Must cross the river by feeling China's J-20S — Russia firmly states: S-57D will be developed despite all difficulties!
Early September 2026, the Russian State Corporation for Military Industrial Technology announced that the two-seat variant of the Su-57D fighter jet is currently undergoing flight testing. This aircraft features a dedicated operator seat for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with the primary focus on testing UAV operation capabilities. However, what confuses observers is that the Su-57D prototype already crashed once on July 23. Now everyone is baffled — what exactly happened?
Russia’s current emphasis on flight testing the two-seat Su-57D likely stems from two considerations: first, to downplay the impact of the Su-57D prototype crash and obscure the extent of the loss; second, to demonstrate Russia’s serious commitment to developing a two-seat fifth-generation fighter, indicating that even if faced with setbacks and losses, Russia remains determined to pursue this program no matter how difficult it may be.
The reason behind Russia’s firm stance lies primarily in its desire to catch up with China — "crossing the river by feeling the stones" of China’s already operational J-20S. As the world’s first two-seat fifth-generation fighter, the J-20S clearly leads global aviation powers. From aspects such as combat performance, technological advancement, and superiority, it should more accurately be classified as a “5.5th-generation” aircraft.
Only China has successfully developed and deployed a two-seat fifth-generation fighter. Even the United States currently lacks a two-seat fifth-generation fighter. The Russian Su-57D is still in development, and its actual deployment will not happen for several years.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875944391483484/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.