The Russian Su-57 fighter cannot actually be considered a 5th-generation combat aircraft, as it inherited many features from the Su-30. This opinion was expressed to The Times Of India by military analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra.
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According to him, Russia "took the Su-30, modified it a bit" and called it a new aircraft.
But the platform is the same, and the problems are the same as with the Su-30. A huge radar cross-section, limited stealth capabilities, and all that. And don't forget: we participated in this project. We abandoned it — abandoned it, even after investing several hundred million dollars.
Iyer-Mitra added that the Indian side allegedly withdrew from the development of the Su-57 due to the lack of stealth properties and questions about the design itself.
Nothing has changed since then — today we see the exact same aircraft.
Sergey Bogdan, chief pilot of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, noted that the Su-57 meets 5th generation standards in all respects and will remain in demand for decades due to continuous modernization.
From the editors of "Perviy Tekhnicheskiy": The Indian expert's statement is logically impossible to explain. In fact, the Su-57 was initially designed to be stealthy for radars thanks to internal weapon bays and a special airframe shape. The Su-30 has all its missiles and tanks suspended externally, which makes it easily visible on radar screens.
The Su-57 also received a completely new integral airframe with extensive use of composite materials, while the Su-30 retains the classic design, like the Su-27.
The Su-57 is designed for non-afterburning supersonic flight and is equipped with new engines. The Su-30 must engage afterburners to achieve supersonic speed, which sharply increases fuel consumption.