A Greek Air Force Dassault Rafale takes off during the Iniochos exercises in April 2023. The Dassault Rafale is an impressive aircraft, roughly equivalent in capabilities to the Russian fifth-generation Su-57 Felon. (Shutterstock/Kostas Alkousis)

Su-57 Felon vs. Dassault Rafale: Which Fighter Jet Wins?

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The Su-57 Felon and the Dassault Rafale were not built to fight each other—yet a head-to-head comparison reveals interesting design tradeoffs between the two.

At first glance, the Russian Su-57 Felon and French Dassault Rafale occupy the same tier of modern combat aviation. The two aircraft sit at the top of the European hierarchy, alongside the Eurofighter Typhoon; with the possible exception of the American-made F-35 Lightning II, they are the best aircraft in any European arsenals.

In spite of their advanced designs, the two jets represent very different design philosophies. Whereas Russia pursued a fifth-generation stealth fighter in the Su-57, optimized specifically for air superiority and long-range combat, France instead refined the Rafale into one of the world’s finest 4.5-generation multirole fighters. Comparing the two jets to one another isn’t so much a........

© The National Interest