The previous bad news from the origin nation of the AK regarded their lone aircraft carrier… which was basically just burning down in service at that moment.
And now they have lost one of their 5th Generation fighter aircraft. One of ten.
From Military.com
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials say a top-of-the-line fighter jet has crashed on a training mission but that its pilot bailed out safely.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation said in a statement Tuesday that the Su-57 fighter came down during a training flight near Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the country’s far east. It said the plane’s pilot safely ejected and there was no damage on the ground.
The SU-57 was the Russian answer to the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter.
The F-22 first flew in 1997 and proved an impressive, if expensive, airframe. The project was scaled back during GWOT as we found our fleet of F-15’s, F-16’s, and F/A-18’s still up to the tasks of air superiority and Close Air Support. The capabilities of the 22 were underutilized and maintenance, especially of its stealth, was expensive.
The Su-57 first flew in 2010. The aim was to give Russia, and any commercial customers, near peer capabilities to the F-22 and the now far more widely produced F-35. But there are (were) only 10 planes produced. Now there are 9.
Signed contracts say the Russians should have 76 fighters by 2028. The US has 187 fleet F-22’s by comparison and is set to field 2,663 F-35’s. Completion of delivery of the F-35 will be 2037. Giving the U.S. about a 37:1 5th Generation fighter advantage if the Russians did not produce more planes for their air force from 2028-3037. The Su-57 has flown combat in Syria as has the F-35 against ISIS targets.
