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The Su-57
- The Su-57 will partake in Russia's annual Victory Day Parade for the first time this year.
- The parade celebrates the capitulation of Nazi Germany in World War II.
- This year's massive fly-over will include 63 Russian aircraft, including, among others, the Su-30SM, Tu-160, and of course, the Su-57, according to The Aviationist.
- Recent video shows Russian airmen prepping the Su-57s for the show.
The Su-57 will partake in Russia's annual Victory Day Parade, which celebrates the capitulation of Nazi Germany in World War II, for the first time this year, according to Russian state-owned media.
"A pair of Russia's cutting-edge Su-57 fighter jets will fly for the first time over Moscow's Red Square during the Victory Parade on May 9," TASS reported in early April.
This year's massive fly-over will include 63 Russian aircraft, including, among many others, the Su-30SM, Tu-160, and of course, the Su-57, according to The Aviationist.
Recent video shows Russian airmen prepping the Su-57s for the show. The video shows the airmen performing routine checks, flapping the fighter's wings, moving the nozzle, and then taking off.
Although the Su-57 was recently deployed to Syria, the fighter has not yet been fitted with its new Izdeliye 30 engine. It's currently still running on the Su-35's AL-41F1 engine, which means it cannot yet be considered a fifth-generation fighter.
The Russian Air Force plans to purchase a dozen Su-57s fitted with the AL-41F1 engines in 2019, and over "the next eight years ... will continue to purchase small numbers of these planes for testing," CNA senior research scientist Dmitry Gorenburg recently wrote.
Production of the Su-57, which made its maiden flight in 2010, has not only been hampered by budgetary problems, according to The Drive, but also "delays, accidents, and rumors of massive design changes."