Russia's bluff has been called, and now its military must clash with NATO forces
in eastern europe. As both sides prepare for battle, high in the skies over Eastern
Europe a squadron of F-22s and Su-57s rush to meet each other in a battle the world has
been dreading for decades. But who would win between these two state of the art aircraft?
The F-22A was developed by Lockheed Martin to be the air dominance fighter of the future,
and first took flight as a prototype on September 7th, 1997. Its origins however
lie in the Cold War, with the US looking ahead to a future conflict with the Soviet Union. That
is why when the plane was officially procured in 1999, it faced a very uncertain future- it
was the world's most cutting edge fighter, and an extremely expensive one at that too. The age
of great power conflict was thought to be over with the collapse of the Soviet Union,
and the F-22 was a plane without a mission. Inevitably, congress approved the termination
of future production of F-22s and the specialized tools and equipment used to
create the most advanced fighter in the world were put into storage in case of emergency.
The Su-57 Felon is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by
Sukhoi for the Russian military. Its origins are much more recent,
with development beginning in 1999 as Russia began the long process of trying to impose
itself as a global power once more. Over the years though the Su-57 ran into serious
budgeting problems. Initially Russia, like the US, planned to buy hundreds of the aircraft,
but eventually only 16 were actually built. The death blow to the Su-57 program was the
ever worsening Russian economy, as well as the pullout of India's partnership in the program
when it determined that the Su-57's capabilities were not as advertised or worth the investment.
Both aircraft depend on stealth for survivability and lethality, but which is better?
The SU-57 features specialized design to reduce its radar cross-section,
or RCS. This is achieved via techniques such as carefully angling the edges of the wing and
control surfaces so as to minimize the number of directions that radar waves can be bounced
back. Weapons are carried internally and its engines are coated with radar absorbent
materials, or RAM. Its canopy features a 70 to 90 nanometer thick metal oxide layer
to both absorb radar waves and protect the pilot from UV and thermal radiation.
From the front, the Su-57 is more stealthy than a 4th generation fighter, however from
the side the aircraft is significantly less stealthy and very vulnerable to detection
and targeting. This represents a lack of expertise in stealth by Russian engineers,
but is also a design choice, as the Su-57 is meant to operate within the
protection of Russian air defenses. Outmatched technologically by the US,
Russia has long operated its military under a fortress doctrine that makes maximum use
of large numbers of long-range air defenses and ground artillery to fend off advanced US threats.
Simply put, a squadron of Su-57s would not be operating far from friendly forces, unlike US
F-22s which are expected to be the very tip of the spear driving deep into enemy territory.
The F-22 was designed with stealth as a top priority, and so much attention was paid to
the plane's stealth characteristics that even the design of the pilot's helmet was taken into
consideration. Like the Su-57 stealth is built straight into the design of the plane with a delta
wing configuration, curved vanes that prevent line of sight to the engine faces and turbines,
and special alignment of control surfaces. The plane features a signature assessment system
that warns a maintenance crew when the plane's radar signature is degraded and requires repair,
and while it is coated in RAM, it’s less reliant on it than the B-2. The B-2 is so delicate that it
requires a special air-conditioned hangar like the true prom queen of the US air force that she is,
but the F-22 was designed to be rugged and tough, and can undergo repairs directly on a flight line.
But hiding from radar is only part of its stealthy design. Its flat thrust-vectoring
nozzles don't just look super cool from behind, but are specifically engineered to reduce the
thermal signature of the big engines and thus reduce the range at which the plane
is targetable by heat seeking missiles. The plane is also designed around tight control
of electronic emissions to prevent targeting or detection via electronic noise generated by its
powerful radar and radio. It’ss also specially designed to be quieter than other aircraft,
and to be difficult to detect with the naked eye at a distance.
The result is an aircraft with an RCS which is classified, but Lockheed Martin has confirmed
that from some angles the aircraft has the RCS of a steel marble, .0001 squared meters.
