Russian military officials have made a series of audacious claims about the Su-57 Felon’s capabilities—but the Kremlin has failed to put these capabilities to the test in Ukraine.

Just days after India slammed the door shut on the Russian-made Su-57 Felon fifth-generation stealth fighter, Kremlin officials have responded by once again praising the capabilities of the aircraft. The Su-57 has been repeatedly touted to potential foreign customers including India, at numerous air shows, trade exhibitions and other events in recent years. However, Algeria remains the only confirmed foreign buyer to date.

Given the failure to find any interested parties for the aircraft, Russian officials are rerunning a familiar playbook—hyping up the aircraft’s capabilities to potential buyers in the developing world.

This week, Russian Air Force Commander and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Sergey Kobylash suggested the Su-57 was a key element in achieving air superiority, Russian state media outlet TASS reported. Kobylash’s comments were made during a ceremony marking the Russian Air Force’s 114th anniversary.

“A key element for achieving air superiority is the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter, which has no serial-production analogue among modern global aircraft manufacturers,” Kobylash said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

The Su-57 Felon’s Specifications

• Year Introduced: 2020 (limited service)
• Number Built: ~30–40 (est.)
• Length: 66.9 ft (20.4 m)
• Wingspan: 46.5 ft (14.1 m)
• Weight (MTOW): ~77,000 lb (35,000 kg)
• Engines: Two Saturn AL-41F1 afterburning turbofans (interim); planned Izdeliye 30
• Top Speed: ~Mach 2.0 (~1,535 mph / ~2,470 km/h)
• Range: ~2,200 mi (3,500 km) ferry
• Service Ceiling: ~65,000 ft (19,800 m)
• Loadout: One 30mm autocannon; internal bays (AAMs, precision strike); external hardpoints; 7,500 kg (16,500 lb) payload capacity
• Aircrew: 1

If the Su-57 Is a Great Aircraft, How Can Anyone Tell?

Since launching its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine four and a half years ago, the Russian military has failed to gain air superiority over Ukraine. Several factors are at play, including resilient, mobile Ukrainian air defenses, a lack of Russian training and doctrine for complex suppression missions, and poor integration of electronic warfare and joint operations.

Russian pilots historically fly significantly fewer annual training hours than those of their Western counterparts, and that means most lack the specialized training required to systemically suppress or destroy enemy air defense (SEAD). Instead of obtaining air dominance, the airspace remains contested.

Moreover, the Su-57 has been entirely absent from the battlefield in Ukraine, probably out of a desire to avoid losing the handful of advanced aircraft Russia now possesses. Indeed, Russia has stationed its fleet in its Far East, relatively far from Ukrainian sabotage activity.

It is therefore ironic that Kobylash praises the Felon as being a “key element” in achieving air superiority when Russia has failed to do so in its ongoing conflict in Ukraine. If the Su-57 were truly so significant, why hasn’t it been employed to aid in achieving that goal?

The most obvious answer is that Russia only fields around 20 to 30 combat-ready airframes, and likely fewer, as it is unclear where its mission-capable rate stands. That has prevented mass deployment and, more importantly, a sustained tactical presence of the fifth-generation fighter.

In recent months, some prominent Russian military commentators have begun to openly question the official claims that the Su-57 is the world-leading fighter, noting that the Felon has played such a minimal role in Ukraine, even as the F-35 Lightning II has been used effectively in a SEAD role against Iran.

Russia Wasn’t Thinking Ahead When It Built the Su-57

Military analysts have repeatedly suggested that the avionics, stealth design compromises, and engine limitations have hampered the capabilities of the Su-57.

“The Su-57 reflects a distinctly Russian approach: an emphasis on kinematic performance that accepts some radar signature degradation as a tradeoff for agility. Designed to dominate maneuvering space rather than disappearing within it, the Su-57 prioritizes control authority across wide flight envelopes,” Harrison Kass previously wrote for The National Interest, adding that the Su-57’s design was really optimized for short-range combat.

In a dogfight, the Su-57 would likely best the F-35. The Sukhoi-designed air superiority aircraft has a distinct kinematic and maneuverability advantage over the Lockheed Martin multirole fighter, due to its 3D thrust vectoring, higher top speed, and superior instantaneous agility.

Yet the current military consensus notes that modern air combat doctrine is designed to prevent a dogfight from ever happening. The Su-57’s twin engines may allow it to reach higher speeds, and its blended wing-body and large control surfaces give it the advantage for close-in aerial combat, but that wouldn’t matter.

Simply put, the Su-57 would be a burning wreck, shot down by a Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) weapon long before the Felon’s pilot ever saw the F-35.

Kobylash and other Russian officials can tout the capabilities of the Su-57, but it should be evident it was designed for a type of warfare that is largely a thing of the past. Russia failed to achieve air superiority in Ukraine, and even a fleet of Su-57s likely wouldn’t change that fact.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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