Russia Announces That It Will Not Mass-Produce Its Advanced Su-57 Fighter Jet

Russia's Su-57 fighter jet. Only 12 have been ordered, and no more orders are coming. Dmitry Terekhov/Flickr

Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: Russia Will Not Mass-Produce 5th Generation Stealth Fighter Jet

Mass-production of the Su-57 is not needed now, according to Russia’s deputy defense minister.

Russia has no plans for mass-producing the PAK/FA Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet, the country’s first indigenously designed and built fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft, Russian Deputy Defense Minister, Yuri Borisov, said during an appearance on Russian television on July 2.

In the interview, the deputy defense minister spoke about the aircraft’s recent deployment to Syria, but also noted that serial production of the Su-57 does not make sense at this stage and would only occur once the Russian Air Force’s older fourth-generation fighter jets lag behind their Western equivalents.

“The plane has proven to be very good, including in Syria, where it confirmed its performance and combat capabilities,” Borisov said. “You know that today the Su-57 is considered to be one of the best aircrafts produced in the world. Consequently, it does not make sense to speed up work on mass-producing the fifth-generation aircraft.”

Read more ....

Update: Russia admits defeat on its 'stealth' F-35 killer by canceling mass production on the Su-57 fighter jet (Business Insider)

WNU Editor: Too many problems to solve. But more importantly .... there is not enough money in the defense budget to mass produce these jets. This is a big blow to the Russian defense industry, to the Russian airforce, and to Russian President Putin. I am just surprised that they are making this announcement on the eve of President Trump's and President Putin's summit and not after.