The Su-57 on the other hand is believed to have an RCS of .1 to 1 square meters.
There's no question that when it comes to stealth, the F-22 is the top dog- but at a price. In order
to maintain its stealth features at an optimal level, the plane has a mission capable rate of
62-70%, meaning that if the Su-57 were ever fielded in large numbers, their relative lack
of sophisticated stealth technology would make them available for operations more often. Though
if Ukraine is anything to go by, maintenance is a very weak point of the Russian military
and both aircraft might struggle to stay in the air throughout a lengthy conflict.
In a dogfight, power and maneuverability are what
matters, and here the two aircraft show some striking differences.
The F-22 features thrust vectoring engines that can pivot up and down,
giving it the most maneuverability of any US aircraft. However, the F-22 falls very short
of the Su-57, which is one of the most maneuverable planes ever made. Its twin
engines feature independent thrust vectoring in all directions, meaning each engine nozzle
can point in any direction independent of the other nozzle. That's why the Su-57 impressed
spectators at airshows all over the world, and in a dogfight scenario the F-22 pilot
would be reaching for the ejection handle far more frequently than his Russian counterpart.
When it comes to power, both planes are also unmatched.
The F-22 is equipped with two Pratt & Whitney F119 afterburning turbofan engines,
with each delivering 35,000 pounds of thrust. This gives the F-22 a total of 70,000 pounds
of thrust and the ability to supercruise at a classified speed of at least Mach 1.82.
Supercruise is an important capability for modern fighters, and one that very few can attain. It’s
defined as the ability for an aircraft to cruise at speeds of one and a half times,
or greater, the speed of sound without the use of afterburners for extended periods of time. Using
afterburners burns through an aircraft’s fuel tank very quickly, and thus most planes cannot maintain
supersonic flight for very long. With great speed though, comes great fuel consumption, and the F-22
is limited by its size and fuel use to a range of 1,864 miles with external fuel tanks. Its
combat radius is believed to be just over 500 miles, with a service ceiling of 65,000 feet.
The Su-57 is equipped with two NPO Lyulka-Saturn izdeliye 117 turbofan engines, a significant
technological step forward for the Russians. Each engine can produce just shy of 20,000 pounds
of dry thrust giving the aircraft the ability to supercruise at over mach 1.6. However, the
Su-57's larger body allows it to store more fuel, increasing its range to 2200 miles, with a combat
radius of 930 miles and a ceiling of 66,000 feet. The Su-57 seems to have the advantage here,
even though its inferior aerodynamics and larger size means it's slower than the nimbler F-22,
but the Russian air force has been having serious problems with developing the Su-57's engines,
making them unreliable. Current Su-57s in operation are equipped with older engines,
and in 2014, before walking away from a deal to help fund development of the Su-57,
the Indian government expressed concerns over the engine's reliability. Russia hopes to sweep
away these issues with a new engine designated izdeliye 30 and projected to be equipped on the
Su-57 in the mid 2020s- however, this was before Russia was sanctioned by the world and cut off
from critical technological supploes. The current fate of the planned engine upgrade is unknown.
When it comes to engines, the F-22 is simply more reliable, with over 180 of the aircraft
in operation for over a decade, while the Su-57 struggles with older engines and a
planned upgrade that may never materialize. If Russia were to solve the engine issue though,
the Su-57 may outclass the F-22 in power, if not speed due to the size difference.
But a fighter is nothing without its weapons,
so what kind of heat is each plane packing and who's really bringing the smoke?
The Su-57 has two tandem main internal weapon bays that run along the entire
length of the body of the aircraft, and two side weapon bays for smaller missiles or
bombs. Designed as a multi-role fighter, the Su-57 can strike surface targets with ease,
packing the 550 pound KAB-250 or 1,100 pound KAB-500 precision guided bombs
in its main bays. It can also carry the Kh-38M air-to-ground missile, Kh-35u anti-ship missile,
the Kh-58 UshK anti-radiation missile for striking enemy radar arrays, and the Kh-59MK2 cruise
missile- though all of these in very limited quantities. However, if stealth is not a concern,
the plane has six external hardpoints that can fit most Russian fighter-capable bombs and
missiles. The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic air to ground missile is also being developed specially
for the Su-57 and meant to fit within the dimensions of the plane's internal weapons bays.
