MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The Su-57D twin-seat fifth-generation fighter will draw great interest abroad, Sergey Bogdan, chief pilot of the Sukhoi Design Bureau of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the Rostec state tech corporation), who took the aircraft out for its maiden flight, told TASS.
"I believe this aircraft is very much needed. It will be in high demand. First and foremost, it will be in demand with foreign customers. It’s crucial when training for any type of aircraft to have a similar twin-seat (cockpit) configuration. Currently, we have a certain level of continuity. We easily retrain pilots who have flown Su-27, Su-30, and Su-35 aircraft. Pilots transition well from these aircraft. But if we consider the fact that customers are emerging who don’t have, or have never had, Sukhoi aircraft, then pilot training becomes a priority," he noted.
According to Bogdan, an important feature of the Su-57D is its similarity to the single-seat version. "This aircraft is designed in such a way that it retains virtually all the characteristics of a single-seat aircraft. And if it is considered as a component of any combat unit, then I believe that any unit would benefit from its deployment, because it will streamline both the process of training pilots from scratch and the process of retraining skills if necessary," he added.
On May 19, it was announced that the United Aircraft Corporation began flight tests of the Sukhoi Su-57D multirole fifth-generation fighter. According to the state corporation, the first flight was performed by Hero of Russia Sergey Bogdan.
Rostec’s press service clarified that the two-seat Su-57 can be used to organize and control combat operations of a joint group of manned and unmanned aircraft, creating a unified information and control space.