A Russian Su-57 Felon performs aerial maneuvers during Russia’s Military Technical Forum “Army-2020” in Moscow in August 2020. The Su-57s have been similarly agile at avoiding combat in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Andrei Shmatko)

Could Russia’s Su-57 Felon Fighter Jets Beat Ukraine’s F-16s? Maybe, Maybe Not

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We haven’t yet seen a head-to-head matchup between the two advanced fighter jets—because Russia has kept its Su-57s as far from the front lines as possible.

Ukraine now operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon, providing a significant improvement in air combat capability and allowing it to stand up to Russia’s Cold War-era Sukhoi fighter jets on roughly equal terms—or even surpass them. But what would happen if Russia responded with its most advanced fighter, the fifth-generation Su-57 Felon?

Russia has so far declined to use the Su-57 in battle in Ukraine, reasoning that the aircraft is difficult enough to produce that losing even a small number would be catastrophic for Russia’s air capabilities. But if this were to change, and Russia were to begin using the........

© The National Interest