Russia’s New Top Fighter: Su-57M1’s Five New Features That Make It Far Superior to the Original

Following confirmation of the development of the Su-57M1 as a heavily enhanced new variant of Russia’s sole class of fifth generation fighter, multiple sources have indicated that the new aircraft will enter service in the Russian Aerospace Forces before the end of 2026. There remains a significant possibility that production will begin by early 2026, as facilities at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant transition from production of the baseline Su-57 to the new variant. As the Su-57 has been produced on a fast growing scale, with new facilities opened in August 2024 specifically to allow for greater output, the new Su-57M1 variant is expected to equip a high portion of Russian Aerospace Forces fighter units, and potentially well over one third of the fleet. The capabilities of the new Su-57 variant thus have significant implications for the future of Russian air power, as well as for the fighter fleets of multiple expected foreign operators including Algeria, India, Vietnam and possibly North Korea. An assessment of the five most outstanding new features of the aircraft that make it much more capable than the baseline Su-57 is provided below:

AL-51F Engine

Su-57 fighters which have entered service from late 2020 have been fielded with AL-41F-1 engines, a derivative of the AL-41F-1S that currently powers the Su-35 ‘4++ generation’ fighter. The AL-41F-1 is a derivative of the Soviet AL-31F that was brought into service in 1984 to power the country’s Su-27 air superiority fighters, and has been heavily enhanced through incorporation of a range of technologies developed for the primary engine of the cancelled MiG 1.42 fifth generation fighter. Its performance and efficiency are nevertheless below that of even the oldest fifth generation fighter engine the American F119 powering the F-22, much less the more modern F135 powering the F-35 or WS-15 powering China’s J-20. The Su-57M1 will integrate the much delayed AL-51F-1, which is the first clean sheet fighter engine introduced into Russian service in over 40 years. The engine will significant improve all aspects of the fighter’s flight performance, enhance its stealth, and reduce operational costs and maintenance needs, while increasing power available for onboard subsystems such as radars. Integrating the new engines, the Su-57M1 is expected to have higher levels of thrust than any other fighter, with the possible exception of the J-20.

Revised Stealthier and Faster Airframe

The Su-57M1 is expected to be visually highly distinct from the baseline variant due to the significant revisions that were made it its airframe, which is confirmed to have been widened to provide greater aerodynamic lift and improved stability at supersonic speeds. With a number of unconfirmed reports indicate that the AL-51F will allow the Su-57M1 to cruise at speeds exceeding Mach 2 without using its afterburner, it has been confirmed that the changes to the fighter’s airframe are intended to better facilitate sustained supersonic flight without the use of afterburners. The changes are expected to better capitalise on the much improved flight performance potential that will be facilitated by the AL-51F in other ways. The Su-57M1’s fuselage and internal weapon bays will also be flatter than that of the original fighter, which is intended to further improve the aircraft’s stealth capabilities.

New Radar and AI Assistant

The Su-57 was the first Russian fighter class to integrate an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar in its nose cone, and remains the only one to do so today. While little is known regarding the fighter’s N036 radar, the Su-57M1 will integrate a more advanced primary sensor. The very significant delays in the Su-57’s development and service entry may have allowed radar technologies to sufficiently advance that the production run of the N036 would need to be cut short to integrate a successor onto Russia’s most capable fighter class. The radar’s development may also have been influenced by experience operating the Su-57 in the Ukrainian theatre, where ground mapping and electronic warfare are though to have been critical to its primary roles of launching precision strikes and engaging enemy air defences. The transition to a new radar mirrors the rival F-35’s own transition from the AN/APG-81 to the much more sophisticated AN/APG-85 radar, which has also required a redesign of the fuselage due to the new radar’s larger size. Alongside a new radar, the Su-57 also integrates AI-assisted onboard systems intended to facilitate much faster system initialisation with a single-button press, which has streamlined pre-flight checks and mission readiness. It remains uncertain what other improvements may have been made to the aircraft’s avionics suite.

New Helmet-Mounted Targeting System

In December 2024 Russian state media has unveiled a new helmet-mounted targeting system for developed specifically for the Su-57, which appears to have highly similar capabilities to the systems that have long been used on the Chinese J-20 and American F-35 fighters. The helmetprojects critical information directly onto the visor, including flight and targeting data, and reportedly provides a comprehensive view of the operational environment when pairing with the fighter’s sensors. The helmet is expected to narrow a key performance gap with the J-20 and F-35. A major shortcoming to the effectiveness of the helmet system, however, remains Su-57’s lack of a a distributed aperture system – a subsystem unique to the F-35 and China’s J-20 and FC-31 which allows pilots to ‘see through’ their aircraft using their helmets paired with using optical sensors, while also providing warnings of incoming threats. he Su-57 partly compensates for this, however, with its unique suite of five AESA radars dispersed across its airframe. Although the new helmet-mounted targeting system has not been specifically stated to have been developed for the Su-57M1 variant, its operationalisation is likely to coincide with the new aircraft’s entry into service.

Izdeliye 810 Long Range Missile:

During combat operations in the Ukrainian theatre the Su-57 has been confirmed to have utilised Russia’s longest range of air-to-air missile, the R-37M, to engage targets, with the missile combining an unrivalled Mach 6 speed, 400km engagement range and very large 60kg warhead, and proving to be highly potent in combat. The missile was developed for the much larger, faster and higher flying MiG-31 interceptor, however, with its weight not only taking a significant toll on the Su-57’s flight performance, but also compromising its radar cross section due to its inability to be stored in the aircraft’s internal weapons bays. The izdeliye 810 was thus developed as a miniaturised derivative of the R-37M which can reportedly be carried in the Su-57’s internal weapons bays. Its service entry is expected to closely coincide with that of the Su-57M1, providing the longest air-to-air engagement range of any fighter of its generation. The missile is capable of engaging fighter sized targets, but is also optimised to neutralise support aircraft such as tankers and airborne early warning jets, as well as heavy bombers, at long ranges, although a significant possibly remains that the missile will carry a small radar and have a slightly shorter range than its much heavier predecessor. The ability to launch very long range air-to-air attacks from a low observable fighter has the potential to represent a particularly potent combination, and allows the Su-57 to operate very differently to other fighters of its generation including for hit-and-run attacks on high value enemy support aircraft.