Click to see full-size image. (UAC)
Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a part of the state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, released on May 19 the first official video footage of the Sukhoi Su-57D, the twin-seat variant of the fifth-generation fighter jet.
The corporation confirmed that tests of the Su-57D have begun, and the footage released showed the fighter jet making its first flight. The Russian Telegram channel FighterBomber was the first to report on this and leak a photo of the fighter jet three days earlier, although it didn’t provide much details at the time.
The first test flight was carried out by Sergei Bogdan, a Hero of Russia and test pilot. The flight proceeded “normally in accordance with the flight mission requirements,” Rostec said in a statement.
In the same statement, Denis Manturov, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of Russia, revealed that in addition to unique combat characteristics, the Su-57D will also have “the functionality of a combat-training aircraft and the capabilities of a combat control aircraft,”
“Today, our aircraft manufacturers are ensuring unprecedented volumes of production of aircraft in demand by the military and are continuously working on the development of modern aviation complexes. The two-seater version of the Su-57 created by the specialists of the Sukhoi Design Bureau can be used not only for pilot training, but also for organizing and managing combat operations of a combined group of manned and unmanned aircraft with the formation of a single information-control space,” Rostec elaborated.
The cockpit of the Su-57D is similar in design to the Su-30, although the height difference between the two seats is more prominent.
Another notable difference was the absence of many of the sensors found on production Su-57, although this is normal for a first prototype.
UAC manufactures the Su-57 at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant in Khabarovsk Krai in Russia’s far east. The fighter jet is capable of aerial combat as well as ground and maritime strike. It incorporates stealth, supermaneuverability, supercruise, integrated avionics and large payload capacity. It can deliver a variety of advanced long-range weapons.
In addition to all of these capabilities, the Su-57D will likely feature special systems for training, communications, command and control.
The Su-57D will be a major addition to the Russian Aerospace Forces, which is already operating dozens of Su-57. It will, however, take a while for the fighter jet to enter production.
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