Media: Russia sent its newest Su-57 fighters to Syria for combat testing
The principal decision to send Russian Su-57 fifth-generation fighters to Syria was made following the results of a closed presentation of the aircraft at the MAKS-2017 air show in Zhukovsky, reported the newspaper Kommersant, referring to a source close to the military.
"Taking into account the declared test program, the Defense Ministry decided to send the fighter to Syria in February, formally timing everything to Defender of the Fatherland Day," the source explained.
The arrival of the Su-57 multifunctional fifth generation at Syrian Khmeimim air base became known on February 22. According of RBC news agency, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that two aircraft were transferred.
Earlier, Syrian journalist Wael Al-Husseini noted that nine other Russian planes also arrived in Syria: four Su-35 fighters, four Su-25 attack planes and an A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft.
The RBC’s source in the Ministry of Defense explained that the appearance of the aircraft in Syria was the "answer" for the flight of American stealth fighters. "In addition, there is a task to test fighters in real conditions," the source explained. Previously, Kommersant’s source reported that the fighters were relocated in the framework of the program of "testing the fifth-generation fighter armament systems."