Russia bets on maneuverability: Su-57 defies stealth trends US media reports

The Su-57, Russia’s fifth-generation fighter, emphasizes agility and close-range combat over stealth, making it most effective when operating over friendly airspace in a defensive role. While Western analysts often highlight its limitations—particularly its modest stealth capabilities and limited production numbers—the aircraft offers a window into Russian design priorities and their envisioned approach to future air warfare, The Nationaal Interest reports.

Introduced into limited service in 2020, the Su-57 is estimated to have around 30–40 airframes built.

The Su-57 embodies a distinctly Russian approach: prioritizing kinematic performance and maneuverability, even at the expense of radar signature. Its design favors domination of maneuvering space rather than invisibility. To achieve this, the aircraft features a large blended wing-body configuration, with broad lifting surfaces for high lift at low and medium speeds, and a wide fuselage for fuel volume, weapons carriage, and stability at high angles of attack.

The fighter’s control surfaces—including all-moving horizontal stabilizers, large vertical tails, and extensive flaperons—emphasize agility first. Redundancy in these systems enhances survivability and control at extreme attitudes, enabling rapid pitch and yaw changes. Swept trapezoidal wings with large surface area allow controlled flight at angles of attack that would stall conventional fighters, improving close-range maneuvering and recovery.

Thrust-vectoring nozzles further augment the Su-57’s maneuverability, providing directional control beyond conventional aerodynamic limits. Most effective at low speeds and high angles of attack, these nozzles underscore Russia’s belief in post-stall combat capability. While early Su-57s rely on intermediate engines, future variants are expected to incorporate higher-thrust powerplants, supporting rapid acceleration and vertical maneuvers.

By design, the Su-57 is aerodynamically unstable, a trait shared with the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-117 Nighthawk. Advanced flight-control computers are required to manage this instability, but it enhances responsiveness and reflects confidence in both digital systems and pilot skill.

The aircraft’s aerodynamic design suggests a primary focus on within-visual-range (WVR) engagements. According to analysts, “the Su-57 appears optimized for WVR engagements; its aerodynamic design strongly favors nose-pointing authority, high-alpha missile cuing, and the ability to force overshoots.” This aligns with Russian doctrine emphasizing close-in engagements and off-boresight missile employment.

Consequently, the Su-57 is likely to operate as an air dominance fighter over friendly territory and as a high-performance interceptor. Its design supports rapid response and defensive counter-air missions, with less emphasis on deep-strike penetration. Analysts note that “the Su-57’s aerodynamics reflect skepticism about stealth performance, and an enduring faith in maneuverability as a hedge against detection.”

Despite its agility, the Su-57 is constrained by sensor and networking limitations, which reduce its effectiveness in beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat. Aerodynamic performance cannot compensate for these gaps, leaving the aircraft potentially vulnerable against well-equipped fifth-generation adversaries. Western air combat trends continue to prioritize stealth and BVR capability, contrasting with the Su-57’s maneuverability-first philosophy.

In sum, the Su-57 Felon showcases a distinctly Russian vision of air combat: high agility, energy recovery, and post-stall dominance over stealth and long-range strike, reflecting both the strengths and limitations of Russia’s fifth-generation fighter approach.

By Vafa Guliyeva