Fifth-generation fighters are an important indicator of the strength of a country's air force. Russia is one of the first countries in the world to begin the development of fifth-generation fighters, and its Su-57 fighter has always attracted the attention of the international community. This article will analyze the development of the Russian fifth-generation fighter from three aspects: the current production status of the Su-57, the challenges and the opportunities in the future.
Russia's United Aircraft Building Corporation recently announced that it has completed all the planned tasks for the delivery of Su-57 fighters to the Russian Aerospace Forces this year, and the number of deliveries has doubled compared with last year. This indicates that Russia has made significant progress in increasing the production capacity of the Su-57. However, there are still a number of difficulties and problems with the production of the Su-57.
First of all, the development and production of the Su-57 has gone through many twists and turns. The development of the Su-57 began in the nineties of the last century, earlier than the American F-22 and the Chinese J-20, but due to various reasons such as technology, capital, management, etc., the mass production of the Su-57 has been postponed until 2021. This allows the Su-57 to lag behind other fifth-generation fighters in terms of service time.
Secondly, the production of Su-57 is far from meeting the needs of the Russian military. It is reported that the Russian military originally planned to purchase 76 Su-57s by 2027, but the current production rate is difficult to achieve this goal. This reflects the dual technical and financial pressures that Russia faces in the field of high-end aerospace manufacturing.
In addition, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has also had a certain impact on the production of Su-57. In order to meet the needs of the war, Russia has to devote more resources and energy to the production of other **, which will undoubtedly affect the development and production of the Su-57. At the same time, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also damaged Russia's image and status in the international community, which in turn has affected its cooperation and exchanges with other countries in the field of high-end technology.
Despite the progress made in the production of the Su-57, Russia still faces significant challenges in the field of fifth-generation fighters.
First of all, the Su-57 needs to compete with the fifth-generation fighters of the United States and China. The American F-35 fighter jets have begun to be exported on a large scale, while the Chinese J-20 has also entered the mass production stage. Both fighters have advanced technology and performance that pose a formidable threat to the Su-57. Therefore, the Su-57 needs to constantly innovate and improve in order to maintain its competitiveness in the field of fifth-generation fighters.
Secondly, the Su-57 needs to seek more international partners. Due to the economic and political situation in Russia, the domestic market for the Su-57 is limited, and it is subject to US sanctions and suppression. Therefore, the Su-57 needs to open up more international markets in order to increase its sales and revenue. However, there are not many international partners for the Su-57, and at the moment only India and Turkey have expressed some interest. Su-57 needs to attract more international customers by providing more technology transfer, preferential treatment, after-sales service, etc.
Finally, the Su-57 needs to solve its technical and financial bottlenecks. Although the Su-57 has many advanced technologies, such as stealth, supersonic cruise, and super-maneuverability, it also has some technical defects, such as engines, radars, avionics systems, etc. These technical deficiencies limit the performance and reliability of the Su-57 and also increase the cost of its maintenance and operation. The Su-57 needs to solve these technical problems as soon as possible by strengthening research and development and testing. At the same time, the development and production of the Su-57 also require a large amount of capital investment, and the economic situation in Russia is not optimistic, which also brings difficulties to the development of the Su-57.