Su-57 Near Iran; Kremlin Unveils Its War Dragon!

The Su-57, Russia’s fifth-generation fighter, has once again captured the attention of military experts worldwide.

According to Rokna, during its latest international appearance at the Dubai Airshow (17–21 November), the aircraft demonstrated that despite a heavy weapons load, it can still perform a “dance of death” in the sky and maintain its maximum level of aerial agility.

Maintaining maneuverability under heavy load

Sergey Bogdan, chief test pilot of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, highlighted a critical point on the sidelines of the exhibition: “All specialists know that equipping a fighter jet with air-to-surface missiles significantly limits G-forces, angle of attack, and overall agility. But we proved that the Su-57 (the export model Su-57E), even while carrying heavy Kh-58UShKE anti-radar missiles inside its internal bays, can successfully carry out extremely complex and sensitive combat maneuvers.”

Bogdan emphasized that they performed all previous aerobatic maneuvers, including “critical states” and “very high angle-of-attack rotations,” this time while the fighter was fully armed. This characteristic distinguishes the Su-57 from many competing aircraft.

Temporary engines, staggering power!

What is even more noteworthy is that this show of strength was carried out using pre-production models of the Su-57 equipped with intermediate-generation AL-41F-1 engines. Meanwhile, it is planned that within the next two to three years, the new and significantly more powerful AL-51F engines will be installed on these fighters.

Reports indicate that with the installation of the new engines, the Su-57 will gain the capability of “supercruise” (flight at speeds greater than twice the speed of sound without afterburner), elevating its flight performance to a higher level.

The Su-57’s presence in Dubai comes after its extensive use for precision strikes and “suppression of enemy air defenses” operations on the Ukrainian front. Estimates suggest that Kh-58UShK anti-radar missiles have likely played a key role in these missions.