Su-57: El Mejor Caza Ruso que Nadie Quiere
Video from the channel El lado correcto about Sukhoi Su-57, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 14:37. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
Analysis of why the Su-57, offered on the international market as the Su-57E, has found hardly any buyers. It reviews its capabilities, weaknesses, production and export cases.
Historical background
The aircraft originated in the PAK FA program: the first prototype flew in 2010 and the type entered service in late 2020. India, which was taking part in a joint development effort, left the program in 2018 over dissatisfaction with its stealth, engines, maintenance cost and data fusion. Algeria confirmed the purchase in February 2025, with a contract for around 14 aircraft, becoming the first foreign customer. Its first units began operating between late 2025 and early 2026.
Key facts
The video highlights the Mach 2 speed, three-dimensional thrust vectoring, internal bays able to carry the R-37M missile, and the N036 Byelka radar, with side-looking antennas and L-band radars in the wings. Its main weakness would be the frontal radar cross-section, which a Sukhoi patent puts at between 0.1 and 1 m², against an estimated 0.001 m² for the F-35, made worse by visible compressor blades and exposed rivets. According to the analysts cited, between 32 and 42 units have been built, at a single plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Among the factors holding back sales, it mentions the US CAATSA law and Ukrainian drone strikes on Su-57s on the ground: at Akhtubinsk in June 2024 and at Shagol, Chelyabinsk region, on 25 April 2026.