Russian Su-57 criminal just ‘broke out of hiding’ armed with dangerous cruise missiles

What you need to know: Recent footage shows a Russian Su-57 Felon stealth fighter operating near the front lines of the Russian-Ukrainian war with two Kh-59M2 cruise missiles mounted externally. This is unusual because externally carrying weapons compromises the aircraft’s stealth by increasing its radar effectiveness.

– Analysts such as Steve Brown suggest this could indicate a shortage of more expensive domestically launched missiles or that Russia believes it has achieved air superiority, reducing the need for stealth.

– Working with external weapons increases the risk of detection, which is significant given the limited number of Su-57s produced by Russia due to sanctions and production problems.

Su-57 Criminal looks very dangerous

New footage published online last week shows the Su-57 Felon operating two Kh-59M2 externally mounted cruise missiles. Su-57 flying near front line during the Russian-Ukrainian war, caused confusion due to the external placement of missiles. Typically, fifth-generation stealth aircraft carry weapons internally to reduce the aircraft’s radar cross-section (RCC).

“Positioning missiles on external weapons pylons compromises the aircraft’s radar reflectivity and therefore its ability to operate in a high-threat environment,” Steve Brown. reported.

Why external pylons on the Su-57?

What’s especially strange about the Su-57 operating with external weapons is that the Su-57 does not have to operate with external weapons; The Su-57 has two internal compartments that house a modified version of the Kh-59 cruise missile. A modified version of the KH-59 was adapted to fit in an internal weapons bay, resulting in a smaller size, shorter maximum range, and a weaker warhead.

“It may be that Russian forces simply lack internal, much more expensive missiles, but still want to deploy the Felon, which has external hardpoints,” Brown said.

Or perhaps Ukraine’s air defense systems have been compromised to the point that stealth capabilities are no longer necessary for successful operations in theater. Russia may have achieved something like air superiority, at least to the extent that its non-stealth fighters can survive thanks to a significant reduction in the presence of Ukrainian radars, fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). .

If air superiority is achieved, the logical choice would be to use the larger and more powerful (non-internal) Kh-59M2.

Or “it could simply be a choice to combine cheaper weapons with higher lethality,” Brown wrote.

However, regardless of the reasoning, the use Su-57 with external missiles carries an increased degree of risk; the likelihood of detecting an aircraft increases. And given the problems Russia has faced in producing the Su-57, any increase in risk for an individual airframe is significant; To date, the Russians have managed to build only thirty-two fifth-generation fighters.

For an aircraft that first flew fourteen years ago, this is a record glacier production rate. And production rates are not improving; West sanctions complicated Russia’s ability to build more Su-57s.

However, Russia managed to circumvent some sanctions. Russia recently “acquired workstation equipment to assist in the calibration and laboratory testing of specialized devices such as the MPPU-50,” Boke Nikolov said. reported. In addition, the Russians allegedly purchased a German Siemens KLE 360 CNC machine, a tool used for precision manufacturing.

So perhaps Russia’s efforts to continue to produce The Su-57 continues to be successful despite sanctions, making deployment of the airframe to the front line more acceptable.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Cass is a defense and national security writer who has written a total of more than 1,000 articles on issues related to global affairs. A lawyer, pilot, guitarist and minor professional hockey player, Harrison enlisted in the United States Air Force as a trainee pilot but was discharged due to health reasons. Harrison holds a bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College, a J.D. from the University of Oregon, and a master’s degree from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

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