Russian Air Force to Receive First Serial-produced Su-57 Fighter Jet This Year

The Russian Air Force will receive the first serial-produced Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet in 2019.

"If we speak about the Su-57 program, we are today at the stage of manufacturing the first serial planes. In 2018, we completed the manufacture and the delivery of a batch of prototype planes that are now undergoing trials. Under the existing contract with the Defense Ministry, we have two planes in the production process, with the timeframe for the delivery of the first aircraft in 2019 and the second plane in 2020," Deputy CEO of the Sukhoi Aircraft Company Alexander Pekarsh was quoted as saying by Tass on Tuesday.

"I am confident that we will cope with the task and the first serial-produced plane will be delivered this year," he added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry and the Sukhoi Aircraft Company signed a contract on the delivery of the first two Su-57 fighter jets to the troops at the Army forum in Kubinka outside Moscow on August 22, 2018. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said at the time that the first serial-produced Su-57 out of 15 planes planned for delivery would arrive for the Aerospace Force in 2019.

Russia is also set to sign a second contract for manufacturing 13 Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets for its armed forces in 2020.