Sergei Bogdan: The Su-57E's weapons bays amaze experts with their size
— Sergey Leonidovich, have any new aerobatics elements been added to the third foreign demonstration of the Su-57 fighter jet?
One difference between us and foreigners at airshows is that we try not to fly at high speeds. All aircraft, whether the Rafale or the F-35, accelerate to very high speeds at airshows, sometimes approaching transonic speeds. This requires the aircraft to fly far away from the spectators and spend a considerable amount of time. The F-35's display lasts twice as long as ours. The Su-57E, on the other hand, offers a fairly comprehensive aerobatics display, which is quite sufficient for both spectators and specialists. They have time to see the aircraft's full capabilities and don't tire of the monotony of similar maneuvers.
During one flight, you opened not the usual three cargo compartments—two on the wings and one on the fuselage—but only two, one of which was in the wing. Why?
"Two hatches were open. One held air-to-surface missiles, the other air-to-air missiles. We were demonstrating that even the prospect of asymmetric missile launches doesn't affect the aircraft's performance. We test aircraft with various weapon configurations, including those with a significant degree of asymmetry. This is also important for specialists to see."
ow does the car handle in the local skies and climate? This is the East—heat, sand. How do the engines work?
"The Su-57E is designed for significantly harsher operating conditions. There's no room for imagination here; we know our engines operate in dust storms, but we haven't encountered anything like that in the UAE specifically. As for temperature, the heat in Dubai isn't that severe right now, no higher than 33°C. We test our aircraft at full load and in more extreme conditions
. The current climate conditions here are designed."
— Is the same car being shown at this exhibition that was at the last two foreign exhibitions?
"No, it's different. It has different avionics and a more advanced cockpit. This aircraft is already equivalent to the export version of the Su-57E."
This is the third time the Su-57 has been showcased at international exhibitions. Do you feel the attention continues to grow?
"I don't want to make anything up here. It depends on many factors. For example, in China, the aircraft sparked a surge of interest—it was the world premiere of our fifth-generation aircraft. And their developed media and social networks, which captured the attention of the entire Chinese nation, are crucial. And if I meet a Chinese person here in Dubai, they'll likely recognize me and, with genuine, almost childlike delight, approach me to ask for an autograph or a photo. The same thing happens to me in Moscow when I meet Chinese people. During the exhibition in Bangalore, India, there was less of this at first, but later it was also impossible to walk peacefully anywhere."
How do our military pilots rate this aircraft in comparison to previous generations of aircraft?
"I know the aircraft is currently in active use, and Russian Air Force pilots speak very highly of it. We, as test pilots, have a slightly different mission: we look for flaws in the technology, not its strengths. We write massive deficiencies reports for any aircraft, absolutely any aircraft. Hundreds of these flaws, both minor and major, are being addressed promptly."