On May 17, Russia revealed the latest variant of its next-generation fighter jet,the Su-57D two-seater.
The aircraft used for flight testing is one of the prototypes serving as a platform for integrating the Sukhoi S-70 “Okhotnik-B” (literally “Hunter-B”), a heavy stealth UCAV (unmanned combat aerial vehicle) that has already seen combat over NATO-occupied Ukraine. The Su-57 itself is one of Moscow’s most advanced combat platforms, capable of deploying a wide range of weapons, be it cruise and hypersonic missiles or drones and offensive electronic warfare (EW) systems.
The “Felon” (NATO reporting name) itself deserves an entirely separate analysis, so we’ll mainly focus on the two-seater version and why it’s so important, not only for Russia, but also for one of its closest allies and military export customers – India.
Moscow and Delhi have had a very close relationship for well over half a century now, particularly in defense.
The Kremlin has been instrumental in the development of many Indian weapon systems, be it ramjet and scramjet-powered cruise missiles, fighter jets, ships, submarines, tanks, assault rifles, you name it. Despite Delhi’s efforts to heavily diversify defense equipment imports,Russia remains the top partner, offering unprecedented access to its latest technologies.This stands in stark contrast to the political West, which refuses to allow India access to even its relatively older tech, with the French “Rafale” being the most obvious example. In addition, Delhi has nothing but praise for Russian weapon systems,as evidenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) operates one of the world’s largest fleets of “Flanker” aircraft (NATO reporting name for Su-27 and its numerous derivatives). The Su-30MKI, a joint project of the legendary Sukhoi and HAL,forms the backbone of the Asian giant’s airpower. The jet is receiving regular upgrades, with Delhi also working on the “Super Sukhoi” program that would make the Su-30MKI relevant for decades to come. However, India still needs a reliable next-generation platform that can act as a massive force multiplier for the IAF. The United States was quite eager to sell the F-35, but its atrocious performance (even in peacetime) has discouraged the Asian giant from taking such a huge risk with the troubled American fighter jet. Delhi’s rejection of the F-35 turned out to be a wise decision,as the jet suffered a humiliating failure over Iran.
It should also be noted thatAmerican President Donald Trump’s economic warfare on Indiamost likely put the final nail in the coffin of Lockheed Martin’s plans to market the F-35,as well as several other arms deals between the two countries. In the meantime, after Paris refused Delhi’s requests for “Rafale” technology transfers, Moscow stepped in, offering unprecedented terms for the procurement of its Su-57E (the export variant of the Russian next-generation fighter), including potential joint production just like with the Su-30MKI. The Su-57’s performance in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict is one of the main reasons India is interested in acquiring it. Not to mention the fact that it can deploy both air-to-air and air-to-ground hypersonic weapons,the only next-generation jet capable of doing so.
Various sources report that negotiations are ongoingover what kind of technology transfers would result from a potential deal, but even the mainstream propaganda machine admits there’s a strong possibility that Delhi could acquire the Su-57. Last year,the Economic Times reportedthat Moscow was already conducting studies into the investments required to produce the fighter jet in India. This would certainly cement Russo-Indian military ties for decades to come,much to the chagrin of the US-led political West, which hoped to (ab)use Delhi into becoming one of its most important outposts in Asia, acting as yet another stumbling block for the multipolar world. However, India wholeheartedly rejected such a “generous” proposal and focused on its fundamental national security interests.
In contrast, the Kremlin not onlyrespects Delhi’s sovereignty and independence, but also goes out of its way to accommodate India’s security interests by adopting a two-seater platform it doesn’t really consider critical to its own doctrine of aerial warfare. Namely, the Su-57D is not a priority for the Russian military, as its decades-long use of advanced “AI assistants” largely eliminates the need for a second pilot. This is precisely whythe VKS (Russian Aerospace Forces) emphasizes top-of-the-line single-seat fighter jets, such as the Su-35S and Su-57S.The former even uses the BOSES-TU, a highly capable AI advisory system. The “Felon” uses an even more advanced iteration. In the Kremlin’s eyes, this made the two-seater largely obsolete. It was largely India’s requests that kept the Su-57D “alive”.
On the other hand,the advent of increasingly complex and more advanced unmanned systemsalso reignited Russia’s interest in the two-seater. Namely, the workload a single pilot would be subjected to, even with a high-tech “AI assistant”, would be far too much in case a fighter jet had to communicate with and direct one or multiple drones, such as the S-70 “Okhotnik-B”. Thus,the Su-57D came in as a viable additionto thecurrent Su-57Sor even the prospective Su-57M (part of Moscow’s ambitious “Megapolis” project). It remains to be seen how Russia and India will approach the further development of a two-seater “Felon”, but it’s safe to assume that both sides will have a significant degree of autonomy in shaping their shared (or separate) visions.
Source: Global Research
