These are the Su-57 and Su-35S fighter jets with which Putin wants to strengthen his air dominance over Ukraine.

The arrival of the first F-16s in Ukraine marked a before and after in the war with Russia, even though Zelensky’s air force has already lost the first unit in an accident and needs more reinforcements to combat Russian air superiority. In recent weeks, there has been speculation that the Swedish Gripen could be the next to arrive. Perhaps that’s why From Moscow they wanted to sit down and announce that they had new units. ready for combat.

According to the latest data of the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), Russia has a total of combat aircraft exceeding 900 units. Now this number has increased with a new batch of Su-57 and Su-35S fighters delivered by the government-owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), although the exact number of units has not been specified.

According to Army Recognition, prior to delivery, this batch underwent a full cycle of factory evaluations and operational tests led by Russian Defense Ministry pilots. Once all phases were passed to declare them combat-ready, The fighters were transferred to their designated base. Its location has also not been revealed, although everything seems to indicate that it is the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region, from where they carry out attacks on the airspace of Kursk (Bryansk) and the occupied Lugansk region.

Su-57

The Su-57s are the most capable fighters in all of Russia in its operational fleet and they pose a significant challenge to Ukraine’s NATO-assisted defenses, given that it has some stealth capabilities that give it a reduced radar footprint and make it difficult to detect.

In 2007, the completion of the design phase was announced and the Moscow military authorities ordered the start of production of the first experimental aircraft of this model. From that moment on, delays and problems have been swirling around the platform, which officially It was put into service at the end of 2020.

In terms of specifications, the Sukhoi Su-57 has a maximum takeoff weight of 35,000 kilograms and a pair of engines with a vectored thrust (capable of directing the exhaust gas outlet) of 107.9 kN. The maximum speed is estimated at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound or 2,400 km/h) with a sustained cruise at Mach 1.6, a maximum altitude of 20,000 meters and a range of 1,500 kilometers in supersonic “mode”.

Its main armament is the Kh-69 missile, “designed to attack a wide range of stationary ground targets with coordinates known before launch,” as reported at the time by the Russian agency Tass. A description that corresponds to critical infrastructures or buildings that would be strongly affected by its explosive charge.

The maximum flight range is up to 290 kilometers at a speed of 700 to 1,000 kilometers per hour. “Depending on the configuration, the mass of the warhead is 300 to 310 kilograms and it can be placed both in external fittings and in internal compartments of weapons.”

Although it is specifically designed to operate inside the Su-57, the manufacturer also states the compatibility with other Russian-made fighters. For example, with the Su-34 and Su-35 that the Air Force has been using since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

Su-35S

The Sukhoi Su-35 is a direct evolution of the successful Soviet Su-27 fighter. The latter, developed in the 1970s in the midst of the Cold War, was one of the most capable and flexible platforms of the time, which served as the basis for other fighters of later design. So much so that during the first years of the Su-35’s life, the official name was Su-27M.

The Su-27M first took to the skies in 1988 and soon after began to be displayed at international air shows. The result was disastrous at a time when the Soviet Union was in full disintegration and the program suffered some setbacks from a more technological point of view.

One of the most important features of this aircraft is its thrust vectoring thruster. In this type of engine, the last stage corresponding to the nozzle can be redirected by a few degrees at the request of the pilot, so the jet resulting from the combustion that also makes the fighter fly. This provides additional maneuverability essential for this type of versatile fighter.

The Su-35 uses a pair of Saturn thrusters that give it the ability to reach supersonic speed. According to available official information, The plane is capable of reaching 2,400 kilometers per hour at high altitude and 1,400 at sea level. This also gives it a combat range of 1,600 kilometers and a maximum flight altitude of 18,000 meters.

The Russian aircraft is 21.9 meters long, 15.3 meters wide and 5.9 meters high. And reach a maximum weight of 34,500 kilograms at takeoff. Some dimensions similar to aircraft of its generation.

Additionally, the Su-35 uses an Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array radar that can detect and track up to 30 air targets at once and attack up to 8. All this with a range of up to 400 kilometers, according to the most optimistic Russian sources, and up to 350 kilometers, which are less optimistic.

As for weapons, the basic ammunition box is composed of a 30 millimeter cannon with 150 rounds and a total of 12 attachment points -one on each wingtip and 10 more under the wings and fuselage. It can accommodate rockets, air-to-air, air-to-ground, anti-ship and even anti-radiation missiles; each of these categories with several models of different range and performance.

In the SU-35S variant now delivered to the Russian Air Force, the S stands for Stroyevoy (“fighter”) and in NATO it is known as the Flanker-M. This is the latest version of the fighter, production of which began in 2009. It includes an information management system integrated into the on-board subsystems and a new phased array radar system with long-range air target detection.