Su-57 in China: checkmate, but not in three moves
In general, the overall impression is that something inside Rosoboronexport has changed, and for the better. After a series of toothless exhibitions and the loss of a huge number of clients (not least because of sanctions, of course), apparently a Rubicon or red line has been reached, beyond which everything is bad.
That is why participation in the Airshow China 2024 impressed everyone. Both our own and others. The impression itself was that Russia and China were playing a game of either chess or Go. Perhaps everyone was playing their own game in their own game, but the result is what matters here.
Looking ahead, it is worth saying that there is a result in the form of the first contract, but there is still much that is unclear. The Chinese reported that the contract was signed, which raises the question of why they need the Su-57 when they have their own fifth-generation aircraft, the J-20 and J-35? The answer may be lower, but it is still an assumption, since everyone is still silent about the essence of the contract.
We have already paid attention to the performance of the Su-57 at the opening of Airshow China-2024, which impressed everyone and left few indifferent.
Of course, we have already written about what went up on the other side and how much bile was poured onto the plane, the main thing is that no one was poisoned there. Because the essence of the claims turned out to be not only insignificant, it was more amusing.
The fact that everyone and their dog has been telling the world about how poor the Russian aviation industry is, that it is unable to screw in bolts with identical heads, was of course partly right. If you look at how the Americans organize presentations, then here, of course, it is a top-class show. And everything is slicked and polished, polished and varnished. But this does not change the essence much, and how can one not recall the aviation deception that the Americans arranged for their British allies in 1942. Yes, that was when the British were completely stunned by the flight characteristics of the P-39 Airacobra fighter, which flew 100 km/h slower than exactly this exhibition prototype.
Well, this one history Almost everyone here knows, and they also know how it ended.
And here the behavior of the Russian delegation, which plopped down on the site in Zhuhai as a static sample a prototype that is 12 years old and which was driven hard, is twofold. Well, and the plane that was flying there was no less veteran.
Well, our normal planes are busy with something. And exactly what they are made for. And you can entertain the public and show off your daring spirit on something like this...
Although in one of his interviews our test pilot Sergei Leonidovich Bogdan, who fed the Chinese audience with adrenaline to the brim during his performances, said that if necessary he would lift this static specimen into the air, given time to prepare the aircraft.
After Bogdan's speeches, everyone believed.
Yes, the Russians abandoned their usual behavior at such exhibitions and brought working copies as is. The West did not appreciate it, or rather, they appreciated it in their own way. They shit on it. But the East, it seems, liked this play, and they started thinking.
Yes, at any exhibition the F-35 looked like a candy from the future, but why today more and more F-35s remain on the ground? And the media of those countries that have splashed out hefty sums to acquire this "miracle aircraft" are already starting to write about this.
So, frankly speaking, this not-new specimen, as it were, “with mileage”, which performed miracles in the Chinese sky, was liked by everyone. And there was a reason. Yes, there are few planes in the world capable of such tricks as the Su-57 performed under the control of one of the best Russian pilots. And, by the way, these are mostly Russian planes, we hold super-maneuverability in high esteem, because we understand how to use it in combat. And there, these guys, they only want stealth and give it to them. But dismantling these principles is a separate topic.
As a first sub-summary, the speech of Hero of Russia Sergey Leonidovich Bogdan and the Su-57 left no one indifferent. And I am sure that many potential buyers have put "ticks" if not in their notebooks, then in their brains. Vice-President of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) Mikhail Babich said in an interview that there is a certain number of interested countries, including those waiting for the two-seater version of the aircraft. Well, you and I know very well what kind of countries these are that prefer two-seater versions of aircraft.
Considering that the opponents of some countries have already stocked up on Chinese FC-31/J-35, the two-seat Su-57 is a really good way out of the situation.
The first move was good. It was original to the extreme, they would have definitely booed it somewhere in Le Bourget, but in China everyone liked it.
Move two - here it smells like a knockdown. An air show is, of course, good, it charges with confidence and optimism those who have to spend billions to buy what is tumbling in the sky. And the longer and better the device tumbles there, the greater the chance that these billions will change owners.
But that's exactly why shows like this are held, isn't it?
