Russia Prepares To ‘Ramp Up’ Stealth Jet Production Amid Rising Threat Of War With West

Russia’s war in Ukraine escalated this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of the country’s military and vowed to use “all available means” to deter future attacks against Russia — a reference to the country’s diverse nuclear weapons arsenal. 

Then Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, provided fresh warnings Thursday on the heels of Putin’s nuclear threats that “Hypersound [hypersonic weapons] will be able to reach targets in Europe and in the United States much faster, guaranteed.” 

Now there’s word that Russian state-owned defense corporation Rostec will increase production of Su-57 5th-generation stealth fighter jets. 

“The Russian Air Force will receive new Su-57 jet fighters this year,” Rostec head Sergey Chemezov said on the company’s Telegram channel. 

Chemezov said the “production speed” of the stealth fighter jets “will be increased.” He said the plant is based in Russia’s Far East and is undergoing expansion to ramp up output. 

The multirole fifth-generation fighter was first delivered to Russia’s Aerospace Force in 2019. A video surfaced in 2018 of the jets used in Syria for combat operations. 

Su-57 over Syria. Video from Russian MoD pic.twitter.com/iCEnKfvV74

— Yuri Lyamin (@imp_navigator) November 19, 2018

Meanwhile, the US has been training for aerial warfare against Su-57s. We noted in 2019, Nellis Air Force Base had a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon painted to mimic Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter. 

“The next world war will be fought with fifth-generation fighters and hypersonic weapons,” we said in 2019.