Key Points and Summary: Russia’s Su-57 Felon, touted as a fifth-generation stealth fighter, has struggled to find international buyers.
-High production and maintenance costs, coupled with delays in key systems like the AL-51F engine and radar, have deterred potential customers like India and Algeria.
-Algeria, a frequent buyer of Russian aircraft, remains Moscow’s best hope for exports but faces significant hurdles, including steep costs and doubts about the jet’s radar-absorbing capabilities.
-Criticism from China and limited appeal to cash-strapped nations further dampen prospects.
-Despite its promise, the Su-57’s export future remains uncertain, reflecting broader challenges for Russian aerospace.
Why No One Wants to Buy Russia’s Su-57 Fighter Jet (Accept Maybe One Nation)
When the Su-57 Felon was still known by its Sukhoi Design Bureau prototype designator, T-50, there was plenty of talk about its export prospects.
Numerous commentators in Moscow were convinced that any export customer nation that had already procured the Sukhoi Su-35 or one of the advanced Su-30 variants would automatically be a candidate for the purchase of the T-50.
Today, the T-50 is known as the Su-57 Felon, and only one nation outside of Russia has purchased the Su-35 to date – the PRC.
Egypt was supposed to have been a customer, but those aircraft are supposedly now headed for Iran.
Overall, there are not a lot of possibilities to sell that aircraft anywhere else in the present day.
This has caused those who had previously predicted sales of the Su-35 to numerous other nations to talk about the next central export platform for Russian aerospace being the Su-57 instead.
“The list of countries that are being bandied about now as Su-57 customers includes some which if you know anything about their procurement planning or the resources they have to work with you would find this list kind of ridiculous,” said a Moscow-based aviation specialist who spoke with 19FortyFive.
Su-57 Felon: Who Would Purchase This Fighter?
This specialist, who formerly worked in the Russian combat aircraft sector, continued to explain “the money it would cost for any nation to purchase this aircraft would be a considerable sum – much greater than that required to purchase any variant of the previous-generation Russian aircraft like the MiG-29 and Su-27 and Su-30 models.”
“That pretty much rules out Vietnam and Venezuela,” two of the countries mentioned.
“North Korea sounds like and would be completely impossible without Russian personnel being on the ground in the DPRK to support and perhaps even pilot them. This would probably be unacceptable to Pyongyang, which is never keen to have its military personnel ‘tainted’ by contacts with any foreign nationals,” he said.
This leaves India and Algeria.

Su-57 artist rendering. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
India had previously opted out of the program, having initially agreed to work with the Russians to develop an India-specified and advanced aircraft version. The price tag – in the range of US $6 billion – was one reason New Delhi opted out of the effort.
The other issue for the Indians and most other Asian potential customers is that the major on-board systems for the Su-57, which make it supposedly 5th-generation, are not in series production yet and have prohibitive costs on a per-unit basis.
The first production runs of the Su-57 Felon were powered by a version of the same AL-41F engine and NIIP N035 passive electronically scanned array (PESA) that were both onboard the Su-35.
The engine intended for the Su-57 originally, the AL-51F, has had a modest history of test flights leading towards validation and has only been revealed in the last month.
The Algerian Connection on the Su-57
The one nation of the five that has been discussed more seriously than the others is Algeria.
The North African nation has previously acquired dozens of the Su-30MKA and many of the MiG-29S and MiG-29M/M2 models.
This level of investment in Russian military hardware is supposedly based on the need to counterbalance regional rival Morocco, which has recently ordered the latest and most advanced version F-16V Block 70/72, and with plans to upgrade its F-16C/D Block 52+ to the same configuration.
On or about 10 January, a high-level Russian delegation flew to Algeria to reportedly finalize a number of agreements involving the purchase of advanced weaponry and tin also finalize a sale of the Su-57 Felon.

Russian Su-57 stealth fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
If it were to be concluded, as previously reported, there are supposedly no firm orders for the jet from the PRC.
On the contrary, the T-50 prototypes of the Su-57 that Russia sent to the November 2024 Air Show China were widely mocked on social media outlets in the PRC as being nor stealth at all.
Examinations of the aircraft’s surface showed what videos posted on X described as “lots of screws” protruding from the connecting sections of panels, which would be major radar reflectors.
But those in the know will tell you that any deal between Moscow and Algiers depends more on the dynamics of the international energy business than anything else.
In the past, Russia has been willing to sell some of its most advanced weapons to Algeria, as well as forgive substantial debt obligations to court the Arab nation’s state energy firm, Sonatrach. The company generates 90 percent of Algeria’s export earnings by distributing about 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, most of it to Europe.
It is a small player compared to Russia’s Gazprom. Still, Algeria has always had the technology to convert Russian gas to LNG, which Moscow needs to export gas to nations other than those connected to its pipelines.

Su-57 Felon. Image: Creative Commons.
The sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine have cut Russian gas sales to several of its formerly largest customers.
Su-57 Fighter: Still a Long Shot For Sale
Even though Algeria has the key technology that Russia needs to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and has extensive cooperation with Moscow, Algiers still has opted not to join any Russian-led gas consortium.
Su-57, despite the incentives for Moscow to conclude a sale and solidify its relations with Algeria, is still seen as a long shot by those design engineers familiar with the aircraft.
“[I]t is not just the price of stealth aircraft that is the issue for any country that acquires one,” said James Stevenson, a US fighter aircraft specialist and the author of the book on the US Navy’s failed A-12 stealth attack aircraft program, The 5 Billion Dollar Misunderstanding.
“[I]t is also the cost of maintenance of the external, radar absorbing surface and supporting the aircraft,” he said. “These can be eye-watering costs for any nation that owns these kinds of aircraft. It remains to be seen if a country like Algeria is willing to incur that expense.”

Russia’s Su-57 Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is now an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw and has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.

Mike
January 21, 2025 at 3:22 pm
Again someone with no aviation knowledge not even a pilot or mechanic,talking western media propaganda !
Bob
January 21, 2025 at 9:21 pm
The lack of sales has everything to do with the sanctions imposed by the US on anyone buying Russian equipment and little else. The fellon is actually the only battle tested 5th Gen fighter. The author has no clue.
Cal Lawrence
January 21, 2025 at 10:19 pm
Please. The Su-57 is a Potemkin 5th generation fighter. The Rafale and Eurofighter probably have lower RCS, and they’re not even stealth.
Greg
January 22, 2025 at 3:52 am
How many countries are the Russian media claiming have bought the Felon? And are they more trustworthy than the Western media, do you think?
Onesmus kioko, school teacher
January 22, 2025 at 5:00 am
You seem to have wasted the whole space to write personal hypothesis, prophecy, illusions, rhetorics, and malice, first there is no fighter plane in Russian fleet called “felon” we have su 57 and that’s all.second your allegations doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground, your not a aeronautical engineering for that matter and more so you don’t have any data ànd vital details about the specifications of the plane. Whether they produced 2 or three this is Russian project and will go at their phase, f35 is a NATO project every country has contributed and many are building spare parts in short you can’t relate to Russian own project. Whether they have sold or not what would be your business, ascertain your allegations of inept radar engine as you allege, f35 can’t even challenge su35 and more so can’t evade Russian nebo radar S-400 and now S -500 some of your sentiments have been overtaken by events.techinology has evolved and it’s the high time to accept dynamics
Ziggy
January 24, 2025 at 10:05 am
The simple truth is.
No one is going to but it till the russian military has made it fully operational in their own military 1st.
It not a export only fighter.
Russia failure to make it operational in it’s own military is hurting sales.
Someone in these comments said it is the only combat experience 5th GEN fighter. Lol lol lol lol lol