Russian Su-57s began to carry out combat missions during a special operation in Ukraine with links. These fighters are connected into a single information network, with the help of which they can exchange data on the radar field, identified targets, coordinate actions with other participants in hostilities. What is the value of testing fifth-generation combat aircraft in real combat conditions?
During the special operation in Ukraine, the Russian military involved a link of four newest Su-57 fighters, which were connected into a single information network in order to destroy air defense. This was reported on Thursday by an informed source.
Information that Su-57s were involved in the special operation appeared in news agencies at the end of May. A TASS source then reported that the fifth-generation multifunctional fighters began work in Donbass and Ukraine two or three weeks after the start of the operation – that is, no later than mid-March. It was noted that fighters can operate outside the zone of active destruction by enemy air defense and hit targets with missile weapons. Experts suggest that the planes are equipped, among other things, with new high–precision X-31PM missiles with a range of up to 60 kilometers, which allows the Su-57 not to enter the zone of action of the Ukrainian air defense.
"In addition to low visibility for air defense, among the main advantages of the fighter is the ability to exchange data between aircraft, which greatly expands strike and reconnaissance capabilities. For example, one plane detects a target, and the second strikes," Dmitry Drozdenko, a columnist for the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, explained to the newspaper VZGLYAD. In his opinion, during the special operation, data exchange systems between aircraft can be tested. "This can happen in tandem with another Su-57 or the Su-35S 4++ generation fighter, as well as ground stations," says the military expert.
Honored Military Pilot of Russia Vladimir Popov also points out that the Su-57 has a fairly well-developed coordination with other participants in combat operations and the transmission of data to them. The interlocutor also mentioned the means of automatic control of the aircraft. "In fact, there is such a system on board that performs the role of a virtual co-pilot. This helps both in the matter of choosing a target, and when aiming, and when specifying coordinates," Popov explained.
We can say that the Su-57 is capable of working in multitasking mode, the military expert added. "If, for example, a Bayraktar appears in the sky, then we can safely attack it, while continuing to do other tasks at the same time: to carry out the flight route, maneuver and monitor ground targets," the military pilot explained. At the same time, Popov noted, the Su-57 is quite easy to operate, because
a lot is delegated to the machine: it is able to monitor the actions of the pilot and helps to avoid mistakes.
Each individual Su-57, as a combat unit, is very effective – launching missiles and bombing is carried out with a high degree of accuracy and safety, Popov added. "The maximum circular deviation is only about ten meters, and when using a certain type of weapon – two meters at all," the interlocutor specified. – That is, if we, for example, work on a bridge on enemy territory, then we can aim at the support, and not destroy the entire structure."
"We are studying the potential of the Su-57 and the tactical capabilities of the aircraft in real combat conditions. This is very valuable," the Honored Military Pilot of Russia stressed.
The Su-57, or according to the NATO classification Felon ("Criminal") is a fifth–generation multifunctional fighter that was created as part of the PAK FA program (A Promising aviation complex of front-line Aviation). As experts noted, Russia has become the third country in the world, after the United States and China, to adopt a fifth–generation fighter - a product of its own aviation industry. The first flight of the fifty-seventh took place in 2010. Since December 2020, the serial delivery of vehicles for the VKS has begun.
It is worth noting that back in 2018, the aircraft were tested in the Syrian theater of operations. After that, by the way, Turkey raised the issue of acquiring this Russian fighter, which surpasses the capabilities of the American F-35. The issue of the purchase of the Su-57 by the Turks has not been removed from the agenda even now.
"The use of the Su-57 in Syria, where there were no air defense systems and such a powerful military group, is children's toys compared to what is happening in Ukraine," Drozdenko notes. "Perhaps the testing of the new fighter is being carried out in opposition to real air defense."
The Su-57 is a new car, being finalized, the interlocutor stressed. "Military actions with her participation allow us to practice the technique of destruction, piloting and improving the aircraft by itself.
