The Sukhoi Su-57 Felon has taken part in the Ukraine conflict, but it was also used in Syria to detect the F-35.
Russia Used Felons To Attack Ukraine
On Tuesday, October 18, General Serhiy Surovikin, commander of Ukraine's united group of forces, issued a statement and confirmed this, reported Bulgarian Military.
The commander asserted that every time the Su-57 took off and was engaged in armed conflict in Ukraine, it struck air and ground targets, per Air Force Technology.
He stated that the fifth-generation planes perform numerous functions and are armed with various armaments. The media reported in June that the stealth fighter was gathering intelligence from the battlefield.
As said by Vladimir Gutenev, a member of the Russian Duma's expert council, the Su-57 was already used in Syria. There were four fighter jets deployed in Syria in 2018.
Russia had just four prototypes at one point, although the first mass-produced Su-57 had been prepared at the end of last year.
Gutenev emphasized that in Syria, the Russian Air Force and Space Force employed Felons to detect American stealth fighters in the same area of operations.
He added that even with the claim that the war in Ukraine has provided a fresh outlook on the functionality of the Su-57, which had never been evaluated in Syria.
Russian specialists say that Moscow is using its Sukhoi Su-57 Felon with prudence because it does not yet have comprehensive experience and expertise compared to the F-35.
For this reason, analysts believe that Surovikin has been talking solely about remote attacks, information gathering, and tactical documentation on the channel.
Russian Fighter Encounters Ukrainian Air Force
The general stated that the 5th generation fighter had fired its air-to-air missiles. It could have made its first kill, but it has not been confirmed if it was done by another Russian aircraft, such as the Su-35 or Su-34.
The lack of evidence that the Felon made the aerial kill stems from several reasons, like no signals, proof, or contact data that the Russian stealth fighter was active when the UAF fighter jet got shot down.
The Russian stealth fighter is armed with various air-to-air weapons to attack or defend itself. Types of air-to-air missiles include the R-37M and K-77M, with two more shorter-ranged missiles for closer engagements. They are the R-74M2 and K-MD; the R-74MD is an update of the older R-74, noted Eurasian Times.
New Additions to the Felon Fleet
In 2022, by August's end, approximately four more units were added to the present number. Yuru Slyusar, executive director of United Aircraft Corporation, told TASS this.
It stated that four units of the 5th generation stealth fighters had already been built with a contract provided by the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
The loss of supplies of Western technology, that is mainly microchips, is having its repercussions, although it has evidently not stalled the manufacturing of the Russian model.
BulgarianMilitary.com revealed just one week ago, at the end of August, that Moscow is building new manufacturing facilities for the total production of its Felon. It is said to be different from the F-35, but the Sukhoi Su-57 Felon has to be tested to know its limits.
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