Old prototype, new hype: Russia displays aging Su-57 in India

Ukrainian military observer Oleksandr Kovalenko writes on his Telegram channel that Russia’s so-called “unparalleled” fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet has arrived in India for the Aero India 2025 exhibition. 

However, instead of showcasing a cutting-edge aircraft, Moscow sent an aging prototype with the tail number 054—a test model, the T-50-4, which has been in service since 2012.

This isn’t a new production aircraft, but the same 12-year-old prototype previously sent to China. The likely reason? The poor reliability of Russia’s serially produced Su-57s.

Back in 2021, United Aircraft Corporation head Yuri Slyusar promised that Russia would deliver 12 Su-57s per year starting in 2022. In reality, only two or three are produced annually, and they don’t enter service immediately.

The Su-57 program has been plagued with failures. The first serial Su-57 crashed in 2019 due to a flight control system failure. The second, delivered in 2020, spent years in testing before entering service. Every so-called “serial” Su-57 requires extensive modifications after leaving the factory.

This explains why Russia keeps sending the same aircraft to international exhibitions—it’s the only one they can trust not to crash.

Meanwhile, every time this so-called “stealth” jet takes off to fire a Kh-69 missile at Ukraine, Ukrainian monitoring channels detect it immediately.

• Russia's defense industry does not meet all the Russian military needs on the front, forcing them to cooperate with Iran and North Korea. Meanwhile, the Russians now prioritizes drones.