The Russian military has reportedly deployed new stealth fighter jets to Syria to test them in combat conditions.
Images of four Su-57s in Syrian airspace, billed as Russia’s fifth-generation answer to the U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, have been circulating online since last week.
The Kommersant business daily confirmed Monday that the Su-57s had been sent to Syria last week, citing defense industry sources.
Last week, the RBC business portal cited a Defense Ministry source as saying that the Su-57s were being sent to Syria to “undergo real-world testing.”
Apart from weapons systems testing, they would “clearly demonstrate the capabilities of the military-industrial complex and paint the activities of the Russian military in Syria in a favorable light,” Kommersant wrote.
A Su-57 prototype flew for the first time in 2010, while deliveries of the first batch of 12 aircraft to the Russian military are expected to begin in 2019.
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