So, the second move was the Russian UEC bringing the AL-2024F51 engine to Airshow China 1. That same long-awaited “Product 30”, which would finally turn the Su-57 into that same fifth-generation aircraft desired by buyers.
Yes, there was a lot of gossip abroad for a long time about the fact that “Product 30” will not appear before 2030 and will not be of interest to anyone.
And here is where the fattest part comes out. Russian engines are of interest to many, including buyers like China and India. Especially to China, whose latest aircraft are more than interesting and promising machines, but they are frankly slowed down by engines that are an order of magnitude behind the world ones.
And now it’s no longer “Product 30”, but AL-51F1 – we ask you to love and favor it.
UEC representatives claim that this is not an exhibition model, but a regular production model, which is currently being installed on production Su-57s. Yes, they seem to hint that aircraft with such engines will appear in the near future, and so draw your own... conclusions, gentlemen.
In general, lying at such a level is not accepted in the world, and companies that deceive customers in such a way survive for a long time only in the USA.
But in our case, the prospect of the "aircraft + engine" combination is starting to become very, very attractive. Especially for those who couldn't make it to the fifth generation, because not only is it a Russian aircraft, and the Sukhoi company needs no introduction, but it also has a Russian engine. And this is already the next scenario.
Today, the world of engines has its own icon, to which some frankly prefer to pray and do so, no matter what. It is clear that we are talking about the Pratt & Whitney F135, which is actually the main competitor for the AL-51F1.
Not long ago, a certain part of our readers made a move against some of the authors of the Review, reproaching them for being outright “Urish” and belittling the capabilities of American aircraft. It would, of course, be very good to also give examples of these capabilities, because so far all that the F-22 and F-35 have been able to demonstrate is throwing bombs from a safe distance and missiles against area targets like "city". Oh yeah, and they knocked down the bubble. With a missile. These are really great achievements.
But we are talking about engines. Pratt & Whitney F135 is a slightly modernized Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engine from F-22 for the aircraft. The maximum thrust of the Raptor engine is 15 kgf, the afterburner is in the vertical plane, but the main thing is that the non-afterburning thrust of 800 kgf allowed the Raptor to fly without afterburner at supersonic speeds. On two engines.
What about the F-35? It has one engine (we are talking, of course, about the A and C modifications, without the vertical takeoff and landing function), that, despite its very impressive characteristics (maximum thrust of 19 kgf and non-afterburning 500 kgf), you can forget about supersonic cruising flight. Yes, the Americans put a good face on a bad game, they say, supersonic flight completely ruins stealth and, in general, the F-13 can fly supersonic without afterburner. But not for long, about 000 km. And under certain conditions.
Well, actually, even a KrAZ can accelerate to 200 km/h. If you launch it down from Mount Ararat. But we are talking about serious things…
The Su-57 with two AL-51F1 will look much more interesting than the F-35. Yes, we don't have the stealth that the West is crazy about, so the Su-57 doesn't have that headache, but it does have engines that allow for supercruise and super maneuverability, because anyone who has seen how the nozzles with UVT on our aircraft work will understand what we're talking about. Yes, the F-22's vertical UVT is not bad, but the all-aspect UVT on our aircraft is definitely better.
In addition, there is such an interesting thing as resource. I hope no one will argue that Russian engines have always been at the top in this regard. And if anyone doubts it, look at how many MiG-21s have been flying in the world and when the last R-11-300 engine was manufactured. Get a strong charge of pride.
But the Americans have a sad situation with the service life. The declared 4000 hours turned out to be... not quite an accurate figure. Well, that is, 4000 hours is theoretical and ideal. But in reality - 2000 hours, and some of them will have to be spent on cooling the engine. And that is why many countries that bought the F-35 are grumbling that everything did not go as they wanted for that kind of money, and the planes are really standing idle, because the service life is such a thing... Today it is there, tomorrow it is gone, and the day after tomorrow it is necessary to fight. So-so situation.
But the Bundeswehr is really crossing themselves because they didn't buy the F-35, preferring their own Typhoons. They were lucky.
In general, we will have a full comparison ahead, but for now we can draw this conclusion: if you need a platform with questionable flight qualities, but stuffed with sensors, computers, interaction subsystems, seemingly capable of approaching the enemy almost unnoticed - yes, for F-35 fans this is a paradise.
