A prototype of the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 has flown with new upgrades that add new automated features and may enable in the future a re-engining and an expanded set of munitions, United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) says.
The Oct. 21 flight at the Ramenskoye air base near Moscow lasted 56 min., the Russian manufacturer said on its Telegram social media account. Sergei Bogdan, Sukhoi’s chief test pilot, flew the upgraded Su-57 on the first flight, which he said “passed without comment.”
The UAC update provided few details of the upgrades. “The aircraft is testing a set of onboard equipment with extended functionality, intelligent crew support and the possibility of using a wide range of new types of weapons,” UAC said. “It is also possible to install the engine of the second stage on the aircraft.”
The Su-57 has entered service with the NPO Saturn 117S engine, which is a derivative of the Al-41 turbofan. NPO Saturn has been working for several years on developing the improved Product 30 engine, which features a new centerline core with advanced features.
Sukhoi, a UAC subsidiary, first flew the T-50 prototype of the Su-57 in 2010, and built 10 more prototypes of the twin-engine fighter, including the aircraft that flew the upgrades on Oct. 21. But UAC has struggled to build more than a handful of production versions of the aircraft.
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