The discourse regarding India’s need to acquire a fifth-generation stealth fighter to deter China and Pakistan is gaining traction again. Russian media, for one, has gone all out in promoting the Su-57 as the most suitable option for the Indian Air Force (IAF) over the U.S. F-35 stealth fighters.
India is developing its own fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). However, the first airframe will not roll out of production before the mid-2030s, by which time China could have inducted about 1,000 J-20 Mighty Dragons, and Pakistan is expected to have acquired the Chinese J-35A fighters that were unveiled last month.
Currently, China, Russia, and the United States are the only three countries in the world with operational fifth-generation stealth aircraft. With the Chinese J-35 out due to India’s rivalry with China, the Russian Su-57 Felon and the American F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft are India’s only two realistic fifth-gen options.
The US has not explicitly stated that it would be open to selling the F-35 to India, partly because India uses a host of Russian-origin military equipment, including the S-400 air defense system. However, the US-based Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the F-35, presented the aircraft in Aero India 2023, sparking rumors that a sale may not be unthinkable despite prevailing US reservations.
In contrast, Russia has been marketing its Su-57 aircraft to India. It has recently renewed efforts, making the deal sweeter by lowering costs and promising local aircraft production. However, India has yet to respond to this offer despite the extensive defense collaboration between the two countries.
This has essentially pitted the two fifth-generation stealth aircraft, projected by their respective countries as the best in the world, against each other.
Russian media and military experts are going all out to promote the Su-57 as the most obvious choice for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Not unexpectedly, the Russian media is projecting the Su-57 as superior to the American F-35.
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Russian news publication Sputnik News, which claims to publish news free from Western bias, took to social media site X (formerly Twitter) to compare the two fifth-generation aircraft while making a case for the Su-57.
“Russia’s Su-57 and the US-made F-35 are often compared as top contenders among fifth-generation aircraft, but which one truly takes the cake?” it wrote on its official account. The thread has been shared extensively and has since become a talking point among netizens.
The Su-57 is a twin-engine, multi-role stealth aircraft capable of aerial combat and ground and claims maritime strike capability. It can fly at the maximum speed of Mach 2. In contrast, the F-35 is a single-seat, single-engine, multi-role stealth aircraft designed for air superiority and strike missions. It can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.6.
According to that, the Su-57 has higher speed than the F-35, but whether that could give it a distinct advantage in combat may depend on other factors, the experts argue.
For instance, the stealth of the F-35 is considered to be much superior to that of the Su-57 in terms of stealth, giving it the first-strike opportunity in aerial combat. Several Western officials and experts have cast aspersions over the Su-57’s stealth features, arguing that it has a bigger Radar Cross-Section (RCS).
Western experts have estimated the Su-57’s Radar Cross-Section (RCS) to be around 0.5 square meters, which is about the same as a typical 4th-generation aircraft and certainly more than the F-35 class fighters.
Adam Daymude, a former US Naval Aviator, noted significant design and performance shortcomings in the Su-57. While the aircraft featured advanced design elements such as twin engines and blended fuselages, their stealth capabilities were questionable.
However, it is believed that the Su-57 may have more maneuverability due to its thrust vectoring. Indian Air Force veteran and aviation analyst Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd) says: “The West acknowledges that the Su-57 is a highly maneuverable fighter like most others from the Sukhoi fighter stable. Its 360-degree thrust vectoring allows aerodynamics-defying combat maneuvers.”
Another claim that Sputnik makes is that the Su-57’s weaponry is far more varied and sophisticated, including guided aerial bombs and a variety of short–, medium–, and long-range air-to-air missiles. In contrast, the publication claims that the F-35 can only use a lesser range of bombs and air-to-air missiles.
Russia has developed various specific armaments that can be carried in internal weapon bays. The aircraft’s two main weapons bays can accommodate four beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles (R-37M), while the side bays can accommodate two short-range missiles (upgraded R-74).
Moreover, the Su-57 can carry surface-attack missiles and bombs on each station in the main bay. The Su-57 has six external hardpoints that can carry stores, including the hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, for missions that don’t need stealth.
However, this does not automatically mean that the F-35 cannot carry more lethal armament. “While the Su-57 supports a daunting suite of air-to-air and anti-ship missiles, the F-35 doesn’t lag behind its Russian counterpart. In fact, it outnumbers the Su-57 regarding unique weapons options available to both jet fighters,” writes Warrior Maven.
Moreover, the F-35 stands out as the world’s only fifth-generation aircraft that can carry nuclear weapons. Experts say the F-35’s better stealth would allow it to strike first, rendering weapons’ variety and lethality meaningless in combat.
Another claim that Sputnik makes is, “The Su-57 integrates stealth features without compromising speed or maneuverability, allowing it to excel in both combat and evasive maneuvers. Meanwhile, the F-35 is more focused on stealth for ground attack roles, but its performance in air combat is limited.”
It further states, “The F-35 was primarily designed for ground strike missions, with less emphasis on air combat. On the other hand, the Su-57 is a multi-role fighter, able to handle a wide range of operations from air superiority to strike missions, making it more versatile overall.”
However, in a previous interaction with EurAsian Times, Billie Flynn, an F-35 test pilot, described the F-35 as a “data-gathering spaceship with 8.6 million lines of software code,” which is the biggest game-changer that allows the individual pilot to make the most informed tactical decision. This, in turn, boosts the F-35’s lethality in air combat. Its complete stealth, powerful radar, sensors, and deadly EW capabilities would also allow it to break the ‘attrition’ cat-and-mouse game. “The F-35 can detect the enemy first, shoot first, turn around, and speed away,” Flynn explained.
General David Goldfein, former US Air Force Chief of Staff, once described the F-35 not as a traditional fighter but as “a computer that happens to fly.”
This cutting-edge processing technology makes many of the F-35’s missions and operations, especially precision targeting, possible. For instance, improved flight path and guidance technology and software modifications have greatly increased the performance of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles such as the AIM-120 and AIM-9X.
Sputnik’s next claim is that the Su-57 and F-35 can reach supersonic speeds when operating in supercruise mode (without afterburners). However, airframe problems limit the F-35’s supercruise, limiting the amount of time it can sustain these speeds without suffering damage.
The Su-57 still uses the Al-41F1 engines, which are also used in the Su-35S, as highlighted by Air Marshal Chopra in a previous EurAsian Times article. In contrast, the F-35 uses the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, which provides more thrust and helps in fuel efficiency, according to reports.
Moreover, the F-35 has another advantage over the Su-57, as cited by multiple Western experts over the years. The National Interest states: “The fighter is additionally equipped with sophisticated sensor fusion, which creates a single integrated image of the battlefield that enhances the situational awareness of its pilot. This 360-degree Distributed Aperture System and the incorporated long-range electro-optical targeting technology enable the jet to identify threats quickly.”
The Su-57 “Felon” has also been denigrated in Hollywood. In Top Gun 2, Tom Cruise’s character Maverick engaged in a dogfight with a Su-57 fighter jet. Onscreen, Maverick destroyed the Russian fifth-generation fighter jets and took down the two intercepting Su-57s in his pilfered F-14 Tomcats.
Moreover, the Su-57 has not been a success in the export market. Various challenges have held up the aircraft’s sale in the past few years, including a protracted war in Ukraine, production-related difficulties exacerbated by overbearing Western sanctions, and persisting doubts over the aircraft’s capability. In contrast, more than 1,000 F-35s operate worldwide.
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