The refusal of Russia from the serial production of the Su-57, in fact, means its recognition of the inability to create a full-fledged fifth-generation fighter. This was announced by British aviation expert Justin Bronk in an interview with Business Insider.
Why the fifth generation Russian fighter did not work: a look from Britain
Recall, literally last week, the head of the State Duma commission on the legal support of the Russian "defense industry", Vladimir Gutenev, told reporters that the Su-57 will not be purchased for the Russian videoconferencing system. The deputy advised to start the development of the sixth generation fighter, as the implementation of the PAK FA project was delayed, and it became outdated before the start of its mass production.
The creation of the fifth-generation Russian fighter PAK FA (then Su-57) began back in 2001 and by 2010 about 30 billion rubles had been spent on this project. It was planned that the car will go into service in 2016. However, it is still at the testing stage.
Justin Bronk sees the shortage of budget funding, which was caused by the Indian side’s withdrawal from a joint project to create a new generation combat vehicle (FGFA), as the main reason for abandoning the Su-57. According to the British expert, the Su-57, although it has a cost of $ 40 million, which is at least two times lower than that of the American F-35, cannot be attributed to fifth-generation fighter jets. That is why the Indians refused to continue the program. It can be added that the Indian side had big complaints about the work of the aircraft radars, as well as the quality of its electronics.
Bronk said that the Su-57 was the first victim of the deteriorating economic situation in Russia, whose budget is simply not able to pull out so many military projects at the same time.
