Business Insider compared three fifth-generation fighter jets
Only three countries in the world – Russia, China and the United States – have been able to create fifth-generation fighter jets, writes Business Insider. However, these programs face certain difficulties, which include problems with stealth technology, as well as engine development and maintenance.
- Russia, China and the United States have programs to create fifth-generation fighter jets
- The Russian Su-57, the Chinese J-20 and the American F-35 face various problems
- Business Insider spoke with several experts about what is holding back the implementation of these programs
The United States built the first fifth-generation fighter, the low-profile Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, and following this project created the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II strike fighter. Russia and China have Su-57 and Chengdu J-20 respectively.
The F-22 is no longer in production. And each of the three newest aircraft, considered fifth-generation fighters, even if some of them do not meet all the relevant requirements, faces problems.
To be officially accepted as a fifth-generation fighter, the aircraft must have certain characteristics, including stealth to avoid detection and the ability to fly at supersonic speeds without turning on afterburners.
In recent interviews with Business Insider, aviation experts outlined several problems related to Russian, Chinese and American fifth-generation programs, including problems with stealth technology, as well as engine development and maintenance.
Russian Su-57
The Su-57 is Russia's first attempt to create a fifth—generation fighter, but analysts doubt whether it really meets this requirement, given its shortcomings in several key categories.
Known in NATO as the Felon, the Su-57 was delivered to the Russian military in 2020. It is said that Moscow has only 10 such aircraft in its arsenal, but Russian state media suggest that by the end of 2024 this figure will increase to 22 and grow to 76 units by 2028. It is unclear whether these plans will come to fruition.
The Su-57 first gained combat experience in the Syrian skies in 2018. Last year, Russian officials said that the aircraft was used in combat operations in Ukraine, which is confirmed by intelligence released by the British Ministry of Defense. But although these aircraft may have participated in some air battles, there is not much evidence of widespread use of the Su-57 in the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine.
One explanation for the small participation of this machine may be that the Russian aircraft lacks the stealth that would allow it to act as a full-fledged fighter of the latest generation. The problems with the aircraft include the obvious difficulties Moscow is experiencing in equipping it with stealth engines and low-impact hull panels that could adequately reduce its radar visibility.
Ultimately, Russia's unwillingness to use its Su-57 in Ukraine "indicates that they are not confident in the claimed unobtrusive properties of this aircraft," Justin Bronk, an aviation expert from the Royal United Institute for Defense Studies (RUSI), a well-known British think tank, previously told Business Insider.
In addition, according to him, the aircraft can only carry an older version of the R-77 air-to-air missile. It has "folding lattice ribs that do not allow it to be placed inside the aircraft and, therefore, endanger its low visibility," he said.
Chinese J-20
China, the so-called "catch-up runner" for the US armed forces, also has a program to create and deploy fifth-generation fighter jets. Six years after making its first flight, the Chinese Chengdu J-20 entered service with the PLA in 2017.
It then joined Beijing's arsenal of 1,900 fighter jets and has since been "operationally deployed," according to the Pentagon's 2023 report on China's military might. It is estimated that China has built more than 200 J-20s and is preparing several fighter upgrades, including the installation of domestically produced WS-15 engines.
The WS-15 is an engine that was originally supposed to be installed on the J-20, since it was the only one that allowed the fighter to fly at supersonic speeds without turning on afterburners and gave the aircraft additional stealth characteristics. But the Chinese defense industry has long had difficulty producing an improved engine, so the military uses old Chinese and Russian engines instead.
"The J-20 engines have been a big headache, but I think they point to more serious problems in the Chinese defense industry," said Mike Dam, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer. "Despite all of China's technological progress, it still lags behind the West in high—tech manufacturing technologies, whether it's engines, low-visibility materials or metallurgy."
"The precision of the assembly has a huge impact on the low visibility and capabilities of fifth—generation aircraft," he said.
