18 November 2025

At the air show currently taking place in Dubai , Russia showed the multi-role “fifth generation” Su-57E fighter, which “has no analogues in the world”, with the latest AL-51F-1 engine with a rectangular nozzle, and the T-75 UAV LTA unmanned fighter. The nuance is that all this was presented in the form of… mock-ups.

The day before, a Russian Su-57 was sent to the United Arab Emirates. But not the Su-57E mentioned above, but the old Su-57 (T-50-9) – one of the few flying models of the second stage of production in 2017. That is, an aircraft that is already about 8 years old.

The T-75 LTA UAV is an unmanned version of the Russian “fifth generation” light fighter Su-75 Checkmate, which was first introduced in July 2021 at the MAKS-2021 air show in Zhukovsky, Russia, as a mock- up. And it has remained so ever since.

That’s right, four years after the presentation and ambitious statements about rapid mass production, Russian aircraft manufacturers were only able to create a comprehensive full-scale test stand (CFS) for ground tests.

But let’s talk about everything in turn.

Su-57 – an almost fifth-generation fighter

The Russian Su-57 fighter, formerly known as the T-50 project, is difficult, or rather almost impossible, to call a fifth-generation fighter. There are many reasons for this, but let’s start with the fact that Russia undertook the creation of this fighter based on Soviet research from the 1980s. That is, from the very beginning this machine was already morally and technically obsolete.

This was manifested in many aspects, in particular, in the fact that the first flight prototypes of the Su-57 clearly traced elements of the Su-35 fighter, which was a deep modernization of the Su-30, which was, in turn, a deep modernization of the Su-27.

In a sense, the Su-57 was, from the very beginning, a heavier version of the Su-35 in a new, modern wrapper – the fuselage.

For its part, the Su-57’s characteristics did not even come close to meeting the needs of the fifth generation, for example, EPR (effective scattering surface), better known to the masses as stealth technology.

The Su-57 has an EPR of 0.3-0.5 square meters, while the American F-22 Raptor has this figure of about 0.0001, and the F-35 Lightning II has 0.001.

But no less a problem for the Su-57, even more so – the main one, was the lack of a new generation engine of the so-called “Second Stage”/”Product-30”. This engine was supposed to be the AL-51F-1, but when it was presented, what caught the eye was not only its similarity to the classic AL-41F, but also the lack of a rectangular nozzle as a basic option for engines on fifth-generation fighters.

What is noteworthy, at the Dubai Airshow 2025, Russia presented an old Su-57 flight prototype from 2017, while the Su-57E with a new generation engine will be seen by visitors to the salon only in the form of a model, and the rectangular nozzle will apparently be offered to potential customers in the form of… a nozzle.

Su-75 Checkmate – a lame duck of ambition

Four years ago, Russia presented its newest fighter Su-75 Checkmate on a large scale, first at MAKS-2021 and then at Dubai Airshow 2021, which at that time was a cardboard model and a second-rate advertising perfume. That is, the aircraft was not yet in production, and they were already trying to sell it.

Then, in 2021, the presentation of the Su-75 mock-up at the MAKS-2021 air show cost $30 million. At that time, if anyone doesn’t remember, one of the largest forest fires was raging in Yakutia, and for $30 million, 665 KamAZ-43253 AC 3.0-40 fire-fighting tankers could be purchased. But the PR of the cardboard mock-up turned out to be more important for the Russian military.

But the problem is not even how much was spent on PR for a fighter jet that does not exist, but how unrealistic it was for implementation, taking into account Russian technological capabilities.

For example:

– an automatic logistics support system called Matreshka was created for the Russian Checkmate, but, as is known, taking into account the negative example of servicing the SSJ100 in a number of countries or the Mi-35 in Brazil, Russian logistics does not work;

– Checkmate is equipped with artificial intelligence… Is it worth commenting on?

– Checkmate is equipped with an engine with a deflected thrust vector, capable of operating at supersonic speeds for a long time, and has a shortened takeoff and landing. Yes, you are not mistaken, we are talking about the AL-51F-1, which is not really available in serial form even for the Su-57;

– Checkmate is capable of attacking up to six targets simultaneously using radar with AFAR with the entire complex of modern weapons in the face of strong enemy electronic countermeasures… This is something that almost all modern fighters can do;

– Checkmate is capable of detecting and engaging fifth-generation fighters in long-range air combat, using a powerful airborne electronic warfare system. But today Russia does not have airborne systems capable of detecting F-35 and F-22 fighters before they launch an air-to-air missile at a Russian fighter. In addition, the range of serial missiles of this class in US service exceeds the range of serial Russian missiles without the support of anti-aircraft guided missiles, while Russian long-range missiles are effective only with the support of anti-aircraft guided missiles, for example, the A-50;

– Russia positions its Checkmate fighter as superior in most respects to the American F-35. However, the F-35 is a serial fighter, tested by time and combat missions, and the Su-75… a mock-up.

The funniest thing is, in 2021 the Russians stated that the fighter would make its first flight in 2023, its production would begin in 2024, and it would begin to arrive at customers in 2026.

In 2025, Russia brought a papier-mâché model of the unmanned Su-75 Checkmate to the Dubai Airshow 2025.

Conclusions

Many might be outraged by the fact that Russia and its weapons samples are being allowed to attend international shows such as the Dubai Airshow 2025, but, on the other hand, it is precisely such events that make it possible to assess the real state of affairs in the modern Russian military-industrial complex – oriented, in particular, to exports.

It is obvious that the Russian defense industry has not managed to make any significant, technically important improvements to the Su-57. And even at the level of the new generation engine, Russia lags behind its main competitors. Although can this be called competition? The US produces from 100 to 150 truly fifth-generation F-35 fighters per year, and Russia receives 2-4 Su-57s per year…

As for the Su-75 Checkmate, this aircraft never made it beyond the mock-ups. And there were many loud statements that Argentina was interested in these fighters, but already in May 2022, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, stated that the Su-75 would be mass-produced in Russia… from 2027. And these postponements to the right became the most striking indicator of the capabilities of the Russian military-industrial complex in terms of the production of fifth-generation fighters.

https://war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/proval-vinischuvachiv-pyatogo-pokolinnya-i-ganba-na-dubai-airshow-2025-na-najbilshomu-aviasaloni-pokazali-dosyagnennya-rosijskogo-vpk.htm