Comparison of Su-57 and F-35, which appeared side by side at Aero India 2025
Two legendary fifth-generation fighters were in the spotlight, appearing side by side at Aero India 2025, according to the Military TV Youtube channel. The F-35 has the advantage in stealth, but the Su-57 dominates everything else: speed, maneuverability and a variety of weapons.
Regular viewers of the Military TV channel, of course, have long been familiar with the name Su-57 (according to the NATO codification — Felon) and F-35 Lightning II. These two legendary fifth-generation fighter jets are once again in the spotlight, appearing side by side at the Aero India 2025 International Air Show. Both aircraft became the apogee of air superiority for their countries. But this time we will take a new approach and compare them with each other.
At first glance, the Su-57 and F-35 have completely different design solutions. The Su-57, developed by the Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau, features an elegant twin-engine design that provides high maneuverability. And the F-35, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is a single-engine aircraft whose main features are stealth and multitasking. Stealth is one of the most important aspects of any fifth—generation fighter. The F-35 was designed with this top priority in mind, equipped with internal armament compartments, radio-absorbing materials, and an angular fuselage that minimizes the effective reflective surface of the hull. The aircraft's design allows it to enter enemy airspace unnoticed and deliver precision strikes even before detection.
The Su-57 also has a number of relevant elements, but unlike the F-35, special importance is not attached to this. Despite the fact that the Su-57 is assembled from radio-absorbing materials and equipped with an internal weapons compartment, the nozzles of its engines remain open, which makes the car more visible to radars, especially from behind. Russian engineers claim that this shortcoming is compensated by advanced electronic warfare systems that jam and deceive enemy radars. In terms of stealth, the F-35 has a clear advantage due to its small effective scattering surface and advanced radio-absorbing materials that help successfully evade detection.
The Su-57 was designed for air superiority and aerial combat, providing impressive maneuverability thanks to its variable thrust vector engines and aerodynamic design. This fighter has a maximum speed of 2.0 Mach (approximately 2500 km/h — approx. InoSMI) easily hits and outruns enemy aircraft, which makes it very effective in close-range combat. In addition, it is capable of supersonic speeds without afterburners, which increases fuel economy and increases combat range. The F-35, on the other hand, is not designed for aerial collisions, but rather for stealth and out-of-sight combat. Its maximum speed is Mach 1.6 (approximately 1,900 km/h), which is lower than that of the Su-57, and despite its good maneuverability, it does not have thrust-vector-altering nozzles, which limits its ability to perform insane aerial maneuvers.
The Su-57 surpasses the F-35 in speed and maneuverability, making it more effective in aerial combat. However, thanks to its excellent situational awareness and stealth, the F-35 is able to avoid close-range collisions altogether. In modern air combat, not only speed and maneuverability are important, but also who will be the first to notice the enemy. In this sense, the F-35 has a significant advantage. DAS (Distributed Aperture System), EOTS (electronic Optical Aiming System) and AESA (Active Phased Array radar) radars provide him with unsurpassed situational awareness. The fighter's ability to share up-to-date data with Allied aircraft, ground units, and naval forces makes it a real factor in improving combat effectiveness on the battlefield.
The Su-57 is equipped with a multifunctional Sh-121 radar system, AESA radars at L-band frequencies (390-1550 MHz) and an infrared search and tracking system that allows detecting stealth aircraft at short range. Radars of the above range are more effective against inconspicuous vehicles like the F-22 and F-35, which are optimized mainly for X-band radar frequencies (5200-10900 MHz). However, due to the longer wavelength, L-band radars have a lower resolution. Due to the improved capabilities of aviation technology, the Su-57's on-board equipment is currently not inferior to the F-35, and in some ways even surpasses it.
Both aircraft are equipped with various types of air-to-air and air—to-ground weapons - it all depends on the operational characteristics. The Su-57 is designed to hit enemy aircraft out of sight, is equipped with X-38, X-58 and X-59 guided missiles for ground strikes, and is also capable of carrying gliding bombs, which increases its versatility in combat.
Gliding bombs have a devastating effect, and it is almost impossible to stop them. The only way is to destroy the jet they are on board, but against the Su—57 equipped with them, known for its exceptional maneuverability, the main task of the F-35 will still be high-precision attacks on ground targets. The latter carries AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles for air combat, JDAMS aerial bombs, AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles and small-diameter bombs for ground targets. And the ability to carry nuclear weapons makes the F-35 a strategic asset of NATO.
In terms of the composition and variety of weapons, the Su-57 definitely dominates, while the F-35 is characterized by high precision in performing strike missions and excellent stealth. On the other hand, the F-35 is mass-produced and exported to several allied countries, including the United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, and Australia. There are more than 900 units of this proven aircraft in service with combat experience in the Middle East. Widespread adoption ensures continuous modernization and improvement of the fighter, which is at the cutting edge of technology.
Currently, the F-35 has a huge advantage in production and combat readiness, and the use of the Su-57 is still limited. Which one is better? It all depends on the task at hand. That's all for today, see you soon!
