In December 2020, just a week before Christmas, Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) unwrapped its highly-anticipated present at Dzyomgi airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in eastern Russia.
The new-generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighter may not have arrived on a sled driven by a fat man with a white beard, but the excitement was palpable. After 11 years of testing, the Su-57, now widely-known as ‘Felon’, was finally entering service. The VKS will take delivery of four more fighters in 2021 and, by 2028, three units will be equipped with 24 Su-57s each.
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