The Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO reporting name: Felon) is a stealth, single-seat, twin-engine multirole fifth-generation jet fighter being developed since 2002 for air superiority and attack operations. The aircraft is the product of the PAK FA (Russian: Perspektivny Aviatsionny Kompleks Frontovoy Aviatsii, lit. ''prospective aeronautical complex of front-line air forces''), a fifth-generation fighter program of the Russian Air Force. Sukhoi's internal name for the aircraft is T-50. The Su-57 is the first aircraft in Russian military service to use stealth technology. Its maiden flight took place on January 29th, 2010, and it entered service on December 25th, 2020. It is the world's fourth operational fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft after the F-22, F-35, and J-20.

According to Sukhoi Company, the fighter is designed to have supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and advanced avionics to overcome the previous generation fighter aircraft as well as ground and naval defences.The Su-57 is intended to succeed the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force.

The prototypes and initial production batch are to be delivered with a highly upgraded Lyulka AL-31 variant, the AL-41F1, as an interim powerplant, while an advanced clean-sheet design engine, currently designated the Izdeliye 30, is in final stages of development, expected to be available after mid-2020s. The fighter is expected to have a service life of up to 35 years

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a Russian Sukhoi Su-57E stealth fighter then undergoing flight test at Zhukovsky Airfield, Russia, during 2019. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-3/4-inches
Length: 11-inches

Release Date: December 2024

Historical Account: "Adder" - The Vympel NPO R-77 missile (NATO reporting name: AA-12 Adder) is a Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It is also known by its export designation RVV-AE. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.

The R-77 was marked by a severely protracted development. Work began in the 1980s, but was not completed before the Soviet Union fell. For many years, only the RVV-AE model was produced for export customers. Production was further disrupted when the Russo-Ukrainian War resulted in a Ukrainian arms embargo against Russia, severing supply chains. The Russian Aerospace Forces finally entered the R-77-1 (AA-12B) into service in 2015. It was subsequently deployed by Su-35S fighters in Syria on combat air patrols. The export model of the R-77-1 is called RVV-SD.

For the first forty years, the aerodynamics combined vestigial cruciform wings with grid fins used as tail control surfaces (similar devices are used on the OTR-23 Oka, and USAF uses them on MOAB). The flow separation which occurs at high angles of attack enhances its turning ability, giving the missile a maximum turn rate of up to 150 degrees per second. However, the grid fins also increase drag and radar cross section. Updated variants of the R-77, such as the izdeliye 180 that is destined for the Sukhoi Su-57, will use conventional fins instead.

The missile uses a multi-function doppler-monopulse active radar seeker developed by OAO Agat. The radar features two modes of operation, over short distances, the missile will launch in an active "fire-and-forget" mode. Over longer distances the missile is controlled by an inertial guidance auto pilot with occasional encoded data link updates from the launch aircraft's radar on changes in spatial position or G of the target. As the missile comes within 20 km (12 mi) of its target, the missile switches to its active radar mode. The host radar system maintains computed target information in case the target breaks the missile's lock-on