first dubbed the Tu-50 in its prototype form was initially meant to have three flying prototypes by 2009. However, by 2010, just one had taken flight. The testing program of the ten prototypes build would reveal structural issues within the airframe. This necessitated a total redesign from the sixth prototype onwards. This to resolve the fatigue life problems befalling the earlier aircraft. These issues meant the initial order of 70 aircraft would become hard for Sukhoi to meet.
Western sanctions of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 saw the first order cut down to 52 aircraft. Although that number has since risen back to 76 after further investment. Two Saturn AL-41F1 afterburning turbofans are in the Su-57, which does give it an impressive top speed of Mach 2 or 1,327 mph. So there is no denying that the Su-57 is a fast and punchy aircraft, one that also has shown great agility at airshows. However, thanks to its long and troubled development, the amount of Su-57s in active service barely crosses into double digits even in 2023.
Only A Small Number Are In Service In 2023
According to sources such as United Aircraft Corporation, just 10 Su-57s are in service as of December 2022. The Su-57 has seen some use in the current conflict in Ukraine. However, it’s been strictly limited to use within Russian airspace. Russia would not want to risk any of its Su-57s getting shot down, nor risk the technology it possesses becoming common knowledge among the West. Regarding when an operational regiment of Su-57s is actually expected, this is unlikely to happen until 2025. Showing how delayed the project has become.
It is unlikely that the Su-57 will have any major impact on the outcome of the war in Ukraine. Even with 10 in service, it is unlikely all of them are in operation right now. It’s also highly unlikely that Russia will risk using the aircraft beyond their current long-range roles. This thanks to this small service number. The Su-57 then is at the moment one of the most ineffective aircraft in Russian military service. And outnumbered by practically everything else the Air Force is using.
The Su-57 Has A Poor Radar Cross-Section
The idea of a stealth aircraft is to have as low a radar cross-section as possible. The lower the cross-section, the harder it is for the aircraft to get picked up on radar. However, if various reports are to believed then the Su-57 has quite a poor radar cross-section. It is also estimated it has a cross-section between 0.1 and one square meters, considered broadly to be around 0.5. That is on a par with non-stealth fourth-generation aircraft such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Compare this to the cross-section of the F-35 which is between 0.0015 and 0.005 square meters. The Raptor is even better at between 0.0001 to 0.0005 square meters.
While this is a bit of a problem for the Su-57, the aircraft does fall within the parameters for a stealth aircraft. And it is still much less detectable than other military aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle. It’s just in comparison to its main rivals, it has a poor cross-section.
The Su-57 Is A Troubled Stealth Aircraft
So it is fair to say that the Su-57 is quite the troubled aircraft. It has not had the easiest development, and is still suffering from that to this day. So few are in service right now, and Russia is unable to use them effectively. It’s unlikely they will provide any meaningful service to Russia for some time. Currently, it is unclear if the full order of 76 will actually enter service.