During the Airshow China 2024 aerospace exhibition in Zhuhai, the russian federation showed its Su-57 fighter aircraft to the foreign public for the first time, and this demonstration came out disastrous because the visitors could see firsthand the low quality of production and industrial techniques used in the making of this jet.
Then, the real slap in the face was the presentation of the Chinese answer to F-35, the J-35A fighter: it was a true fifth-generation stealth fighter unlike the russian wannabe Su-57, where parts are held together with myriads of bolts glowing on enemy radar monitors like red eyes in family photos.
Read more: Chinese Attendees Ridicule russian Su-57 at Zhuhai Airshow and Share First Detailed Close-Up Photos
Lots of screws: Closer look at Russia's 5th generation Su-57 fighter jet at China's Zhuhai Airshow. pic.twitter.com/jDJdyafbAD — Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2024
Expectedly, the russian state media tried to salvage the Su-57 reputation yet chose quite an odd approach. Widely reported now is the statement from Rostec General Director, Sergey Chemezov, who said "the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter is the only one in the world that has shown its effectiveness in countering the Patriot systems."
Not only the claim about Su-57 being a "fifth-generation fighter" is controversial but also, according to his logic, it turns out that other russian modern aircraft, such as Su-34 and Su-35S types, have not been that effective in the face of Patriot air defense systems.
Moreover, what is meant by "effectiveness in countering Patriot" is unclear either. So far, russian forces only used Su-57s to launch long-range standoff strikes against Ukraine without entering the airspace controlled by Ukrainian air defenses at all.
The russian forces use Su-57 for firing cruise missiles Kh-69 (range: 400 km) and Kh-59 (300 km), whereas Patriot's GEM-T interceptors only reach as far as 160 km. What kind of "countering" the fighters needed to showcase here is unknown.
Earlier, Defense Express broke down what Chinese airshow visitors saw while observing the russian Su-57 and explained how using Kh-59 missiles undermines the russian self-proclaimed "5th-gen" fighter's stealth properties.
Read more: russia Brings Su-57 to Airshow China in Another Attempt to Convince It's a 5th-Gen Fighter
