The Diplomat

Russia has developed a hypersonic air-to-ground missile for its Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft, the country’s first purported indigenously designed and built fifth-generation stealth fighter, according to Russian defense industry sources. The new weapon system can reportedly be fitted inside the Su-57s internal weapons bay.

“The enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex have created a prototype of a small-sized air-to-surface hypersonic missile for[internal] deployment on the Su-57 fighter,” a source was quoted as saying by TASS news agency on February 23.

In December 2018, a defense industry source revealed that the Su-57 may be armed with a hypersonic air-to-surface missile with “characteristics” similar to that of the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (“Dagger”) air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM).

The source did not provide any additional details regarding the missile. However, given the large size of the Kinzhal, the new hypersonic missile will likely be smaller given that it reportedly fits inside the Su-57’s internal weapons bay.

There is also speculation that the Su-57 will receive a new air-to-air hypersonic missile, an upgraded variant of the R-37 (K-37/RVV-BD) missile, capable of reaching a top speed of Mach 6 and an estimated operational range of over 300 kilometers, according to Russian defense industry sources.

The Russian Air Force is expected to receive the first batch of serial-produced Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft this year.

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