Su-57 networking and what makes a fifth-generation fighter

The S-70 Okhotnik force is still experimental in this January 2025 assessment, with very few aircraft available and an October 2024 loss over Ukraine. Flying beside a Su-57 would not by itself establish that the fighter controls the drone, since supplementary control from the ground remains a possibility. The Su-57 has networking capabilities well beyond earlier Russian fighters, despite being judged less capable than leading American and Chinese counterparts. Using information management as the defining criterion, it qualifies as a fifth-generation fighter. Stealth contributes to capability, while information fusion determines how effectively the pilot can use contacts supplied by other platforms. An F-35 receiving targeting information from an airborne warning aircraft illustrates how a fighter can engage without detecting the target through its own sensors.