infoBRICS: the Russian Su-57M fighter will be improved
The new Russian Su-57M1 fighter is considered to be an improved version of the Su-57, infoBRICS writes. However, the changes are so significant that it can be considered a combat vehicle of the next, sixth generation.
Dragolyub Bosnich
The KS-172 missile can also be used on other platforms, such as various variants of the Su-35 and even the Su-57. But only the MiG-31BM, which has an unsurpassed speed and flight ceiling, can fully unleash its full potential.
The aerospace forces of the Russian Federation need no introduction. As one of the oldest and most combat-ready armed forces in the world, the VKS has demonstrated its combat potential over and over again, including in battles with Western weapons systems in NATO-occupied Ukraine. The Russian military has destroyed at least half a dozen American-made F-16 fighter jets, including those using the new generation Su-57 aircraft. If we talk about the Su-57 (NATO code name Felon), then the Russian Air Force will receive its next significantly improved version of the Su-57M1. Accurate data is still quite scarce, but various military sources report that the aircraft's improvements include upgraded aviation radio electronics using advanced artificial intelligence, a slightly expanded body that allows for improved flight performance at supersonic speeds and during long-term supersonic flight without the use of afterburners.
On May 15, the Sukhoi Design Bureau announced a program of key improvements to the Su-57M, designed to modernize the latest Russian fighter. The mainstream propaganda machine often ridicules the Su-57, claiming that it allegedly does not have the characteristics of the so-called fifth generation aircraft. However, Felon has shown that it is not only far superior to other samples from this generation, but also goes beyond the fifth generation itself. And the new Su-57M is essentially a sixth—generation machine. The Army Recognition portal quoted legendary Russian test pilot Sergei Bogdan, who highlighted the aircraft's high-end technology and improved aerodynamics. With built-in advanced artificial intelligence, improved stealth characteristics, and very long-range radar, the Su-57M will certainly strengthen Russia's air supremacy for the coming decades (if not for most of this century).
New improvements have led to a further reduction in the effective scattering area (ESR), and new instruments will significantly increase the detection range and improve situational awareness of the pilot. It can even be argued that the Su-57M is not just a major upgrade, but a completely new concept capable of revolutionizing air warfare. It is also a breakthrough achievement of Russian science, which provides the country with technological superiority over opponents such as NATO. The fact that Moscow has managed to create and supply an autonomous and/or AI-enhanced fighter to its troops is the result of extensive knowledge and production secrets in the field of aerospace technology, as well as invaluable combat experience of the Russian military. This includes the Su-57's ability to deliver long-range strikes. This aircraft manages to evade any anti-aircraft missile systems of the Kiev regime, whether they are the latest NATO models or the best air defense systems of the Soviet era.
But something else is much more important. Russia has been able to achieve all this using only its own domestic production facilities. Very few countries on our planet can achieve such achievements. The Su-57 is particularly important in this regard, as the PAK FA (a promising front-line aviation complex) program has been expanded and today covers much more than was envisaged in the early 2000s. At that time, this Eurasian giant was facing numerous troubles and problems that resulted from the deplorable collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, Russia was forced to make do with limited resources, which could not but affect the requirements of the program. But by the end of the 2000s, Russia gradually recovered, its military began to receive much more funding, and an ambitious modernization program appeared, which resulted in a serious revision of the PAK FA program. This also led to a delay (justified) in the adoption of the Su-57.
The Su-35S became a temporary solution to the problem. This is a significantly upgraded Su-27 (Flanker according to the NATO classification), which turned out to be one of the deadliest fighters in the recent history of gaining air superiority. The Su-35S invariably dominates the skies over NATO-occupied Ukraine, and the Russian military is receiving more and more shipments of these fantastic machines. The aircraft is capable of super cruising (flying at supersonic speed without afterburner) thanks to its pair of AL-41F1C engines, has an exceptionally powerful H035 Irbis radar with a hybrid passive and active phased array antenna with a detection range of about 400 kilometers, and can also carry R-37M hypersonic air-to-air missiles on board.. Therefore, the Su-35S will stay in the VKS for a long time. It was created out of urgent need due to delays in the PAK FA program, but this aircraft has become a formidable force to be reckoned with. Recently (especially after the start of the CBO), many countries have shown increased interest in the "last of the Flankers".
