Russian 5th-gen fighter deployed to Syria for radar test, latest leaked details claim
Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry reportedly moved four Su-57s, which have been built for trials, to Khmeimim Airbase in Syria. The deployment was seemingly confirmed by Israeli satellite images and footage taken from the ground, but neither the Russian military nor the producer of the advanced warplane would comment on the move.
The aircraft have been sent to Syria to test their capabilities in a semi-combat environment, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing insider sources. The trial will initially focus on electronic warfare and radar capabilities of the 5th-generation fighter jet, rather than its weapon systems, the report said. A decision on the Syrian trial was taken after the MAKS 2017 airshow near Moscow in July, the source revealed.
The advanced fighter jets were deployed to Syria less than two weeks after US forces attacked and devastated a group of pro-government forces, which included some Russian citizens. Moscow insisted that none of the Russians hurt in the incident were part of the country’s military force in Syria.
In addition to the Su-57s, Russia also deployed four advanced Su-36s fighter jets last week, and an A-50U airborne early warning and control plane.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
Dear readers and commenters,
We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system.
Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments,
RT Team.