Vladimir Putin has called the Su-57 fighter jet “the best in the world”, and it is marketed by Russia as its answer to the American F-35s, the jet the UK has been buying. As such, it is all the more embarrassing that a new Su-57 prototype appears to have crashed last week, raising questions about Russia’s ability to keep up with the latest military technologies.
The Su-57 “Felon” is a fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter. The original single-seat version has been in service since 2020 and the new two-seat version, the Su-57D, is meant to be an aircraft fit for the coming age of “wingman drone” warfare.
With space for a weapons system officer, the plane will be able to control its own Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik (“Hunter”) heavy attack drones.
Denis Manturov, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, who has overall responsibility for the defence-industrial sector, announced the start of the prototype’s flight tests in May.
But last week, a jet crashed in the Moscow region, right after taking off from the Kubinka airbase on a training flight. The pilot ejected safely, and while the Russian defence ministry has been coy, the Russian press has identified it as a Su-57D.
Ukrainian sources have claimed that hackers managed to spoof a Russian air defence unit into shooting down their own plane. This is both unconfirmed and implausible. The units in question are essentially armed and trained to shoot down low and slow-flying drones. The weapons they are issued with all require visual targeting.
The claims do, however, reflect the way modern social media turbocharges the rumour mill – even some Russian channels began repeating them – as well as Kyiv’s continuing campaign to spread disillusion and confusion behind Russia’s lines.
A Sukhoi Su-57 performs during a Victory Day parade in Moscow (Photo: Sefa Karacan/Getty)What is more likely is a technical malfunction, as officially reported. In some ways, though, this is even worse for Moscow than enemy action, given the hopes it has pinned on its new-generation aircraft, both as combat assets and sources of export funding.
Like so many modern combat aircraft, the development of the Su-57 went over budget and over schedule, with each costing up to £90bn.
The very first jet off the production line crashed during a test flight in 2019, due to issues with its advanced integrated control system. Meanwhile, the initial order was scaled back to 76 Su-57s being put into service by 2028. Russia currently fields fewer than 50.
Nor have the hoped-for export orders materialised. Algeria currently has two Su-57E export models and plans to eventually buy another ten, to make up a full squadron. But Moscow’s hopes for a major sale to India remain stalled and although Rostec, the plane manufacturer’s parent company, has claimed that several other countries plan to buy Su-57s, no further sales have been announced.
The problem is that while Russia continues to make advances in many areas of military technology – from stealthing its submarines to electronic warfare – these days its ambitions tend to outrun its capabilities.
Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inspect a Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet outside Moscow (Photo: Maxim Shipenkov/AFP)The Su-57 is a highly capable aircraft, but it is not so much a genuine, top-of-the-line fifth-generation jet as a “four-and-a-half” generation one.
It is bigger and faster, but the “stealthy” Su-57 is much more visible to enemy radars than the F-35, and it also lacks the US aircraft’s ability to network with other units, allowing the rapid sharing of information.
This was something the Su-57D was meant to provide.
Of course, sometimes even the best aircraft crash. Nonetheless, there is a serious risk that this latest incident catalyses growing concerns on the international stage about turning to Russia for advanced military systems.
There is a reason why Russia is losing market share. Sanctions have cut it off from supplies of many high-tech components and the performance of its Aerospace Forces in Ukraine has been underwhelming to say the least.
Lessons from the Su-57D were meant to be factored into the new Su-75 “Checkmate,” a smaller stealth fighter originally due to have its maiden flight in 2023. This became 2024, then 2025 – and the world is still waiting to see if this design will ever get to fly.
Russia’s arms sales are equally grounded. While it can churn out simpler systems, its share of the global arms market has slumped by 64 per cent over the last five years, as so many of its newer or planned systems have either underperformed in the field or never materialised.
Its much-vaunted T-14 Armata tank, for example, has only appeared in parades.
The likely loss of a Su-57D last week, in such a public way, will only have further damaged Russia’s military reputation.
The Kremlin had hoped that arms sales would support further research and development, to help it keep up with the latest military technologies. Putin was also looking for revenue for the cash-strapped federal budget.
As is, these hopes appear to be crashing, along with the Su-57D prototype.
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