If you need an aircraft that most accurately meets the formula "find, catch up, kill", then the Su-57 will definitely be more interesting. Plus super maneuverability as a bonus.
No, I won't argue, stealth is a very useful quality, but there is no such thing as absolute stealth. We've talked about this, even in the language of physics. And, frankly speaking, being in the cockpit of a stealthy but detected F-35, which has no physical chance of escaping from the faster Su-57 - yes, it's not much fun. Especially considering the difference in speed with afterburner of almost 700 km/h.
And if we add to this the longer-range Russian missiles and radars, which, if inferior in capabilities to the American ones, are not critical, then India and China have something to think about.
In general, the fashion for so-called low visibility will soon gradually fade away. It is already clear and understandable today that radars, which are becoming increasingly long-range and selective, will sooner or later win this war. Just as armor lost to weapons on the ground, so in the air, a greater range of detection and destruction will soon be more important. And low visibility will remain a sort of ordinary option. On the same level as a helmet-mounted sight, a tactical picture that changes depending on the pilot's head turn, a radar that sees at 300 km, and missiles flying at 250 km. "Oh, by the way, our plane is also low visibility" - a good addition.
The American dream of a flying platform stuffed with various sensors and cutting-edge computers has, one might say, come true. The price is just... like on steroids. Yes, having come up with a new direction, the Americans have practically paid for it, selling a very decent number of F-35s to those who wanted them, and practically condemning the European aircraft industry. Well done, but here, yes, it's business and nothing personal.
And everyone who started working on new generation aircraft (European Union, Russia, China, India and so on), except Russia, all ran into this low visibility. That is, if it is not "stealth" - it is not an aircraft at all.
But now a high-tech war has begun. Not coercion to peace through the destruction of militants armed with small arms weapons, namely, that a military conflict in which the most modern weapons are used on both sides. And here is the result: the Su-35, which is not at all "stealth", armed with modern anti-radar missiles, has become a nightmare for all radars in Ukraine. Yes, over time, when the tactics of using air defense systems by the Ukrainian side changed, it became more difficult to operate, but the losses were never critical.
And yes, the Su-57 was not put on the same level as the US stealth fighters. No one here made a secret of the fact that, yes, in terms of the shapes and materials used in the design, the Su-57 has a certain degree of stealth. But the main emphasis is still on the aircraft's flight and maneuverability.
Not conceptual? But should we blindly follow the concepts developed in the US? They already have a very conceptual F-22 aircraft, which the Air Force has been feverishly trying to get rid of for some reason, and for more than a year. There is a conceptual stealth ship, the Zumwalt, with which things are not going so smoothly either. There are conceptual littorals, the Freedom and the Independence, which are slowly being cut up and scrapped. There is a very conceptual submarine, the Seawolf…
There is only one concept here: you need to roll out something “that has no analogues in the world”, scare everyone and then sell it to everyone. And this has been done in the US for a long time, starting with the not-so-mentioned F-104. It just doesn’t work with everything. We also built all this “unprecedented”, and so what? The cheapest Drone with 5-10 kg of warhead knocked all these expensive toys like the same "Terminator" off the table. It's sad, of course, when a combat vehicle that should protect Tanks, turned out to be useless and completely defenseless against new types of weapons.
But Russia and China (and it's good that we agree here) have a slightly different concept. We are not starting from sales, but from the need to have very good weapons for ourselves first of all, since, as practice shows, there are those who want to check their quality component. And this especially concerns China, although in light of recent events, Iran is also in full swing in this queue.
And everyone needs not just good ones, but combat aircraft. That is, capable of not only being present at exhibitions and destroying cities from afar, but also performing real combat missions in the air, while not forgetting targets on the ground and water.
Of course, the option of being able to perform inimitable aerobatics may not be very useful in a real modern battle, I won’t judge, but it does give the aircraft marketing appeal and makes a potential buyer want to move into the category of non-potentials, that is, part with their money.
Which is actually what happened in Zhuhai.
"The Su-57 performs aerobatics with incredible ease. It is made for the sky."