However, if going up against the F-22, the Su-57 will bring four Beyond Visual
Range air-to-air missiles with a range of up to 120 miles,
and two shorter range air-to-air missiles in its side weapon bays.
The F-22 has three internal weapons bays laid out in a different configuration from
the Su-57. Its main bay is housed at the bottom of the fuselage, with two smaller
bays directly on the sides of the fuselage and aft of the engine intakes. Up against an Su-57,
the F-22 can carry six beyond visual range AIM-120 AMRAAMs, and one AIM-9 Sidewinder in
each side bay. This gives the F-22 a significant three missile advantage over the Su-57- but
this is hardly a surprise. The F-22 was designed specifically to take out enemy aircraft, while the
Su-57 was designed to be a general purpose machine capable of hitting both air and ground targets.
The F-22 can also strike ground targets with the replacement of its four main bay launchers
with two bomb racks that can each carry one 1,000 pound or four 250 pound bombs. The plane
can also carry GPS capable weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition,
but it lacks the targeting pod required to self-designate targets for laser-guided
bombs. Like the Su-57, the F-22 is equipped with external hardpoints for
when stealth is not a priority, and it has four hardpoints rated at 5,000 pounds each.
For a good old fashioned knife fight in the sky, the F-22 carries the M61A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon,
and is equipped with 480 rounds meant for half-second bursts. The pilot's heads-up display
projects a radar projection of the cannon's fire path when the weapon is in use to dramatically
increase accuracy. The Su-57 meanwhile is equipped with a 9A1-4071K 30mm autocannon with 150 rounds.
While it has less rounds to fire, the 30mm cannon will provide a significant advantage if a hit
is scored- and given the Su-57's incredible maneuverability, the odds of a hit are good.
In terms of firepower, the F-22 takes the cake for air to air combat,
even if it would do well to stay out of dogfight range of the Su-57. However,
the Su-57 is easier to configure for ground strike missions, making it more flexible.
But all that smoke means nothing if you can't even detect what you're supposed
to be aiming at, so how do the two planes compare in radar and avionics?
The F-22 is a champion of sensor fusion, where it gathers data from all onboard systems,
filters it for relevancy, and presents it to the pilot for greatly enhanced situational awareness
while lowering his workload. It can even receive data from other platforms to add to its tactical
picture. It’s equipped with the Sanders/General Electric AN/ALR-94 electronic warfare system,
Martin Marietta AN/AAR-56 infrared and ultraviolet missile launch detector,
Westinghouse/Texas Instruments AN/APG-77 active electronically scanned array radar, and TRW
communication/navigation/identification suite. It has over thirty antennas blended into the
wings and fuselage to give the airplane complete all-around radar warning receiver coverage. This
system can reduce its radar emissions to a confined narrow beam- down to 2 degrees in
azimuth and elevation- exceeding over 250 miles in range and greatly increasing the plane's stealth
by limiting excess electronic noise. In other words, if you take a shot at the Raptor, it's
going to immediately know trouble is on the way. The system can even be used as a passive detection
system that can search for targets and even provide lock-on for weapons at classified ranges.
The APG-77 radar equipped on the Raptor has a low-observable, active-aperture, electronically
scanned antenna that can track multiple targets while conducting scans in any weather condition.
The Raptor can also focus its radar to overload enemy sensors in electronic-attack configuration,
degrading the effectiveness of enemy radar and increasing the survivability of fellow
Raptors in formation. To reduce the chance of interception or degradation, the APG-77 changes
frequency over 1,000 times a second, and has an estimated range of 125 to 150 miles for a target
with the profile radar cross section of an SU-57- not good news for the Russian fighter. Head on,
the Raptor is likely capable of targeting the Su-57 at just over 30 miles. By narrowing its
beam however, the APG-77 can increase this range by approximately 100 miles.
