Russia’s fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO reporting name “Felon”) could soon carry hypersonic weapons, according to a high-ranking official with the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Zircon (Tsirkon) has been named as one of the potential weapons employed on the multirole stealth fighter.

“In accordance with the state defense order, the Aerospace Forces annually receive advanced and modernized weapon systems. The pace of deliveries of fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft is increasing, along with modern aviation strike systems and hypersonic weapons,” Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander in Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Maksimtsev said in a recent interview, according to Tass.  

Claims that the single-seat, twin-engine multirole Su-57 would be armed with hypersonic weapons are not entirely new. In early 2022, Russian officials claimed that the Su-57 could carry advanced ordnance, and reports suggest that weapon tests were conducted. The Kremlin had been developing an air-launched variant of the Zircon, a hypersonic cruise missile that has been fired in demonstrations from Russian Navy surface ships and submarines.

“Integrating the Zircon onto the Su-57, which........

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