According to the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets have successfully passed the second stage of testing in Syria.
Gerasimov said that during the second stage of testing in Syria, Su-57 completed all the planned tasks. No further details were provided.
In February 2018, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters that two Su-57 fighters carried out a test program in Syria for two days. In the summer of the same year, member of the State Duma’s expert council on the aviation industry, MP Vladimir Gutenev said that four Su-57s had been tested in Syria. At the end of 2018, the Ministry of Defense first published a video of the Su-57 flight in the airspace of this country.
“The fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft is being tested. They were re-tested in Syria, during which all the planned tasks were successfully completed,” he said at a briefing to military attaches of foreign countries. The text of the speech was published in the newspaper ” Red Star “.
Su-57 (formerly known as PAK FA) is a fifth-generation Russian fighter. First flew in 2010. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense ordered 76 fighters. The first production aircraft should enter the Armed Forces by the end of 2019.
In December 2019, it was revealed that the Su-57 performed in 16 test flights with its 2nd stage engine “Product 30” (Izdeliye-30):
The first flight of the Su-57 with the Product 30 engine was realized in December 2017th. The engine will get a fully electronic automatic control system and ensure the fighter’s super-maneuverability, thrust-to-weight ratio, stealth characteristics and the ability to perform cruising flights at supersonic speed. Currently, the Su-57 flies with an AL-41F1 engine (Product 117), which are typically equipped on Su-35 fighter jets.
The engine of the second stage for the Su-57 fighter (“Product 30”) was developed at the Lyulki Design Bureau under the direction of Evgeny Marchukov and in collaboration with other large Russian engine-building companies.
According to known data, “Product 30” is a dual-circuit turbojet engine with an afterburner. At the level of some basic ideas, it has similarities with older engines of the AL-31 and AL-41 families, but all of its units were developed anew and using modern technology.
The result of this was a noticeable increase in all the basic characteristics, allowing to attribute “Product 30” to the next generation of turbofan engines.
