Russia's Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter: Why Won't It Fight in Ukraine War?
Russia has chosen not to heavily deploy its advanced Su-57 Felon fifth-generation fighter in the Ukraine War, not because of its shortcomings, but to avoid unnecessary losses.
What You Need to Know: Russia has chosen not to heavily deploy its advanced Su-57 Felon fifth-generation fighter in the Ukraine War, not because of its shortcomings, but to avoid unnecessary losses.
-Western analysts may misinterpret the Su-57's limited use as a sign of weakness, but the reality is that the warplane is too expensive and difficult to replace, especially under sanctions restricting access to Western components.
-Instead, Russia has used older Soviet-era technology effectively, keeping the Su-57 in reserve to avoid the risk of its destruction in a war that is primarily a battle of attrition.
-The Su-57 remains a formidable aircraft, comparable to the U.S. F-35 Lightning II, but its absence in Ukraine reflects strategic caution, not a lack of capability.
Putin Won’t Waste the Su-57 Felon in Ukraine
Russia’s Su-57 Felon is a fifth-generation warplane, much like America’s F-35 Lightning II or F-22A Raptor. Yet, the Russian bird can’t get any love from most Western analysts. This is especially so in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when one would think the Russians would need every system at their disposal to be deployed.
But this was not the case for the vaunted Su-57. Western observers took from that the notion that the Russians must be trying to cover-up the fact that the Su-57 isn’t as good as it is cracked up to be.
Such assumptions are endemic of Western analysts, who are all motivated by a desire to see Russia defeated. And that emotional urge blinds them to the realities of this most dangerous war.
Namely, that the Russians are keeping their Su-57 fleet in reserve simply because they are too expensive and complex of systems to easily replace if they were to be lost in large numbers in combat over Ukraine.
Why is Putin Holding the Su-57 Back?
Given the nature of the Ukraine War, the likelihood is high that even these fifth-generation warplanes would be damaged or destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses, meaning that Russia would lose these vital platforms and not necessarily be able to replace them.
That the Russians used Western components in the construction of the Su-57, and Russia is now sanctioned as a result of their invasion of Ukraine, means that Moscow must be careful with how and when they use these advanced warplanes. To be fair, the Russians have used the Su-57 in a limited fashion.
And to mitigate the threat that the Ukrainian air defense networks pose to the Su-57, the Russians have kept the Su-57s on their side of the border with Ukraine, mostly out of the range of those Ukrainian defenses, and have utilized the bird in support roles from over-the-horizon.
The fact of the matter is that Russia is doing fine without deploying the Su-57—just as their war effort, while bloody and costly, is doing just fine without the use of the advanced T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank (MBT) on land. Ultimately, the Ukraine War is a conflict of simple attrition. It is a numbers game.
High-technology and finesse is less important as are the twin needs of mass and men. By relying on older Soviet-era technology, Moscow is keeping the war effort relatively affordable. What’s more, Russia has a much larger population base from which to pull military recruits from than does Ukraine.
Don’t Underestimate This Bird
The Su-57 is relatively on par with the American F-35 Lightning II, depending on the expert you ask. It simply isn’t being used too significantly for the express reason that the birds that are being used—the Soviet-era warplanes—are getting the job done.
All Russia plans to do is bleed out the Ukrainians.
This strategy, while ugly to American eyes, is working. Why would Vladimir Putin waste his most prized warplane in the Ukraine War, be made to endure the endless humiliation of having lost the planes in war with NATO-backed forces, or even be made to see the plane paraded about as some kind of trophy?
Instead, Putin will keep the Su-57 in reserve while his less sophisticated (and cheaper) forces do most of the fighting and dying. The lack of Su-57s in the skies over Ukraine is not a sign that these birds are not as good as the Russians claim them to be. Nor is it an indicator that Russia is losing the Ukraine War.
They’re not.
Moscow just isn’t being wasteful (or stupid, frankly) with its best assets, such as the Su-57.
Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock.
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