Russia Unveils Su-57 in New Air Defence Suppression Stealth Configuration After Extensive Combat Testing

The Russian state owned United Aircraft Corporation has for the first time published footage of the new Su-57 fifth generation fighter configured for strike operations, with the aircraft’s main weapons bay open revealing the carriage of two Kh-58UShKE anti-radiation missiles. This follows the first release of footage in mid-October showing the fighter’s weapons bay in any capacity whatsoever, with this internal carrying capacity being critical to allowing the aircraft to preserve its radar cross section reducing stealth profile. The release of new footage of the Su-57 occurs as the program has rapidly matured, with the aircraft seeing its first full regiment formed in 2024, and being more intensively combat tested that any other from its generation. Operations in the Ukrainian theatre have included air-to-air combat, air defence suppression, precision strike missions, and operations in heavily defended enemy airspace.

The Kh-58UShKE is a derivative of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ widely used anti-radiation weapon modernised for use by the Su-57, and was redesigned with folding fins to be carried in the fighter’s internal weapons bays. The missile’s 250 kilometre engagement range complements the Su-57’s own very high endurance, while its Mach 3.6 speed makes it one of the fastest in the world. This range is over double that of the original Kh-58 developed in the 1980s. Although the Soviet Air Force placed a strong emphasis on air defence suppression capabilities, and operationalised the missiles with the highly specialised MiG-25BM aircraft, in the post-Soviet era Russia’s ability to tackle advanced multi-layered air defence network has been more limited. These capabilities have gained a renewed emphasis due to the advanced capabilities of Ukrainian air defences, as the country inherited a vast surface-to-air missile network from the Soviet Union that has been replenished by supplies from across the Western world.

The Su-57 program is expected to gain growing momentum on global export markets, both as the new heavily enhanced Su-57M1 variant begins to replace the baseline variant in production, and as production continues to further expand. The Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant in the Russian Far East saw new facilities opened in August 2024 for production of the Su-57, while in July 2025 it was confirmed that plans were underway to further accelerate deliveries. This followed confirmation that the first Su-57s will be delivered abroad in 2025, namely to equip the Algerian Air Force, as well as signs of growing interest from a number of potential clients most notably India, Vietnam and North Korea. Alongside the fighter’s advanced air-to-air capabilities, these air forces all have a high utility for an advanced air defence suppression capabilities like those demonstrated in recent footage.

With sales to Algeria representing a major breakthrough for the Su-57 program, both Russian and Indian sources have increasingly widely anticipated a much larger sale which will involve license production of the fighters in India. The Indian government was reported in July to have informed U.S. officials that it was not interested in procuring the F-35 fighter, which was seen to leave the Su-57 as effectively the country’s only near term option to field fifth generation fighters. Russia in May made an unprecedented offer to provide the Indian Defence Ministry with full access to the next generation fighter’s source code as part of a large license production deal, with Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh having confirmed that procurements are under consideration. The highly sophisticated air defence capabilities of both Pakistan and China make the Su-57’s high potency in air defence suppression roles highly significant. It is notable that Western fifth generation fighters have yet to integrate a similar capability, as a result of both extreme budget cuts to the F-22 and major delays modernising the F-35 to integrate the AGM-88G anti-radiation missile.