F-35 Vs Su-57: Which fighter owns the skies?

The F-35 is the most prolific stealth fighter on the planet, with Lockheed Martin planning to finish the 1,000th F-35 airframe before the close of 2023. Russia's Su-57, on the other hand, has been plagued by technical setbacks and delays, leaving Russia with only a handful of production fighters in service.

But how do these two fighters really stack up? Not just in terms of stealth, but the onboard technology that really makes a difference in the fight?

Let's find out.

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Citations:

[Amradar]

964 F35 vs 11 SU-57 built. So by sheer number alone the F35 dominates the sky by almost 90:1 😊

[landonluebke]

As a general rule of thumb, I think the one that can actually fly “owns the skies”

[bluemarlin]

Fun fact: The Su-57 can’t carry any radar-guided missiles in its weapons bays. Russia claims to have an R-77 variant adapted for internal carriage in development, but it’s still nowhere near ready to deploy. This means that in order to carry medium and long-range missiles, the Su-57 must sacrifice what little stealth it has.

[Llyrin]

Also, the US tends to understate the specs on its defense products, while Russia almost ALWAYS overstates its abilities.

[Outrigger]

"I asked one of the Air Force pilots, Lt. Col. Scott “Cap” Gunn, here whether the F-35 would win when fighting close-up with an enemy fighter. His answer was simple: “Without a doubt.”

Gunn told reporters at a briefing here that he had gone up against a friend in an F-16 a few months ago. Though the F-35 “performed very well, ” he made clear that it hadn’t been dominant. They flew again recently and the F-16 pilot was amazed by the improvement in the F-35’s performance. “What have they done to your jet?” the pilot said, according to Gunn. “The difference is we have learned how to fly the jet… and better understand where its advantages are.”

---->Gunn went on to say that he “either never got it within visual range, or, if I’m going to be inside visual range, then it’s because I’m going to choose to be there.” That seems to make clear the aircraft’s vaunted fusion engine and advanced sensors — all tied into the pilot’s helmet — provides the pilot with enough warning and data to allow him to decide the terms of combat."

~Breaking Defense

[texasranger]

The US Army just chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs.
Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.

[benjaminlynch]

That 900 mile IR detection range on that ballistic missile is very impressive, even if it was under ideal conditions. For perspective, the distance from New York to Chicago is around 715 miles. It’s also approximately 715 miles from Warsaw - within NATO’s borders - to Moscow. Being able to identify and track from that distance without radar is huge and would no doubt play a significant role in attack vector in any future (hypothetical) conflict.

[scottpoole]

Might be better to compare the Su-57 vs a F15EX. Except there are still more of the F15EX than the Su-57.

[qZbGmYjSQusYqv]

Su-57 is like Armata tanks - nobody ever seen them in real action

[afdrell]

F-35: You are superior in only one respect
Su-57: What is that?
F-35: You are better at dying

[tadzhiks]

One is a fighter that exists, the other one is a cartoon. Pretty easy question.

[Utubesuperstar]

The 57 fanboys and 35 naysayers in general don’t realize just how much of a game changer and dominant force the 35’s das and sensor fusion is. No other aircraft can shoot a target that’s 180 degrees behind it

[michaelfried]

The real question is: Does Russia even have any competent enough pilots to make the SU57 come even marginally close to being competitive? I doubt it.

[cylentone]

I love your quote "nobody has ever won a dogfight by doing cartwheels"

[alexv]

Given that there are a little over 10 Su-57s in existence, it literally wouldn't matter if it was the best fighter even made; outnumbered nearly a hundred to one against the ~1000 and counting F-35s, they stand little chance. And, to be clear, the Su-57 stands no chance of getting close enough to the F-35 for manoeuvring advantages to matter, nor of even seeing one until it's far too late.

[edmondsmith]

I admire and truly appreciate Mr. Hollings objectivity in every episode, this side by side being no different! (Very merciful, not including the training gap, and how many skilled veterans in the Russian Airforce equivalent would be still around to even see that possible scenario with an F-35 A/B/C.)

[PasleyAviationPhotography]

Hmmm there are around 10 Su-57, to close to 1K F-35's. Yes, that would be an interesting albeit short fight.

[underworldguardian]

The SU-57 is so stealthy, no one has seen it outside Russia 😂

[billyccall]

The F-22 dominates the sky, the su-57 dominates the hanger...

[trentvlak]

I'm just impressed that they got four to fly at the same time for a photo shoot. Right now the USA is desperate for some competition.