Key Points and Summary – As the world’s major air powers unveil their sixth-generation fighter programs (the US F-47, Europe’s FCAS/GCAP, and China’s J-36/J-50), Russia is conspicuously absent from the race, still struggling with its fifth-generation Su-57 “Felon.”
-The Su-57 program has been plagued by production delays and technological shortfalls, particularly with its engines and radar.
-In a telling sign of Russia’s declining aerospace capabilities, India, a potential export customer for the Su-57, is reportedly demanding that the fighter be equipped with a more advanced Indian-made GaN AESA radar, as the Russian GaAs-based system is considered outdated.
-The Su-57 may be Russia’s last new fighter jet.
Russia’s Su-57 Fighter Is a Giant Problem
The entire world has seen the full range of 6th-generation fighter aircraft being produced by the nations that have built and operate enterprises with extensive aerospace industrial capacity.
In December of last year, the People’s Republic of China’s two main fighter aircraft production centers flew their new Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50 prototypes.
Prior to 2024, European consortia had announced the development of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), led by France, Germany, Spain, and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which is a three-party effort involving the UK, Italy, and Japan.
In the US this past March, Boeing was awarded the contract for the US Air Force’s 6th-generation F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter program.
There is also still a second 6th-generation fighter aircraft program being developed for the US Navy.
This design is provisionally designated as F/A-XX, which, as of this week, is officially on hold pending budget decisions and prioritization of other major US Navy programs.
Only Russia, the country famous for its innovative approaches to combat aircraft, has no entry in this race.
The sole “next-generation” aircraft proposed by Russia in recent years is the Sukhoi Su-57, which is not even a 6th-generation aircraft.
A Response to the F-22
The Su-57 has undergone a lengthy development process, progressing from design to prototype to series-manufactured aircraft over many years. It was rumored and discussed in the immediate post-2000 years. It made its first flight in 2010, and it was anticipated that India would be the first significant international partner for this program.
Orders for the aircraft are for very low numbers, and there are very few chances that it will ever enter into large-scale production.
The radar and Al-51F engines for the aircraft, which were also cost-intensive to develop, have had their delays, causing the initial batches of the Su-57 to be built with the Su-35’s AL-41F and N035 Irbis radar installed, which is a passive array (PESA) design, rather than real, 5th-generation subsystems.
India, as was the rationale, would want the Su-57, as it was a generation beyond India’s fleet of Su-30MKI aircraft, which are produced in India under license at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) production line in Nasik. But India rejected the offer to participate in the program as a partner with Moscow almost a decade ago.
Recently, India has announced a major upgrade of the Su-30MKI aircraft that would have it operating a new, current-generation Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) radar set and a complete complement of new onboard systems.
However, despite all the technological advancements above, the Su-30MK-series generation of fighter aircraft, which the Su-57 represents, is essentially a response to the 5th-generation US F-22, which first flew in the early 1990s, and the F-35 program, awarded to Lockheed Martin in the early 2000s. It lags at least a generation behind the 6th-generation designs announced in the past few months.
Another handicap that the Su-57 faces is that some of its onboard systems are early 5th-generation at best, the most prevalent of which is the NIIP N036 Byelka AESA radar.
Russia has now offered the aircraft to India again, which is designated Su-57E in its export version.
But India is demanding that another radar be offered if they are to consider acquiring the aircraft.
GaAs v. GaN AESA
The Su-57E’s standard N036 Byelka radar is an AESA, but it is based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) technology.
The radar is a capable sensor designed to track multiple targets simultaneously, with reasonable performance numbers.
However, Indian Air Force (IAF) defense experts who have examined all the aircraft’s specifications have concerns about its performance in modern combat scenarios.
The world of airborne electronic systems has changed markedly in the past 15 years, and has reached the point, they say, where “electronic warfare and long-range detection are paramount.”
GaAs-based radars, while reliable, “struggle with energy efficiency and heat tolerance, limitations that can compromise their effectiveness in high-intensity conflicts.”
India is instead proposing a Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based AESA radar to be installed in the Export Su-57, a radar developed by India’s own Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
A Russian aircraft is to be equipped with an Indian-design radar because the Russian radar is not advanced enough. How the mighty have fallen.
Long-time analysts of Russia’s once-proud aircraft industry are essentially in agreement that the Su-57 may be the last fighter developed and manufactured in Russia.
There are just no chances, they say, for a 6th-generation design to emerge from their design bureaus due to the situation inside the Russian industry.
Years of low to no state orders, a lack of state investment, and the inability to attract new, young talent have taken their toll, making the Su-57 a dead end.
Su-57: A Story in Pictures
Su-57. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Su-75 Checkmate and Su-57. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Su-57 Fighter From Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter from Russia. Image: Creative Commons.
Su-57 Felon Fighter Russian Ministry of Defense Photo
Russia PAK-FA or Su-57 Felon. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
About the Author:
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs and Director of the Asian Research Centre with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
Military Matters
Russia’s Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter Is a Waste of Rubles
Simon Gunson
December 12, 2025 at 2:40 pm
What a load of propaganda nonsense! Russia’s Mig.41 is still in development. Also the PAK DA bomber. 6th Gen is also the adoption of unmanned platforms, like CHINA’S advanced drones.
The S-70 Okhotnik is a STEALTH drone designed to hunt and kill AWACS Russian development has not stopped.
By contrast, the F22 designed in 1989 is the last US fighter. The F35 is a Chimera from a multinational committee.