Its two Huges Common Integrated Processors are each capable of processing up to 10.5 billion
instructions per second, making the F-22 one of the smartest planes in the sky. In fact its
avionics are so robust, that the F-22 has threat detection and identification capabilities similar
to the RC-135 Rivet Joint, however its radar is less powerful than dedicated signals intelligence
and threat detection platforms. This capability however allows the F-22 to designate targets
for allied aircraft, making the F-22 not just lethal on its own, but lending its lethality to
4th generation aircraft who can fire weapons from outside the threat envelope an F-22 is
currently operating inside of. In effect, the F-22 can grant friendly aircraft pseudo-stealth
capabilities through its big brains, giving the enemy one hell of a headache to worry about.
The Su-57 is Russia's first attempt at achieving sensor fusion. To manage its various electronic
systems, the Su-57 is equipped with an information management system developed
by GRPZ. The plane is equipped with an N036 AESA radar system and L402 Himalayas electronic
countermeasures system. Its radar is configured across three platforms, with a traditional nose
mounted radar and two cheek mounted radars that greatly increase angular coverage. It
also allows a pilot to guide a missile to its target without having to point its nose at it,
a significant advantage in close quarters combat. Two N036L-1-01 L Band transceivers are mounted
on each wing's leading edge flaps and used for friend-or-foe identification,
but can also be configured for electronic warfare and used to degrade enemy radar-
albeit at significantly less efficiency than the F-22. It’s also equipped with a redundant radio
telephone system and encrypted data exchange capabilities between itself and other aircraft.
However, the largest difference between the two aircraft is the inclusion of the 101KS-V
infrared search and track system on the Su-57, while the F-22 lacks any such capability. Often
touted as a 'stealth-killer' ISRT systems allow an aircraft to search for and target
enemy aircraft by their heat signatures. This heat comes not just from the engines,
but from the body of the plane thanks to the friction it experiences during supersonic flight.
While the F-22 lacks ISRT capabilities, it’s also designed to fly cooler at faster speeds
than the Su-57, and with engine outlets that dramatically lower its infrared signature.
Thus the Su-57's ISRT will still have some difficulties in targeting an F-22,
and its effective range will be lowered considerably. Even so,
this feature still gives the Su-57 an advantage in close quarters combat.
So which is the superior aircraft?
The F-22 takes the cake by a long shot. It's without question the world's premier fighter
aircraft, with the most advanced avionics of any non-classified fighter in operation today.
Its radar lacks the angular coverage of the Su-57, but can detect even stealthy targets
at longer ranges compared to the Su-57, and more importantly: provide good lock
for weapons at increased ranges as well. With an increased number of air to air missiles,
the F-22 has more chances to shoot an Su-57 out of the sky as well, another significant advantage.
Yet the Su-57 has the advantage in close quarters, and an F-22 pilot would do well to ensure he
keeps a healthy distance between himself and an Su-57. But ultimately, this is a minor advantage,
as the F-22 is simply built to not just be lethal on its own, but operate within a larger
network of weapons and friendly platforms. This is a capability that the Russians lack,
and the US military remains the most networked armed force in the world. This means that it's
not just the F-22 that's lethal to an Su-57, but a whole host of support platforms all
using the F-22's targeting and tracking data to guide their own weapons to target.
Not only can the F-22 win a fight on its own, but it can invite all its
other buddies into that fight as well, leaving the Su-57 pilot frightfully alone. However,
ultimately the F-22 is superior for one single reason: it’s an operational aircraft and the
Su-57 is not. If war were to break out between the two nations, it's highly unlikely an F-22
would even meet an Su-57 in battle given that there are only 6 non-testing models in operation,
while the Russian air force would have to contend with over 180 Raptors.
Want to see the F-22 in simulated combat? Click Why F-22 Raptor Still Reigns Supreme,
or click this other video instead!