US media calls Su-57 an "obsolete aircraft"
(Baonghean.vn) - The US newspaper National Interest (NI) believes that the technologies used to manufacture 5th generation Russian fighter jets have become outdated.
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| Su-57 fighter jet. Photo: AP |
In particular, NI notes, new composite materials used for the Su-57 fighter "double the radar wave absorption capacity and reduce the radar visibility of the aircraft cabin by 30%."
NI emphasized that this technology has been used for more than 30 years. NI cited an example: the US corporation Lockheed Martin began using this technology in the 1980s during the production of F-16 aircraft under the Have Glass program.
In addition, this material is used in the F-22 and F-35 fighters. However, according to NI, regardless of the technical equipment of the Russian fighter, the Su-57 will not benefit the Russian military because of its high cost.
This newspaper pointed out that the Russian Air Force has only purchased 10 of these fighter jets since the first flight of the US F-35 in 2010, while the US has spent 60 billion USD to buy 180 F-22 aircraft and wants to spend another 400 billion USD to buy 2,300 F-35 fighter jets.
NI noted the differences in the countries' military budgets, saying that the Russian defense industry is capable of creating about 100 new aircraft per year, only one-third of the US's capabilities.
The publication added that in 2019, Russia was only able to form a squadron of 12 Su-57 aircraft, which puts Moscow at a disadvantage when participating in any conflict due to its small number.