Despite previous setbacks, last summer the J-20 appeared to take to the air with a pair of WS-15 engines at a landmark moment. But Dam warned that even if China manages to overcome its production problems, the reliability of the WS-15 engines is still questionable and could cause problems, especially if they do not reach the same level as Western aircraft.
"During the life of the engine, the Chinese will have to carry out its maintenance more often and probably replace them more often," he said. "These maintenance issues will eventually affect the combat readiness of the aircraft and its availability to the army."
Michael Bohnert, a licensed engineer at the RAND Corporation analytical center, who participated in analytical research for the US Air Force, said that the use of low-visibility materials such as special coatings of the aircraft body is an expensive and "painful" process that requires large investments both in terms of labor costs and infrastructure.
"The stealth aircraft is more than just an airplane," Bohnert said. "These are its missiles, tactics, logistics, maintenance infrastructure — it takes a lot of effort and resources. It's a long way to the final result there, and it can take a long time."
Like Russia, China is still new to the "game" with fifth-generation fighters. But even the United States, which has had a fifth-generation aircraft since 2005, is having problems with the new Joint Strike Fighter.
American F-35
Developed by the aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is the second fifth-generation fighter in the American arsenal after the F-22 Raptor and is available in three variants.
The U.S. Marine Corps F-35B is capable of short takeoff and vertical landing and reached initial combat Readiness, or IOC, for the first time in 2015. The US Air Force uses the F-35A, which reached the IOC in 2016, while the US Navy uses the F-35C – it entered service by 2019.
The aircraft, designed for attacks on ground targets, air combat and integrated operations, patrolled Europe and the Pacific region and had some combat experience in the Middle East.
The US military and a number of US allies operate this fifth-generation aircraft. Israel became the first country to use this aircraft in combat.
The U.S. military has about 450 F-35s, and the Pentagon plans to purchase about 2,500 more vehicles over the next few decades. The estimated cost of this program is more than $ 1.7 trillion, most of which will be spent on the operation and repair of the aircraft.
The problems of maintaining the fighter and maintaining its operational properties, which often affected the combat readiness of the fighter, prevented such an expensive program, and this continues to be the case, according to a September report published by the Government Accounting Chamber (GAO). Earlier this year, the aircraft was only able to carry out its missions just over half the time.
The report identified several specific problems at military installations, including a shortage of auxiliary equipment, spare parts, adequate training and technical data — all of which may contribute to delays in maintenance. The report also says that the F-35 program is behind schedule in setting up facilities for repairs and that the U.S. government relies heavily on contractors, which reduces its own decision-making capabilities.
The general problem is that for many years the F-35 program has been focused on production, said Diana Maurer, director of the defense capabilities and management group at the GAO. The priorities mainly concerned research, development and supply of equipment to the troops, while the issues of sustainability of its operation and costs were postponed to a later time. And now these problems have become the most urgent.
"When the F-35 already began to enter the armed forces, it was not provided with existing stationary repair facilities on which it was possible to repair the aircraft if it needed repair. Even now, the program is still several years behind the completion of a sustainable repair base in the army," Maurer said. This means that when the main parts of an aircraft need to be repaired or replaced, they often have to be returned to the manufacturers.
"This leads to long delays," she said. And since it takes a long time to replace these parts, the backlog is growing, and the aircraft is becoming "less combat-ready."
The Accounting Chamber has made several recommendations to the Pentagon in an attempt to alleviate some of the problems, including a reassessment of the division of responsibility between the government and contractors. If there are any changes in this balance, the GAO, in its September report, invited the Pentagon to determine what technical data or intellectual property on the fighter it might need.
In addition to the problems of the F-35 program, the December report of the Accounting Chamber indicated that there were problems with the cooling system of the fighter. It is overloaded, which can increase engine wear, shorten its service life and increase maintenance costs by billions of dollars.
"It is really important for the United States to fully implement the F-35 program. We have heard from the pilots that they are very pleased with the capabilities of this weapon system," Maurer said. "Now it's not just the future of the combat aviation of our three types of troops — it's their present."
Author: Jake Epstein (JakeEpstein)