According to Sputnik, Russia's fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet is working on the use of an unpiloted mode during tests.

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 Su-57 showcased during MAKS-2019 (Picture source: Air Recognition)

"The T-50 flying laboratory is testing an unpiloted mode. A pilot is in the cockpit during a flight but is just controlling the operation of all systems", a source in the defenсe industry said to Sputnik.

The Su-57 is a fifth-generation multirole fighter designed to destroy all types of air, ground and naval targets. The Su-57 fighter jet features stealth technology with the broad use of composite materials, is capable of developing supersonic cruising speed and is furnished with the most advanced onboard radio-electronic equipment, including a powerful onboard computer (the so-called electronic second pilot), the radar system spread across its body and some other innovations, in particular, armament placed inside its fuselage.

The Su-57 took to the skies for the first time on January 29, 2010. Compared to its predecessors, the Su-57 combines the functions of an attack plane and a fighter jet while the use of composite materials and innovation technologies and the fighter’s aerodynamic configuration ensure the low level of radar and infrared signature.

The plane’s armament will include, in particular, hypersonic missiles. The fifth-generation fighter jet has been successfully tested in combat conditions in Syria.

 Two Su-57 flying during MAKS-2019 demonstration (Picture source: Air Recognition)