Su-57 Felon levert til det russiske luftforsvaret - The Aviationist

 

First Serial Production Su-57 Felon Delivered To The Russian Aerospace Forces

December 30, 2020 Russia, Troubled Areas

STEFANO D'URSO

The first Su-57 delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces photographed during a stopover at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport while on its way to the 929th V.P. Chkalov State Flight Test Center in Akhtubinsk. (Photo: Svetlana Balaeva)

The aircraft, which is the second Su-57 serially built, was delivered a year after the first built crashed during pre-delivery testing.

The Russian Aerospace Forces received on Dec. 25, 2020, their first serially built Su-57 “Felon” 5th generation fighter aircraft. According to a source in the military-industrial complex quoted by the TASS Russian News Agency, the aircraft entered service with one of the aviation regiments of the Southern Military District and four more Su-57s will be delivered in 2021.

Later, TASS quoted another source in the military-industrial complex (or perhaps the same) saying that the aircraft will be used to test hypersonic air-launched weapons at the 929th V.P. Chkalov State Flight Test Center in Akhtubinsk. RIA Novosti, another Russian News Agency, reported instead that the aircraft will be tested at Akhtubinsk before being moved to an operational unit.

While this kind of testing to be performed can’t be confirmed officially, spotters were able to confirm the Felon’s final base, as the aircraft was photographed during a stopover at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport with the logo of the Chkalov State Flight Test Center on the fuselage.

Another interesting detail is the aircraft’s bort number. This Su-57 is actually the second to leave the serial production line (T-50S-2 serial number 51002) but, since the first one crashed one year ago during pre-delivery flight testing, it received the bort number “01” instead of the expected “02”. The aircraft was previously photographed at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant before the beginning of the pre-delivery testing in October, but it was missing the Flight Test Center’s logo, showing only the bort number.

As we already reported, the crash of the Felon T-50S-1, which is actually the first since the first flight in 2010, was caused by a failure of the tail control system. After the crash, Sukhoi reportedly underwent some changes in the management of the company and, after the investigation, a number of technical improvements were applied to T-50S-2 and the other aircraft on the production line, delaying the first delivery by a year. Among the improvements, it was mentioned that the aircraft saw the hydraulic actuators of the flight controls replaced by electromechanical actuators. The company may also have to replace the crashed Su-57 at its own expense.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and PJSC Sukhoi Company signed a contract for the first two serial Su-57s, T-50S-1 and T-50S-2, in August 2018, followed a year later by a contract for 74 other aircraft, which brought the total order to 76 Su-57s. The head of Rostec (State Corporation for Assistance to Development, Production and Export of Advanced Technology Industrial Product), Sergei Chemezov, already announced that the first delivery would happen by the end of 2020, followed later by the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu which added that 22 Su-57s will be delivered by the end of 2024, while the deliveries (provided that no further aircraft will be added to the order) will be completed by 2028 at a rate of 16 aircraft per year.