This was said about our plane in such an interesting newspaper as Global Times. The English-language version of Huanqiu Shibao, which comes out Monday through Friday with a circulation of one and a half million copies. Per day. And Huanqiu Shibao, despite its ultra-right orientation, is nothing more than a structural division of Renmin Ribao. There is no need to continue further, everything is clear, isn't it?
Well, this same newspaper published this photo: a group of senior officials from the PLA Capital District Air Force studying the cockpit of a Su-57.
And here it must be emphasized that this visit of so many generals was not agreed upon and planned in advance. You see, this is China, you can't just go and have a look with a crowd of generals. It would be a loss of face, which, in general and in general, is unacceptable.
But after the first demonstration flight, the generals decided that the Su-57 was worth it. And they paid a not quite (or rather, not at all) planned visit. So to speak, without ties. It is clear that our side fully understood the desire to get to know the Su-57 better. They visited the plane that was a static exhibit (tail number 057), and it was then that Sergey Bogdan said that this plane would fly, too, if necessary.
Du Wenlong, Senior Colonel, Director of the Weapons Research Center of the PLA Military Academy and one of the respected weapons experts in the PLA:
"It is obvious that today, among serial "stealth" aircraft, the Su-57 has perhaps the best flight skills and characteristics. The aircraft takes only six seconds to take off, and it can immediately begin to fight. We know that the Su-57 is successfully used and has good results. I perfectly understand our generals from the PLAAF Beijing District Air Group, who looked at the aircraft as if it were an unidentified flying object. For other criteria, there are official characteristics from the Russians, and if they are even slightly close to reality, then they have something to be proud of."
There, in the Global Times, from Sun Zhongping:
"Russia's Su-57 captivates Airshow China 2024. Su-57 is a great fighter jet with very rich real combat experience, so its appearance at the air show also gives China a great opportunity to learn and exchange experiences with the Russians. Su-57 and China's J-20 and J-35 have their own characteristics and unique advantages, and through communication, the two countries can cooperate well and promote the development of this field. There is no shame in learning. The Russians have created a great machine and are willing to cooperate."
In general, Sun Zhongping is not an expert on aviation, but he is one of the leading Chinese experts of military and political persuasion, including on television. His opinion is listened to by real millions of Chinese, and he does not hide his orientation towards Russia as China's closest ally.
And so we have, on the one hand, the heart-rending cries of Forbes, which reprinted some Ukrainian hysterics, and other Western publications, speaking of the Su-57 as an aircraft far from ideal, based on some completely incomprehensible bloggers who did not like the screws instead of rivets. And on the other hand, the frankly enthusiastic responses of the Chinese and the thoughtful mooing of the Indians, who withdrew from the FGFA project.
But the Russians are forgiving, so I am sure India has a chance.
In general, absolutely no one expected the West to bow and praise the Su-57. It is clear that they have their own fetish, the F-35. No problem, we do not impose our point of view on anyone, but we are not interested in the Western biased one either.
But: Russian, Soviet, Russian weapons, including aviation, have always been at the world level. From the Ilya Muromets and Lebed through the I-16, Yak-9 and La-7 to the MiG-17 and MiG-21, MiG-31, Su-27, Su-30, Su-35, Su-57. We have always been able to build excellent aircraft. It is as if it is stitched into the genotype of the followers of the great Sikorsky, Tupolev, Polikarpov.
You know, living in a strange place where planes fly on one route "Russia - Ukraine" and, characteristically, return, I can say only one thing: our planes can be criticized as much as you like, especially by those who have F-22 and F-35 registered in their brains. But historically, as they say, now, forever and ever, Russian planes have been, are and will be combat machines capable of performing any combat missions. And no worse than their ancestors.
For every Messerschmitt-109 there was an I-16 or Yak-9.
For every Focke-Wulf 190 there was its own La-5.
For every F-4 Phantom there was a MiG-21.
I would very much like to write that for every F-16 there is a Su-35, but, alas, they are in no hurry to deploy their fighters against ours. Perhaps, knowing the result in advance.
In Zhuhai, our guys really played a beautiful chess game, showing everything they wanted to show. Let those who want to buy our planes or those who will oppose them draw their conclusions (even if they are not obscene). I wish good luck to both, and not because it is customary, but because I believe that our planes are really good.
Information