Prototypes of the second-stage engine for the Su-57 stealth fighter have been manufactured and are undergoing flight tests as part of the fighter, announced Head of the Rostec State Corporation Sergei Chemezov in a briefing on Monday.
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"All work on the Su-57 is being carried out in accordance with the schedule given by the Russian Ministry of Defence. We have already delivered ten aircraft from an experimental batch, they have worked successfully. Now the state contract for the supply of 76 aircraft is being fulfilled," said Chemzov to reporters at a briefing on 7 December.
" Before the end of [this] year, we are to deliver a production aircraft with a first-stage engine. It meets all the characteristics that are required for the fifth-generation aircraft," he added.
The head of the State corporation said that currently work on the second-stage engine for the Su-57 stealth fighter is in progress. He said that the engine should be ready in 2022.
"We are still working on the second-stage engine. Several prototypes have been manufactured, and are undergoing flight tests as part of the aircraft. I hope that in 2022 the engine will be ready, [...] and within a few years we will start their serial production," stated the head of Rostec.
The second-stage engine, codenamed "Item 30", had entered flight tests in December 2017. This engine will enable the stealth fighter to develop supersonic speed without using an afterburner. It provides about two tonnes more thrust at takeoff, at 17,000 kg and therefore gives a notable boost to the Su-57’s thrust-to-weight ratio.
The fifth-generation Su-57 fighter is designated to destroy all types of air, ground, and naval targets. The aircraft develops supersonic cruising speed, carries armament inside its fuselage, features stealth coating, and the latest onboard equipment.