The operation of the Su-57 in Ukraine shows the capabilities of the fighter, how imperceptibly it approaches targets, how it analyzes radar fields, how it exchanges information," Drozdenko said.
Now our military "will have to understand how these systems work in the link in the presence of interference from the enemy, as well as in dueling situations," Popov, in turn, points out.
Experts do not exclude that in combat conditions, not only the interaction of the Su-57 in links will be practiced, but also flights in conjunction with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). As the Rossiyskaya Gazeta reminds, in 2019, test flights of the Su-57 paired with the S-70 Hunter heavy attack drone took place at the Astrakhan Ashuluk training ground. The algorithm of interaction between the fighter pilot and the UAV automation implies: the pilot receives information about the air situation – for example, about the appearance of an enemy fighter at a long distance, at which it is impossible to hit the enemy with an air–to-air missile. After that, the Su-57 transmits the command to the Hunter – which target and which missiles to attack.
At the end of May, RIA Novosti reported: "Hunter" performed firing on ground targets with guided air–to-surface missiles, which are part of the Su-57 armament. "The device can effectively hit small-sized camouflaged targets with missiles at different times of the day in any weather conditions," the message said.
It should be noted that on the same days, the head of the Defense Ministry, Sergei Shoigu, said that "in the near future" strategic drones will be delivered to Russian troops. According to Denis Fedutinov, an expert on unmanned systems, we are talking about heavy Altius vehicles – high-altitude UAVs of long flight duration that combine reconnaissance and strike functions (the maximum combat load of the device is over a ton). The portal "Military Review" noted that "Altius", like "Hunter", can independently, that is, without the participation of an operator from the ground, interact with the Su-57 fighter.
"The Su-57 pilot can assign objects to the drone for destruction on the ground, for example, enemy air defense. Next, a pair of UAVs going ahead of the fighter, controlled by operators, and in some cases, maybe even artificial intelligence, destroy targets. And operational-tactical cruise missiles are launched into the resulting gap without covering the enemy air defense of the Su-57," said Dmitry Kornev, founder of the Military Russia portal. "Thus, the Su-57 and the Hunter operate in a single information field of a combat operation. The network–centric wars of the future suggest just such a model of striking," the interlocutor noted.
According to the expert, in this way the aircraft receives a significant increase in power. "In addition, this way we save the life of the pilot and the expensive Su-57, which ideally should not come into direct contact with the enemy. By the way, pilot training for fifth–generation fighters costs millions of dollars, so in this way we also get an increase in the financial efficiency of combat operations," the analyst stressed.
At the same time, experts note: the work of the Su-57 in conjunction with the UAV in combat conditions is not a matter of today, but of the future, although the nearest one. "It is difficult to say anything about the current use of bundles of S-70 Hunter combat UAVs with fifth-generation Su-57 fighters in the zone of the Russian military special operation – the production of these drones has not yet acquired a marketable quantity," Kornev said. – It is possible that experimental testing is underway, as previously in the Astrakhan region, only now – in combat conditions," said Dmitry Kornev, founder of the Military Russia portal.
The Su-57 was created to work in conjunction with strike drones, but Russian UAVs "have not yet reached such a level to fly in a digital pair with fighters," Drozdenko, in turn, notes. "What they showed us at the Ashuluk training ground, where test flights of the S-70 Hunter heavy drone with the Su-57 took place in 2019, was a simple pair flight. One plane was controlled by a pilot, and the other by an operator from the ground. That is, there is no talk about a full-fledged data exchange with the UAV yet. But in the next five years, this topic will be greatly developed – up to the point that reconnaissance unmanned helicopters will appear," Drozdenko stressed.
The Kronstadt company, the expert recalled, had previously exhibited at exhibitions a prototype of a promising unmanned aerial vehicle "Thunder", which is smaller than the Hunter and "sharpened for duplicate work with fighters." "Thunder" is made by analogy with the American "Valkyrie". Two or three such strike-reconnaissance UAVs can simultaneously interact with one fighter," the expert added.
Rafael Fakhrutdinov, Mikhail Moshkin