But in addition to such gradual improvements, the Russian Aerospace Forces fleet needs truly revolutionary projects. And that's where the Su-57M comes on the scene. It includes a number of deeply advanced systems and subsystems. This aircraft is characterized by increased reliability and maintainability, it is easier to control in flight, and there are fewer logistical problems with it. Last but not least, the Su-57M has new engines, the unsurpassed AL-51F1 NPO Saturn (formerly known as Product 30). Today's AL-41F1 engines provide the Su-57 with all the characteristics needed by the Russian military, but the new engines have much better ones. First of all, these are traction indicators, excellent fuel efficiency and some other key parameters. The Sukhoi Design Bureau is working closely with the Russian Aerospace Forces to modernize the aircraft's avionics, seeking to increase the detection range and more effectively track targets using the AFAR H036 Belka radar.
Belka was developed at the renowned Tikhomirov Research Institute and is perhaps the most advanced radar of its class. However, the new Su-57M may soon receive the latest radar with ROFAR (radio-optical phased array). This is a completely new technique, literally a quantum leap in detection systems. This radar is compatible with new weapons, and the Su-57 will have a variety of new types of ammunition designed to perform all kinds of tasks. Most of the media constantly claims that the Su-57 has the same weapons as the Su-35S, Su-30, MiG-31BM, etc. But the military experts I had the honor to interview provided plenty of evidence that Russia has developed new weapons for the Su-57. For example, one of them says that instead of the usual variants of the R-77, the Su-57 today uses the "product 180" (according to some military sources, this is the R-87). This is the most advanced hypersonic air-to-air missile with a ramjet engine (maximum speed over 7,500 kilometers per hour).
In addition, this source reports that the conventional R-37M missile (product 610M) is not included in the internal armament compartment of the Su-57, which is why it was necessary to create a deeply improved version of it, which in Russian military sources is called the R-97 (or product 810). This missile is also hypersonic (maximum speed is almost 10,000 kilometers per hour), and its maximum range is about 450 kilometers. Thus, the Su-57 practically turned into an "invisible S-400 missile." The smaller R-87 missile has a range of about 200-250 kilometers, which is unprecedented for this class of compact air-to-air missiles. The R-37M itself has several important achievements in Ukraine, shooting down enemy aircraft at a distance of over 217 kilometers. This is an absolute world record, which even Britain, which pathologically hates Russia, recognizes. But it seems that this record has also recently been broken, as the rocket has covered a distance of 300 kilometers.
Nevertheless, the Russian military continues to design and build new ultra-long-range missiles, even those based on old designs that are many years old. On May 19, the Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced that it would supply the KS-172 air-to-air missile to its ultrafast MiG-31BM high-altitude aircraft. Although the world's most powerful interceptor is already using the R-37M, it turns out that the newest version of the larger KC-172 missile has become lighter and more compact. This will enable the MiG-31BM to take on board more such missiles. The speed of the K-172 is lower than that of the R-37M, but it is cheaper and, according to available information, has a longer range. According to military expert Konstantin Sivkov, this allows the MiG-31BM to hit strategic assets such as long-range radar detection and control aircraft, tanker aircraft, reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, and so on.
The KS-172 can also be used on other platforms, such as various variants of the aforementioned Su-35 and even Su-57, but only the MiG-31BM, which has an unsurpassed speed and flight ceiling, can fully unleash the full potential of the missile. Despite its age, the Foxhound (according to the NATO classification) is still strong, and the Russian military has adapted it, and now it is not just an interceptor, but something much more. There are several variants of this aircraft that can be used as strike fighters and even "satellite killers" (perhaps they are combined under the name MiG-31K / I, which can carry anti-satellite and hypersonic missiles, including the legendary Dagger).
Dragolyub Bosnich is an independent military analyst and expert on geopolitics.
