The world has officially entered into a fifth age of fighter plane design, and the leap
in technology between 4th and 5th generation fighters is so steep, that any adversary that
isn't able to keep up risks losing an air war before it even begins.
Make no mistake, 4th generation and even 4.5th generation fighters are no longer thought
of as survivable platforms in any future great power conflict, meaning only one thing: if
a nation wants to fight, and win, a next generation war, it needs to field a next-generation aircraft.
Three nations have currently developed 5th generation fighters to meet this critical
need for a survivable fighter platform, although of those three nations only America has actually
reached initial operational capability in any significant numbers.
China's J-20 stealth fighter is not only widely regarded as a poor man's 5th-gen fighter,
but is only active in extremely small numbers- between one to two dozen aircraft are currently
cleared for combat.
Russia's SU-57 is the nation's entry into the 5th-gen fighter game, and it is a very
impressive showing for a nation building its first true stealth aircraft.
The origins of the fighter hail back to the waning years of the Cold War, when Russia-much
as the United States- recognized the need for a next-generation fighter that could survive
an increasingly dangerous anti-air environment.
Stealth would have to be a critical feature of this new fighter, but it would also have
to have a considerable ground-attack capability.
In short, this fighter would have to be a multi-role platform, much like America's F-22
would end up being.
Development of the new fighter however was seriously slowed by the collapse of the Soviet
Union.
With a lack of funding, the program waned for years until it was resurrected in the
late 1990s.
It would take until 2004 for a conceptual design to be approved by the new Russian Defense
Ministry, and government funding began in earnest the next year.
Budget woes were still abundant though for the Russian government, and thus it was decided
to invite India into the development program as a partner.
With India shouldering half the cost of the development program and committing to buying
214 of the planes, Russia was well on its way to developing a competitor against America's
own 5th gen fighters.
As the years passed though, the Indian government began to lose faith in the Russian design.
In 2012 it decreased its planned purchases from 214 to just 144.
As the American F-35 neared completion and public demonstrations of its capabilities
began to take place, India lost even more faith in the SU-57, and in 2018 the nation
scored a crippling blow against the Russian 5th-gen fighter program by leaving the agreement
altogether.
The SU-57's status was thrown into limbo after India's withdrawal of billions in capital,
and it quickly became clear that Russia would not be able to afford the plane on its own.
Soon, it was reported that Russia would not order more than a few demonstration models
of the aircraft, and it looked as if the Russian air forces would be left vulnerable against
America's 5th-gen fighters.
Priorities were quickly shifted to developing the cheaper S-500 anti-air system as a stop-gap
measure to try and fend off the F-35 and F-22.
Then Russia got some unexpected help courtesy of the American president and senate.
After Turkey purchased several S-400 anti-air units from Russia, America's President Trump
and the US Senate agreed to throw Turkey out of the F-35 development deal- even though
it had been a key partner in the program and even maintained several key component production
facilities.
Cut off from the F-35, Turkey soon turned to Russia and expressed interest in purchasing
the SU-57, with a goal of buying around 100 of the jets.
The promise of such a massive infusion of capital into the nearly-dead SU-57 program
quickly brought it back to life, and today the SU-57 is not only poised for international
sale, but with enough profit from those sales, could very well end up being purchased in
significant numbers by Russia.
Right now though, the Russian Air Force only operates a few token demonstration models
which have been dispatched to Syria in order to generate interest from potential international
buyers.
The future of the SU-57 completely depends on if nations such as Turkey will end up buying
the jet, as at the moment Russia is still too cash-strapped to afford it on its own.
The F-35 has its origins with the Joint Strike Fighter program, itself a merger of other
fighter programs across the 1980s and 90s.
Due to the high costs and logistical problems with operating air fleets made up of different
models of aircraft, the US government sought an easy solution: have one fighter aircraft
that can do nearly all jobs.
This would not only result in reduced cost as more units would be built over the life
of the aircraft, but would greatly reduce logistical issues as maintenance personnel
no longer had to train on, or store parts for, multiple aircraft models.
One plane that could do it all was both an operational and a financial dream.
The only people not quite on board the JSF bandwagon though was the Air Force, which
recognized that building a jack-of-all-trades aircraft meant that it would ultimately not
excel in any one particular role.
Prudently, the Air Force thus pushed congress to continue funding the development of what
would become the F-22 Raptor.
While the other services would fly a do-everything, budget-friendly plane, the US Air Force demanded
a fighter so advanced no foe could possibly approach its capabilities.
While the F-35 would become an extremely capable aircraft, the F-22 would end up the world's
most lethal aircraft.
Ultimately though, this would also lead to the F-22's downfall.
Echoing the troubles of the US Navy's Seawolf submarine class, the F-22 was so advanced-
and so expensive- that there simply existed no realistic need for such a formidable aircraft.
At between $140 to $180 million per unit, the F-22 may still be the deadliest aircraft
in the sky, but it is also the most expensive, and congress quickly decided that there existed
no air threat in the world at the moment worth that hefty investment.
Thus the Air Force was allowed to order just shy of 200 F-22s, but would have to rely on
the F-35 as its workhorse just like the other services.
The F-35 quickly became the most controversial, and expensive, weapons program of all time.
While the plane is extremely capable, it continues to showcase several serious problems even
over a year after entering full-scale production.
The most persistent issue perhaps is the fact that even though the F-35 is meant to also
be a ground-attack aircraft, its main gun- a 25mm cannon, can't shoot straight.
That would without a doubt be of some concern for troops on the ground requiring very close
air support.
Despite ongoing issues though, the F-35 is without a doubt an extremely capable, and
dangerous aircraft.
