On Sunday, May 17, 2026, former Russian military pilot Ilya Tumanov, known by the pseudonym Fighterbomber and well informed about developments in the military and industry, published a photograph of the prototype of a two-seat variant of the Su-57D multirole aircraft, derived from the single-seat Su-57 (NATO reporting name: Felon).
Photo: Fighterbomber via Telegram
Details about the photograph are unknown. The author himself wrote only: “And the Su-57D itself.” A day earlier, he had reported: “Today, the new two-seat version of the Su-57 passed taxiing tests. It is not yet known whether it will be called the Su-57D or Su-57UB. The Su-57ED variant is also possible.”
If the Su-57D variant is confirmed, it will be the third new-generation aircraft, after China’s Chengdu J-20S/AS, first photographed on October 27, 2021, and South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae, flown in two prototype examples on February 20 and June 28, 2023, to have a two-seat variant.
At present, however, it cannot be confirmed unambiguously whether the photograph is authentic. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the Russians had planned to build such a Su-57 variant.
On November 21, 2023, the Russian news service Vesti reported that, on November 17, United Aircraft Corporation, or UAC, had received a patent from the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Rospatent, for the development of a two-seat combat trainer variant of the Su-57, which would receive the designation Su-57UB. Of course, the designation revealed by Fighterbomber appears to contradict this, but D simply means a two-seat combat aircraft.
Patent drawing of a low-observable two-seat multirole tactical aircraft / Drawing: Rospatent
Speculation has emerged that the aircraft being tested is a rebuilt T-50-5R prototype. It is worth recalling here that this is the aircraft repaired after a compressor stall and engine fire on June 10, 2014.
Interesting hint … could be the modified T-50-5R and not T-50-4! 🤔 https://t.co/pG87BmDKFb pic.twitter.com/prtKaTiDXY
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) May 17, 2026
In general, the layout of the new cockpit is analogous to that of aircraft from the Su-30 family (NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H), providing good visibility for the rear-seat crew member. The aircraft received a modified shark camouflage scheme, while the tail fin bears a logo depicting the silhouettes of the Su-57 and the S-70 Okhotnik (Russian for “hunter”) unmanned combat aircraft, which is intended to serve as a loyal wingman for these aircraft.
The first mention of a planned two-seat Su-57 variant came in a statement by then Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov, now director general of the Russian state space agency Roscosmos, on June 16, 2021, during a visit to the Yuri Gagarin Aircraft Plant, KnAAPO, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia’s Far East. It was to be flown in 2024, with production readiness two years later, so it appears that the Russians are running two years behind schedule.
According to the 2023 patent, the new variant is to have a 10% greater operational range and endurance. In addition, the presence of a second crew member on board, acting as the mission systems operator during combat missions, will reduce the pilot’s workload. Optionally, the second crew member could serve as an instructor when the aircraft performs a training role, or as an unmanned systems operator.
It is worth recalling that the two-seat Su-57 variant was originally to be developed specifically for India under the FGFA, or Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft, program, but in April 2018 New Delhi ended its 11-year cooperation with Moscow in this area and is now independently working on a fifth-generation aircraft known as the HAL AMCA, or Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft. Russia was also supposed to be testing an unmanned, or rather optionally crewed, Su-57 variant.
The Russians are also working on the modernized Su-57M, powered by a new version of the NPO Saturn AL-51F1 turbofan engine (izdeliye 30; previously designated the Phase II engine), with a flat nozzle and thrust vectoring. This engine has already been installed on the T-50-2 prototype (No. 052 Blue). However, on December 22 last year, the aforementioned prototype flew with the izdeliye 177 engine, which is an interim solution between the AL-41F1 (izdeliye 117) and the delayed AL-51F1.
So far, Russia has received around 30–35 Su-57 aircraft out of 76 ordered in 2019 for 160–170 billion RUB, with deliveries planned through 2028, including prototypes. On June 9, 2024, two aircraft may have been damaged in a Ukrainian attack on the airfield of the test center in Akhtubinsk, while another two were damaged on April 25 this year in a drone attack on Shagol Air Base in Chelyabinsk. One aircraft crashed on December 24, 2019.
The latest delivery took place on February 9 this year, in a modified version, while in early April more, higher-quality photographs emerged of the first two export Su-57E aircraft in Algeria. However, production may have been halted or at least delayed due to a fire at the Yuri Gagarin Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAPO), in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which occurred on April 11. Nine days later, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, HUR MO, published on its War & Sanctions information service a 3D model and a list of 103 entities involved in the production of these aircraft.
UPDATE
On May 19, the Russian state holding Rostec, which includes UAC, confirmed the first flight of the two-seat Su-57 and its designation. Sukhoi Company chief test pilot Sergey Bogdan was at the controls. The test flight proceeded as planned. First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov noted that the Su-57D will feature unique combat capabilities, as well as the capabilities of a combat trainer and a battle management aircraft. UAC Director General Vadim Badekha said that the two-seat version of the aircraft will make a significant contribution to its success on international markets.
Photos: Rostec
The Su-57D alongside the single-seat variant — this photograph clearly shows the external structural differences
🇷🇺 Hero of Russia, test pilot Sergei Bogdan and Chief Designer Mikhail Strelets discuss the results of the two-seat Su-57’s first flight. https://t.co/feoY9q8Ntz pic.twitter.com/OrVh1oSyR3
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) May 19, 2026
🇷🇺 Hero of Russia Sergei Bogdan conducted the first flight of the fifth-generation Su-57D multirole fighter, Rostec reports.
The two-seat Su-57 can be used for organizing and managing combat operations of a joint group of manned and unmanned aviation.https://t.co/1zHnC19eX3 pic.twitter.com/FrnK5dL8Um
— RusWar (@ruswar) May 19, 2026
See also: