Russia's bluff has been called, and now
its military must clash with NATO forces in eastern europe. As both sides prepare
for battle, high in the skies over Eastern Europe a squadron of F-22s and Su-57s rush
to meet each other in a battle the world has been dreading for decades. But who would win
between these two state of the art aircraft? The F-22A was developed by Lockheed Martin to
be the air dominance fighter of the future, and first took flight as a prototype on
September 7th, 1997. Its origins however lie in the Cold War, with the US looking ahead
to a future conflict with the Soviet Union. That is why when the plane was officially procured
in 1999, it faced a very uncertain future- it was the world's most cutting edge fighter, and
an extremely expensive one at that too. The age of great power conflict was thought to be
over with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the F-22 was a plane without a mission.
Inevitably, congress approved the termination of future production of F-22s and the
specialized tools and equipment used to create the most advanced fighter in the world
were put into storage in case of emergency. The Su-57 Felon is a twin-engine stealth
multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi for the Russian military.
Its origins are much more recent, with development beginning in 1999 as Russia
began the long process of trying to impose itself as a global power once more. Over
the years though the Su-57 ran into serious budgeting problems. Initially Russia, like the
US, planned to buy hundreds of the aircraft, but eventually only 16 were actually built.
The death blow to the Su-57 program was the ever worsening Russian economy, as well as the
pullout of India's partnership in the program when it determined that the Su-57's capabilities
were not as advertised or worth the investment. Both aircraft depend on stealth for
survivability and lethality, but which is better? The SU-57 features specialized design
to reduce its radar cross-section, or RCS. This is achieved via techniques such
as carefully angling the edges of the wing and control surfaces so as to minimize the number
of directions that radar waves can be bounced back. Weapons are carried internally and
its engines are coated with radar absorbent materials, or RAM. Its canopy features a
70 to 90 nanometer thick metal oxide layer to both absorb radar waves and protect
the pilot from UV and thermal radiation. From the front, the Su-57 is more stealthy
than a 4th generation fighter, however from the side the aircraft is significantly less
stealthy and very vulnerable to detection and targeting. This represents a lack of
expertise in stealth by Russian engineers, but is also a design choice, as the
Su-57 is meant to operate within the protection of Russian air defenses.
Outmatched technologically by the US, Russia has long operated its military under
a fortress doctrine that makes maximum use of large numbers of long-range air defenses and
ground artillery to fend off advanced US threats. Simply put, a squadron of Su-57s would not be
operating far from friendly forces, unlike US F-22s which are expected to be the very tip of
the spear driving deep into enemy territory. The F-22 was designed with stealth as a top
priority, and so much attention was paid to the plane's stealth characteristics that even
the design of the pilot's helmet was taken into consideration. Like the Su-57 stealth is built
straight into the design of the plane with a delta wing configuration, curved vanes that prevent
line of sight to the engine faces and turbines, and special alignment of control surfaces. The
plane features a signature assessment system that warns a maintenance crew when the plane's
radar signature is degraded and requires repair, and while it is coated in RAM, it’s less reliant
on it than the B-2. The B-2 is so delicate that it requires a special air-conditioned hangar like the
true prom queen of the US air force that she is, but the F-22 was designed to be rugged and tough,
and can undergo repairs directly on a flight line. But hiding from radar is only part of its
stealthy design. Its flat thrust-vectoring nozzles don't just look super cool from behind,
but are specifically engineered to reduce the thermal signature of the big engines and
thus reduce the range at which the plane is targetable by heat seeking missiles. The
plane is also designed around tight control of electronic emissions to prevent targeting or
detection via electronic noise generated by its powerful radar and radio. It’ss also specially
designed to be quieter than other aircraft, and to be difficult to detect
with the naked eye at a distance. The result is an aircraft with an RCS which is
classified, but Lockheed Martin has confirmed that from some angles the aircraft has the
RCS of a steel marble, .0001 squared meters. The Su-57 on the other hand is believed
to have an RCS of .1 to 1 square meters. There's no question that when it comes to stealth,
the F-22 is the top dog- but at a price. In order to maintain its stealth features at an optimal
level, the plane has a mission capable rate of 62-70%, meaning that if the Su-57 were ever
fielded in large numbers, their relative lack of sophisticated stealth technology would make
them available for operations more often. Though if Ukraine is anything to go by, maintenance
is a very weak point of the Russian military and both aircraft might struggle to stay
in the air throughout a lengthy conflict. In a dogfight, power and maneuverability are what matters, and here the two aircraft
show some striking differences. The F-22 features thrust vectoring
engines that can pivot up and down, giving it the most maneuverability of any US
aircraft. However, the F-22 falls very short of the Su-57, which is one of the most
maneuverable planes ever made. Its twin engines feature independent thrust vectoring
in all directions, meaning each engine nozzle can point in any direction independent of the
other nozzle. That's why the Su-57 impressed spectators at airshows all over the world,
and in a dogfight scenario the F-22 pilot would be reaching for the ejection handle far
more frequently than his Russian counterpart. When it comes to power, both
planes are also unmatched. The F-22 is equipped with two Pratt &
Whitney F119 afterburning turbofan engines, with each delivering 35,000 pounds of thrust.
This gives the F-22 a total of 70,000 pounds of thrust and the ability to supercruise at
a classified speed of at least Mach 1.82. Supercruise is an important capability for modern
fighters, and one that very few can attain. It’s defined as the ability for an aircraft to
cruise at speeds of one and a half times, or greater, the speed of sound without the use of
afterburners for extended periods of time. Using afterburners burns through an aircraft’s fuel tank
very quickly, and thus most planes cannot maintain supersonic flight for very long. With great speed
though, comes great fuel consumption, and the F-22 is limited by its size and fuel use to a range
of 1,864 miles with external fuel tanks. Its combat radius is believed to be just over 500
miles, with a service ceiling of 65,000 feet. The Su-57 is equipped with two NPO Lyulka-Saturn
izdeliye 117 turbofan engines, a significant technological step forward for the Russians.
Each engine can produce just shy of 20,000 pounds of dry thrust giving the aircraft the ability
to supercruise at over mach 1.6. However, the Su-57's larger body allows it to store more fuel,
increasing its range to 2200 miles, with a combat radius of 930 miles and a ceiling of 66,000 feet.
The Su-57 seems to have the advantage here, even though its inferior aerodynamics and larger
size means it's slower than the nimbler F-22, but the Russian air force has been having serious
problems with developing the Su-57's engines, making them unreliable. Current Su-57s in
operation are equipped with older engines, and in 2014, before walking away from a
deal to help fund development of the Su-57, the Indian government expressed concerns over
the engine's reliability. Russia hopes to sweep away these issues with a new engine designated
izdeliye 30 and projected to be equipped on the Su-57 in the mid 2020s- however, this was before
Russia was sanctioned by the world and cut off from critical technological supploes. The current
fate of the planned engine upgrade is unknown. When it comes to engines, the F-22 is simply
more reliable, with over 180 of the aircraft in operation for over a decade, while the
Su-57 struggles with older engines and a planned upgrade that may never materialize. If
Russia were to solve the engine issue though, the Su-57 may outclass the F-22 in power,
if not speed due to the size difference. But a fighter is nothing without its weapons, so what kind of heat is each plane packing
and who's really bringing the smoke? The Su-57 has two tandem main internal
weapon bays that run along the entire length of the body of the aircraft, and two
side weapon bays for smaller missiles or bombs. Designed as a multi-role fighter, the
Su-57 can strike surface targets with ease, packing the 550 pound KAB-250 or 1,100
pound KAB-500 precision guided bombs in its main bays. It can also carry the Kh-38M
air-to-ground missile, Kh-35u anti-ship missile, the Kh-58 UshK anti-radiation missile for striking
enemy radar arrays, and the Kh-59MK2 cruise missile- though all of these in very limited
quantities. However, if stealth is not a concern, the plane has six external hardpoints that
can fit most Russian fighter-capable bombs and missiles. The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic air to
ground missile is also being developed specially for the Su-57 and meant to fit within the
dimensions of the plane's internal weapons bays. However, if going up against the F-22,
the Su-57 will bring four Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles with
a range of up to 120 miles, and two shorter range air-to-air
missiles in its side weapon bays. The F-22 has three internal weapons bays
laid out in a different configuration from the Su-57. Its main bay is housed at the
bottom of the fuselage, with two smaller bays directly on the sides of the fuselage and
aft of the engine intakes. Up against an Su-57, the F-22 can carry six beyond visual range
AIM-120 AMRAAMs, and one AIM-9 Sidewinder in each side bay. This gives the F-22 a significant
three missile advantage over the Su-57- but this is hardly a surprise. The F-22 was designed
specifically to take out enemy aircraft, while the Su-57 was designed to be a general purpose machine
capable of hitting both air and ground targets. The F-22 can also strike ground targets with
the replacement of its four main bay launchers with two bomb racks that can each carry one
1,000 pound or four 250 pound bombs. The plane can also carry GPS capable weapons such
as the Joint Direct Attack Munition, but it lacks the targeting pod required
to self-designate targets for laser-guided bombs. Like the Su-57, the F-22 is
equipped with external hardpoints for when stealth is not a priority, and it has
four hardpoints rated at 5,000 pounds each. For a good old fashioned knife fight in the sky,
the F-22 carries the M61A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon, and is equipped with 480 rounds meant for
half-second bursts. The pilot's heads-up display projects a radar projection of the cannon's fire
path when the weapon is in use to dramatically increase accuracy. The Su-57 meanwhile is equipped
with a 9A1-4071K 30mm autocannon with 150 rounds. While it has less rounds to fire, the 30mm cannon
will provide a significant advantage if a hit is scored- and given the Su-57's incredible
maneuverability, the odds of a hit are good. In terms of firepower, the F-22
takes the cake for air to air combat, even if it would do well to stay out of
dogfight range of the Su-57. However, the Su-57 is easier to configure for ground
strike missions, making it more flexible. But all that smoke means nothing if you
can't even detect what you're supposed to be aiming at, so how do the two
planes compare in radar and avionics? The F-22 is a champion of sensor fusion, where
it gathers data from all onboard systems, filters it for relevancy, and presents it to the
pilot for greatly enhanced situational awareness while lowering his workload. It can even receive
data from other platforms to add to its tactical picture. It’s equipped with the Sanders/General
Electric AN/ALR-94 electronic warfare system, Martin Marietta AN/AAR-56 infrared and
ultraviolet missile launch detector, Westinghouse/Texas Instruments AN/APG-77 active
electronically scanned array radar, and TRW communication/navigation/identification suite.
It has over thirty antennas blended into the wings and fuselage to give the airplane complete
all-around radar warning receiver coverage. This system can reduce its radar emissions to a
confined narrow beam- down to 2 degrees in azimuth and elevation- exceeding over 250 miles in
range and greatly increasing the plane's stealth by limiting excess electronic noise. In other
words, if you take a shot at the Raptor, it's going to immediately know trouble is on the way.
The system can even be used as a passive detection system that can search for targets and even
provide lock-on for weapons at classified ranges. The APG-77 radar equipped on the Raptor has a
low-observable, active-aperture, electronically scanned antenna that can track multiple targets
while conducting scans in any weather condition. The Raptor can also focus its radar to overload
enemy sensors in electronic-attack configuration, degrading the effectiveness of enemy radar
and increasing the survivability of fellow Raptors in formation. To reduce the chance of
interception or degradation, the APG-77 changes frequency over 1,000 times a second, and has an
estimated range of 125 to 150 miles for a target with the profile radar cross section of an SU-57-
not good news for the Russian fighter. Head on, the Raptor is likely capable of targeting the
Su-57 at just over 30 miles. By narrowing its beam however, the APG-77 can increase
this range by approximately 100 miles. Its two Huges Common Integrated Processors are
each capable of processing up to 10.5 billion instructions per second, making the F-22 one
of the smartest planes in the sky. In fact its avionics are so robust, that the F-22 has threat
detection and identification capabilities similar to the RC-135 Rivet Joint, however its radar is
less powerful than dedicated signals intelligence and threat detection platforms. This capability
however allows the F-22 to designate targets for allied aircraft, making the F-22 not just
lethal on its own, but lending its lethality to 4th generation aircraft who can fire weapons
from outside the threat envelope an F-22 is currently operating inside of. In effect, the
F-22 can grant friendly aircraft pseudo-stealth capabilities through its big brains, giving the
enemy one hell of a headache to worry about. The Su-57 is Russia's first attempt at achieving
sensor fusion. To manage its various electronic systems, the Su-57 is equipped with an
information management system developed by GRPZ. The plane is equipped with an N036
AESA radar system and L402 Himalayas electronic countermeasures system. Its radar is configured
across three platforms, with a traditional nose mounted radar and two cheek mounted radars
that greatly increase angular coverage. It also allows a pilot to guide a missile to its
target without having to point its nose at it, a significant advantage in close quarters combat.
Two N036L-1-01 L Band transceivers are mounted on each wing's leading edge flaps and
used for friend-or-foe identification, but can also be configured for electronic
warfare and used to degrade enemy radar- albeit at significantly less efficiency than the
F-22. It’s also equipped with a redundant radio telephone system and encrypted data exchange
capabilities between itself and other aircraft. However, the largest difference between the
two aircraft is the inclusion of the 101KS-V infrared search and track system on the Su-57,
while the F-22 lacks any such capability. Often touted as a 'stealth-killer' ISRT systems
allow an aircraft to search for and target enemy aircraft by their heat signatures.
This heat comes not just from the engines, but from the body of the plane thanks to the
friction it experiences during supersonic flight. While the F-22 lacks ISRT capabilities, it’s
also designed to fly cooler at faster speeds than the Su-57, and with engine outlets that
dramatically lower its infrared signature. Thus the Su-57's ISRT will still have
some difficulties in targeting an F-22, and its effective range will be
lowered considerably. Even so, this feature still gives the Su-57 an
advantage in close quarters combat. So which is the superior aircraft? The F-22 takes the cake by a long shot. It's
without question the world's premier fighter aircraft, with the most advanced avionics of
any non-classified fighter in operation today. Its radar lacks the angular coverage of the
Su-57, but can detect even stealthy targets at longer ranges compared to the Su-57,
and more importantly: provide good lock for weapons at increased ranges as well. With
an increased number of air to air missiles, the F-22 has more chances to shoot an Su-57 out
of the sky as well, another significant advantage. Yet the Su-57 has the advantage in close quarters,
and an F-22 pilot would do well to ensure he keeps a healthy distance between himself and an
Su-57. But ultimately, this is a minor advantage, as the F-22 is simply built to not just be
lethal on its own, but operate within a larger network of weapons and friendly platforms.
This is a capability that the Russians lack, and the US military remains the most networked
armed force in the world. This means that it's not just the F-22 that's lethal to an Su-57,
but a whole host of support platforms all using the F-22's targeting and tracking
data to guide their own weapons to target. Not only can the F-22 win a fight on
its own, but it can invite all its other buddies into that fight as well, leaving
the Su-57 pilot frightfully alone. However, ultimately the F-22 is superior for one single
reason: it’s an operational aircraft and the Su-57 is not. If war were to break out between
the two nations, it's highly unlikely an F-22 would even meet an Su-57 in battle given that
there are only 6 non-testing models in operation, while the Russian air force would
have to contend with over 180 Raptors. Want to see the F-22 in simulated combat?
Click Why F-22 Raptor Still Reigns Supreme, or click this other video instead!
