Now this is interesting(if true):
@randomradio, @_Anonymous_, @Speedster1, @marich01, @babablacksheep, @Sathya, @YoungWolf et al
@randomradio, @_Anonymous_, @Speedster1, @marich01, @babablacksheep, @Sathya, @YoungWolf et al
PAK-FA / Sukhoi Su-57 - Updates and Discussions
- Thread starter Ashwin
- Start date
The B2 is a prized HVA for the US. While transiting to a theatre of ops, it is escorted by fighters and EW ac much like WW2 bombers.
Attack runs ae probably solo but only in airspace that has been suitably sanitized beforehand.
Really doubt they'd have armed escorts while travelling to the region of operations even if they're flying over friendly aerospace as there's no saying who'd be tracking their flight path.
It's not as if friendly countries don't snoop on one another. Like the U-2 this bird was built to avoid detection at all costs except the build quality , the build material , the flight characteristics , etc are different.
In any case I very much doubt this incident can be verified. You just peruse such information , file it at the back of your mind & move ahead.
As & when more data is forthcoming or you see more such incidents a pattern can be formed & explanations can be offered.
Until then this remains an unconfirmed incident.
The claim that three Su-57 fighters "engaged" or tailed a B-2 Spirit bomber during peacetime is fake and appears to be part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
While some online posts from late April 2026—such as a "flash" report from The Intel Drop—claim a sustained 30-minute tailing of a B-2 over the Black Sea, there is no verification for this event.
mostly likely propoganda, they need to increase su57 exports badly, they need all the good publicity they can get
Honestly don't believe it to have taken place, at all. B2 isn't like U2 or any other spy plane which will be flying alone, oh no, it's the finest bomber in the USAF arsenal. I don't see how it'd have been flying without an armed escort of F-22 and/or F-35. Plus, the creator (who has used AI for script n narration) hasn't provided any publicly available news which can confirm this incident and serve as the basis for this video.
I myself doubted the veracity of this report, thus put "if true" within bracket. But if this isn't propaganda and such an intercept happened over Black Sea, then it means Russians GBAD can detect/track B-2 bombers and even send Su-57s to intercept it. Su-57 has 2D L-Band radar in wing-leading edges to detect VLO targets and can cue both its radar and IRST towards it. It is designed as a perfect stealth hunter.
Yes but where does this corroborate what you're putting out in terms of an armed escort except for when it got to the theatre of operations.
All through its route from the US to Iran , there's no mention of any armed escort whatsoever except for certain rendezvous points along the route for refuelling.
If anything it corroborates what I put out namely that providing escorts will give away the location of the aircraft. The B-2 was designed as a lone strike Aircraft.
Ironically so was the B-21 before I saw reports it'd need an armed escort at the theatre of operations.
B2s often fly for hours and across continents to reach their targets. Their routes may be carefully planned along with strict EMCON etc but the daytime leg of these sorties are particularly risky, even in friendly airspace.
That would make a fighter escort necessary. In any case, USAF bomber tactics have been evolving over time to counter advanced A2/AD threats. Rather they are coming full circle.
B-2 Bombers Practice Stealth Team Tactics With F-35 Pilot Trainees For The First Time
The first training event of its kind provided F-35A student pilots with the chance to work alongside B-2 stealth bombers.
www.twz.com
Stealth FAs like F-35 escorting B-2 actually makes sense. Otherwise you risk alerting everyone around to the presence of the B-2 if you're actually escorting it with non stealth FAs.B2s often fly for hours and across continents to reach their targets. Their routes may be carefully planned along with strict EMCON etc but the daytime leg of these sorties are particularly risky, even in friendly airspace.
That would make a fighter escort necessary. In any case, USAF bomber tactics have been evolving over time to counter advanced A2/AD threats. Rather they are coming full circle.
B-2 Bombers Practice Stealth Team Tactics With F-35 Pilot Trainees For The First Time
The first training event of its kind provided F-35A student pilots with the chance to work alongside B-2 stealth bombers.
Even friendly countries may attempt to get a track on it through whatever means at their disposal what to say about neighbouring countries not well disposed to the US like in the Black Sea region.
Engine: Lowered Expectations for the Su-57
The development of the Izdeliye 30 turbojet engine, which was intended to power the final version of the Sukhoi Su-57, has encountered major difficulties. The cause is a shortage of modern materials. Moscow will therefore have to fall back on the Izdeliye 177, which offers reduced performance and increased weight.
The development of the Izdeliye 30 turbojet engine, which was intended to power the final version of the Sukhoi Su-57, has encountered major difficulties. The cause is a shortage of modern materials. Moscow will therefore have to fall back on the Izdeliye 177, which offers reduced performance and increased weight.
Looks like Item 177 is going to be the definitive engine for stage-2 prototypes and it is also on offer to us @_Anonymous_ & @Speedster1
That's a French publication reporting it . It's not as if Russia's dependent on the west for material technologies . Besides the west's penchant for running down Russian equipment is well known. Then again who knows ?
For all we know the Russians are spreading this canard to discourage export of the Item 30 on board the Su-57 to potential buyers like India who may only want the deal with Item 30.
You ought to ask your pal PST. He's a much more vivid imagination when it comes to things like these & can come up with much better scenarios
Yeah, we cannot trust western reporting on any Russian equipment, they have specially upped the blatant propaganda articles since the Ukraine war.
Maybe, the advantages of Item 30 over Item 177 are not that much. Remember both have same 108KN of dry thrust. Only in terms of weight(around 100-120kgs lighter due to less HPT stages) and wet thrust(158KN vs 175KN) is Item-30 more superior.
Maybe, Russians think that Item 177 is sufficient for Su-57's 5th gen characteristics and and an evolved Item 30/AL-51F1 with 3 stream VCE version is required for future 5.5/-6 gen variants of Su-57.
Anyways, talks between India and Russia regarding Su-57 are both comprehensive yet very covert. No one, except an elite few, know what is going behind the curtain. Rest, all of us, we may just speculate till then.
In terms of thrust, it's adequate for the Russian environment and doctrine. Slower acceleration and climb, and lower takeoff performance compared to Izd 30. All fine for the cold environment. It doesn't provide sufficient IR and RF stealth, but it will still meet Russian doctrine for air defense. It won't defeat the F-22 or F-35 on-on-one, but it can still survive long enough to get shots off while operating over their IADS.
For example, it supercruises at mach 1.6 instead of mach 2, so it will barely even keep up with the F-22, never mind F-47.
In India's hot and high environment, it will fall further behind by 10-15%. It lacks the canards that MKI and Rafale have to compensate for the difference in thrust. In fact, for India Izd 30 will have to be uprated further or flat rated to a higher temperature for the jet to give the same performance it gives in Russia. Or we will have to operate the Izd 30 with its downgraded thrust level, this way it will perform like the 177 does in Russia. It equalizes only at med-high altitude.
Of course, 177 is barely an entry-level 5th gen engine compared to the late 5th gen class Izd 30, and even that is questionable. It is also expected to come with a flat nozzle though. The Russians are looking for a bakra to fund their misadventures, like all the heroes who showed up to rescue the F-35.
The Flanker class 177S is a massive upgrade over AL-31FP, at least on paper, but 177 is definitely a massive downgrade compared to the Izd 30. They are looking for a 177S bakra too. IAF has already denied being one for 117S.
177 should give supercruise of Mach 2 'cause its dry thrust is same as AL-51F1, i.e., 108KN. Supercruise has nothing to do with wet thrust and you know all of this.