In numerous war games against American and European aircraft, the F-35 has resoundingly
defeated all enemy threats, and the only time the aircraft took significant losses was when
artificially forced by the rules of the war game into a combat scenario at extremely close
ranges.
When allowed to operate as it would naturally operate though, the F-35 is a lethal killer,
knocking out 4th and 4.5th gen fighters out of the sky long before they even realize it's
there.
So, which is the better aircraft: the SU-57 or the F-35?
The answer is as it usually is, not a simple one.
First, it's important to understand the design philosophies behind both aircraft.
The SU-57 was designed to be a premier air superiority and ground-attack aircraft, but
it was not designed to be a 'workhorse' aircraft.
Due to Russia's budget problems, the nation would never be able to field it in large enough
numbers to fully replace their air fleet with SU-57s, thus it was meant to act as a force
multiplier supporting Russia's 4th and 4.5th gen aircraft.
The F-35 by comparison was meant to replace nearly all of the US's fighter and ground
attack fleet, which meant that serious compromises had to be made to accommodate such a wide
variety of roles.
On paper, the F-35's performance is thus very often greatly outclassed by the SU-57, which
have led many to believe the SU-57 to be the superior plane.
Because the SU-57 was never planned to be bought in great numbers, the aircraft could
be more expensive than an F-35 and thus pack more design features.
The F-35 is equipped with only a single engine versus the SU-57's two engines, which means
that the SU-57 has a higher service ceiling of nearly 66,000 (20,000m) feet versus the
F-35's 50,000 feet (15,240 m), and that it can fly faster at 1,616 mph (2600 kph) versus
the F-35 at 1,199 mph (1930 kph).
Physically larger than the F-35, the SU-57 is 72 feet long (22 m) versus 50 feet (15.37m),
has a width of 47 feet (14.20m) versus 35 feet (10.65m), and has an empty weight of
40,786 pounds (18500 kg) versus the F-35's 29,002 pounds (13,155 kg).
This means that the SU-57 can fly further than the F-35, with a range of 3,107 miles
(5000km) versus 1,379 miles (2220km).
The larger size allows the SU-57 to carry more weapons, featuring up to 8 weapon hardpoints
versus the four of the F-35 in its internal weapon bays, though both aircraft can carry
weapons on their wings in a non-stealthy configuration.
On day one of a war, both aircraft would carry their weapons internally, but once air superiority
has been established weapons can be attached to external hard points- though the SU-57
will always be able to carry more ordinance given its larger size.
Despite the SU-57's two engines, the Lightning’s engine is not only more efficient, but allows
the plane to supercruise- or fly at supersonic speed- without the use of afterburners.
Afterburners in essence destroy a plane's ability to fly stealthily, and while the SU-57
has greater speed, it must make us of afterburners in order to fly at supersonic speeds.
This is because the aircraft is still using 4th generation engines, Russia has not successfully
developed the 5th generation engine it needs to achieve supercruise capabilities.
Currently Russia's Izdelie-30 engine is still undergoing flight testing and is not believed
to be operational anytime before 2025.
This is of little surprise to foreign observers, as the United States has always maintained
a technological edge in engine technology.
The inability to supercruise and use of old, inferior engines, means that the SU-57 is
at a serious disadvantage against a squadron of Lightnings.
Russian SU-57 pilots would either have to be pre-positioned along a lightning’s flight
path, or use afterburners for a successful intercept.
The first choice would require perfect intelligence on the American planes and their mission,
a tactical near-impossibility, and the second choice would nullify the SU-57's stealth and
make them easy pickings for long-range air attack by the stealthy Lightnings.
Where the SU-57 shines though is in dogfight scenarios, as it has incredible agility and
maneuverability versus the F-35.
If forced into a close-quarters fight, the F-35 would be dominated by an SU-57, and have
little hope for survival.
With the F-35's slower speed, if pursued by an SU-57, the F-35 would almost certainly
be caught and destroyed.
When it comes to 5th generation though, stealth is what matters most after engines, and here
the F-35 stands head and shoulders above the SU-57.
Despite a great deal of propaganda from the Russian Defense Ministry, the most telling
assessment of the SU-57's real stealth signature comes from the fact that the Indian withdrawal
from the program was largely due to serious concerns about poor stealth engineering.
In a rare moment of candor, the Russian news outfit Moskovskiy Komsomolets Online- a former
arm of the Communist youth news network- said that the SU-57 could not yet be called a fifth-generation
fighter due to its poor low observation capabilities.
Indian military sources expected that their version of the SU-57 would have a head-on
radar cross section of .5 square meters, which is significantly worse than the F-35's cross
section of .001 meters or the F-22's cross section of .0001 square meters.
In essence, an SU-57's head-on radar cross section is the size of a truck tire, while
the F-35's cross section is the size of a golf ball and the F-22 is that of a marble.
With such dramatically poor stealth features, the SU-57 would not fare very well in a head-on
long-range engagement against an F-35, although in a dogfight scenario the SU-57 would dominate.
Unfortunately the last dogfight the world ever witnessed happened towards the end of
1988, and given the state of today's long-range sensors and missile systems, no pilot in the
world believes a dogfight will happen again anytime soon.
Ultimately which aircraft is better depends on the scenario.
In most circumstances, the F-35 is the better aircraft not necessarily because it is physically
superior, but rather because it is far better at its job then the SU-57.
In a traditional dogfight though, the SU-57 continues to give Russia the advantage it
has traditionally enjoyed in close quarters fighting.
However, the real testament to which is the better aircraft may come from the fact that
over 400 Lightnings have already been built, while only 11 SU-57s are currently flying.
Want to see more awesome videos?
Why not tell us which you think is the best now: check out this video here, then check
out this other video over here, and then let us know which you enjoyed the best!
Don't wait, click now!