SUKHOI Su-57 MILITARY
R
ussian president
Vladimir Putin was
expected to visit a
specially erected
hangar during the
opening ceremony
on the first day of this
year’s MAKS 2017
air show. In front of
the latest PAK FA
prototype, T-50-9, in Putin’s presence, the
preliminary conclusion on the first stage
of T-50 testing and a recommendation to
produce an initial batch of the fighters was
to be signed. In addition to the planned
signing, the T-50 was due to be officially
designated the Su-57. Neither event
happened. Due to lack of time Putin did
not visit the hangar. The documents on
testing and initial production were signed
two days later, and the new designation
was officially announced by the Russian Air
Force Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev
on August 11.
Choice of Su-57 as the official
designation of the T-50 PAK FA is because
it is the latest in a series of gradually
improved long-range air-superiority fighters.
The Su-27, the first in the series, appeared
in 1982 and is the backbone of the Russian
Air Force’s fighter fleet. The Su-37 was an
experimental aircraft, originally built as a
Su-27M with side number 711; it appeared
in 1994 fitted with thrust-vectoring engines.
The Su-47 Berkut was another experimental
fighter from 1997 and Sukhoi’s first attempt
at building a new-generation fighter
featuring a forward-swept wing.
Prototypes and problems
Two T-50s performed synchronised aerobatics
and a simulated aerial combat during MAKS- As in previous years, the public and
press were kept away from the aircraft.
Problems revealed in tests of the initial
prototypes have resulted in upgrades to the
airframe since the type’s last appearance at
MAKS two years ago. Initial production batches
will comprise aircraft finished to the current
standard. However, work continues to improve
the specification of the fighter, including
the installation of new engines and mission
systems.
The addition of three further T-50 flying
prototypes has increased the fleet of aircraft
in the test programme since MAKS 2015 to
eight. The sixth aircraft T-50-6-2, 056, made
its maiden flight on April 27, 2016, followed
by T-50-8, 058, on November 17, 2016, and
T-50-9, 509, on April 24, 2017. There were 30
months between the debut of the sixth aircraft,
T-50-6-2 and the preceding machine, T-50-5
(first flight on October 27, 2013). Significant
design changes were introduced in the interim,
(T-50-7 is a non-flying static test airframe).
The three newest examples differ from the
previous five aircraft by having a stronger inner
airframe structure. Part of the aircraft’s metal
skin has been replaced with composites. The
aft fuselage section (housing electronic warfare
equipment) is longer, the circumference of the
aft lower fuselage, some doors and hatches,
as well as wingtips have all been modified.
The wingspan has been increased from 14.0m
(45ft 11in) to 14.1m (46ft 3in), and the fuselage
length from 19.7m (64ft 7in) to 20.1m (66ft);
these are estimated data.
The design changes were caused by
problems that included structural cracksA new designation
has been assigned
to Russia’s first fifth-
generation fighter
developed under the
Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi
Kompleks Frontovoi
Aviatsii programme. Piotr
Butowski reports from
MAKS 2017 in Zhukovsky
Enter the
Su-57
SU-57 ESTIMATED
CHARACTERISTICS
Wingspan: 14.1m (46ft 3in) (first prototypes
14.0m, 45ft 11in)
Length: 20.1m (66ft) (first prototypes 19.7m,
64ft 7in)
Height: 4.6m (15ft 1in)
Empty weight: 18,000kg (39,683lb)
Nominal take-off weight: 25,000kg (55,116lb)
Max take-off weight: 35,000kg (77,162lb)
Max speed: Mach 2.0
Supersonic cruising speed: Mach 1.3
Max supersonic range: 810nm (1,500km)
Max range: 1,890nm (3,500km)SU-57 FINAL SENSOR SUITE CONFIGURATION
- N036 forward-looking X-band radar antenna is an oval about 900mm (35in) long and 700mm (28in)
wide; the array’s sheet comprises 1,552 transceiver modules; its reflector is tilted upwards by about 15° - N036B side-looking X-band arrays consist of 358 transceiver modules each; the lateral arrays are used
for widening the angle of search and tracking targets in azimuth up to +/-135° from the aircraft’s axis - N036L L-band arrays mounted in the wing leading edges are used for friend-or-foe identification and
for the detection of aerial targets - 101KS-V (Vozdukh/Air) infrared search and track sensor fitted in front of the pilot’s cockpit
- 101KS-U/01 (U for ultraviolet) is a side-looking ultraviolet missile approach warning sensor (MAWS);
two are mounted on the fuselage sides, just aft of the cockpit - 101KS-U/02 sensors are shaped like a house with two windows, one looking forward and the other to
the rear; one such sensor is mounted under the forward fuselage, and the other on the upper surface of
the fuselage - 101KS-O sensors, one on the fighter’s spine and another under the nose; the purpose of these
sensors remains unclear - 101KS-P (Posadka/Landing) device comprises a small imaging infrared sensor to aid low-level flying
and landing; it is fitted in the forward section of the canoe-shaped underwing missile bay - 101KS-N (Nazemnyi/Ground) is a navigation and targeting pod; typically in this class of system, the
101KS-N contains a stabilised platform with electro-optical and 3-5μm thermal imaging cameras (they
use a common optical package, including the scanning mirror and automatic tracking unit), a laser
rangefinder/target indicator and laser spot tracker - L402 ECM system has its own array in a large sting between the engine exhaust nozzles and utilises
the N036 arrays as well