Russia's Su-57 Stealth Fighter: Heading to China and India?

Mark Episkopos

Security,

Here are 5 nations who might want to purchase this deadly fighter jet. 

With the first serially produced Su-57 scheduled for delivery to the Russian Air Force by the end of 2019, aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi unveiled the export variant of Russia’s flagship fifth-generation fighter at the MAKS 2019 air show earlier this summer. In an illustration of the Kremlin’s increasingly proactive advertising approach, Russian President Vladimir Putin made news waves for personally pitching the Su-57E to his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdoğan. 

But this recent focus on high-profile presidential outings belies years of persistent behind-the-scenes work by Russia’s state arms export agency-- Rosoboronexport-- to line up a surprisingly wide array of potential Su-57 buyers and investors. Here is a current shortlist of all prospective Su-57 importers.

Myanmar: The most recent addition to this list, Myanmar’s ambassador to Russia Ko Ko Shein Russia notified Moscow of his government’s interest in importing the Su-57 earlier this month. Myanmar previously signed a contract with Rosoboronexport to replace its aging Soviet MiG-29’s with a fleet of Su-30SM Flankers. Even if it uses objectively more expensive components, the Su-57E could end up costing Myanmar barely more than the Su-30SM; as previously described by The National Interest, the Russian government is willing to “short-sell” the Su-57 in the short term if it plants the seeds of a profitable export platform down the line. Though unsuited for helping Myanmar’s government with their ongoing counterinsurgency efforts, the Su-57E would go far in shoring up Myanmar’s drastic deficiency in air-to-air power.