The so-called “fifth generation” of fighter jets is all the rage nowadays, as it has become a matter of national prestige to field such advanced weapon systems. However, there aren’t that many such jets in operational service and even fewer when considering their battlefield usage. The American F-22 “Raptor” has only been used to inflict a “crushing defeat” on whether balloons, while its “younger brother”, the troubled F-35, has long been a laughing stock due to its endless stream of issues, cost overruns, crashes and numerous embarrassing episodes. This stands in stark contrast to the Chinese J-20, now available in multiple iterations and confidently guarding the Asian giant’s skies (and waters) across the East and South China Seas. And then there’s the Su-57, the world’s most battle-tested next-generation fighter jet.

Namely, the Russian platform has been used in battlefield conditions that would be virtually insurmountable for any Western fighter aircraft, be it the legacy F-16 and “Mirage” 2000-5 or the aforementioned F-35. The previous two have had a pretty rough ride facing Russia’s top-of-the-line fighter jets such as the Su-30 (multirole), Su-35S (air superiority) and/or MiG-31BM (superfast, high-flying interceptor). These three alone are more than deadly for the vast majority of NATO aircraft, but the Su-57 kicks it up a notch, making most Western fighter jets effectively obsolete. There’s an entire plethora of munitions developed specifically for the Su-57, including........

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