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.
![Su-57 [Piotr Butowski]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/02a-T-50-1%20at%20MAKS%202011%2C%20anti-spin%20chute%20in%20tailcone-004%28c%29Butowski.jpg)
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.
T
