The Su-57, Russia’s most advanced fighter, is shown with holes in the fuselage and incorrectly installed screws.

Spain follows closely the constant disasters Putin faces in its offensive against Ukraine. Days after its premiere, Zelensky destroyed one of his new armored vehicles and, following an embarrassing episode of friendly fire, Ukraine recovered the remains of an S-70 combat drone. From now on, Internet users and observers of China They heavily attack their Su-57 Felon fighter.

Between Tuesday November 12 and Sunday November 17 will take place the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China 2024. An international aviation and aerospace vehicle exhibition usually held in Zhuhai City, Guangdong, China. For the first time, the Su-57 Felon was exhibited there, and it didn’t go very well.

As he tells it Defense Blog, Many Chinese observers, as well as local Chinese fans and netizens, admired this fighter’s final finish, ridiculing him in every way imaginable. Particularly at the construction level, one of the most critical points of the aircraft, in the eyes of these users.

The Su-57 is doing very badly

Last Monday, Russia sent the Su-57 to Zhuhai, along with a second stealth fighter on an An-124 cargo plane. While one will remain on the ground for static display to visitors, the second will perform some flight demonstrations during the event. The participants who attended the model, open to all, They had no mercy.

The videos and photos that expose these issues focus primarily on in the construction defects that the plane presents externally. For example, we can see numerous sets of bolts securing the aircraft fuselage arranged in poorly distributed sections. Additionally, some have pointed out the erroneous layout of the fuselage panels themselves, as well as the lack of consistency in the apparent assembly process.

Poorly assembled sections, multiple groups of bolts and a long etcetera are presented in the unit on display at the China Airshow. Some media observers, such as those sent by Defense Express, They managed to detect bolts coming from different heads. Hex, cross and straight head bolts could be detected.

This is how the Ukrainian magazine defines it. “The coupling of the wings of the internal weapons compartment with other elements of the fuselage speaks directly to the real technological level of aircraft construction in the Russian Federation and production culture”. Of course, it should be clarified that the exhibition model This is a prototype model, and does not belong to the final production line of the Su-57.

The most advanced Russian fighter

After the fall of the Soviet Union and the economic and political crisis, Russia found itself largely surpassed in military aviation technology by the United States. In the 90s of the last century, the Americans were already cooking up the F-22 Raptor fighter as the first fifth-generation platform integrating these characteristics into an aircraft. stealth flight capability.

Thanks to this technology – called in English as stealth— the US Air Force could fly over controlled airspace without being detected and monitored by enemy radars. Added to all this is the generational leap towards a fighter with a very high electronic and technological component, very far from the rest of Russian aviation, at the time almost entirely of Soviet heritage.

This need being well identified, the Russian Ministry of Defense launched a competition in 1999 allowing different public companies to compete and propose their designs. Sukhoi defeats Mikoyan —the country’s other major aerospace company—in 2002 and began work on the project.

Designing a plane from scratch was going to take time that the Russian military could not afford. decided to reuse certain technologies and systems other projects. For example, the entire propulsion complex and avionics of the Su-57 come from the Su-35 fighter, which itself is an improved version of the veteran Su-27.

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

Three years later, the number of devices available is very limited, around 20 units are capable of flying according to the latest reports. The stunted fleet combined with a lack of confidence from military commanders to deploy them to the battlefield, resulting in one of the largest absences since the invasion of Ukraine began.

The technological plan of the ship poses a big puzzle and many unknowns still remain to be resolved. “The Russians They haven’t made much progress in terms of producing this plane“Mike Dahm, a former US Navy intelligence officer, said Business Insider last October.

“They are still troubleshooting this aircraft and making substantial modifications to it.” One of motors are more importantin which Russia is already striving to have less signature on radar and achieve full stealth flight capability.

In terms of specifications, the Sukhoi Su-57 has a maximum takeoff weight of 35,000 kilograms and will have a pair of engines with thrust vectoring (capable of directing the gas outlet) of 107.9 kN. 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 “mode” supersonic.

cruise missile

The factor that triggered the first suspicions about the use of the Su-57 was the discovery of remains of the Kh-69 missile. Especially, They would have launched a total of 3 units against Ukrainian positions and the remains of the fuselage found in the impact zone confirm its use, according to The war zone.

The first time the Kh-69 was demonstrated to the public was in August 2022 at the International Army Fair. “It is designed to attack a wide range of stationary ground targets with coordinates known before launch”, according to what was collected at the time by the Russian agency Tass. A description that corresponds to critical infrastructure or buildings that would be greatly affected by its explosive charge.

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

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