A new promotional video of the Su-57, showing the fifth-generation Russian stealth aircraft conducting aerial manoeuvres, has been published ahead of the aircraft’s aerial debut at the Dubai Air Show, which kicks off on November 17.

A Su-57 prototype, featuring tail number “509,” was seen conducting test flights and aerobatics at an unknown location in the viral video.

The promotional video was reportedly released by the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the state-owned company that manufactures the aircraft, on November 9.

“The intelligence of the designer and the ability of the pilot, power and beauty, technology and superiority. Soon… something that many will admire, a select group—subscribers to our channel—can see now,” UAC apparently said in a Telegram post.

In what may be a first, the video shows the forward ventral bomb bay and side missile bays open during flight. The aircraft was seen carrying long-range weapons internally and short-range air-to-air missiles on external hardpoints beneath the wing root extensions, demonstrating the possibilities for both internal and external carriage.

Observers noted that the aircraft was seen carrying the R-37 or the Kh-58UShK missiles internally, and the R-74M short-range air-to-air missiles externally.

The video appears to highlight the Su-57’s capacity to carry ordnance internally and externally, significantly enhancing its lethality in combat. Interestingly, this comes after a photograph of the aircraft’s internal weapons bay was published for the first time in October 2025.

The Su-57’s participation at the Dubai Air Show was confirmed by Rostec, Russia’s state-owned arms conglomerate. “Su-57E aircraft will perform an aerobatic display. It is the world’s only fifth-generation fighter that has proven its efficiency in large-scale combat operations. It is capable of using a wide range of precision-guided weapons and is characterized by low visibility to enemy radars,” it said in a press statement.

In addition to the Su-57E, the export variant of the stealth fighter, the Ka-52 reconnaissance and attack helicopter will also take to the skies. Additionally, Russia will present its upgraded Yak-130M upgraded jet trainer and the Ansat-M light multipurpose helicopter. The Il-76MD-90A(E) military transport aircraft and the Ka-32A11M transport helicopter will also be on static display, according to Rostec.

It is noteworthy that while the Su-57 has previously been on static exhibit at the Dubai Air Show and promoted for export at the event, it has never conducted a public aerial display.

In fact, the Russian stealth fighter made its international air debut at the Air Show China in November 2024. The aircraft and its pilot, Sergey Bogdan, gained a large following not only at the airshow but also on Chinese social media for their fantastic flight performance, as noted by state-owned Chinese media at the time.

The second international aerial display by Su-57 took place at the Aero India in February 2025, which was also conducted by Sergey Bogdan. This display caught worldwide attention, not just for the incredible aerobatic maneuvers performed by Bogdan, but also for the fact that the Su-57 and the rival American F-35 stealth fighter were seen taking to the skies one after the other.

The photos of the Su-57 and F-35 sharing a tarmac became the most popular and decisive images from the biennial event hosted by India.

The Su-57E’s participation and aerial display at the Dubai Air Show 2025 will mark its Middle East aerial debut.

The development comes as the country is aggressively promoting the aircraft for export.

Russia has been pitching the aircraft to India, promising joint production, upgrades to the Su-30MKI, and support for India’s own fifth-generation aircraft, the AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft).

Hopeful of bagging a contract from India, it was exploring investment plans to set up production of Su-57 in India. But the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) proposal to buy 114 Rafales in September 2025 may have punctured the Russian proposal.

Notably, Russia has been trying to promote the aircraft to countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for quite some time. Earlier, reports suggested that the Su-57 was offered to the UAE and Turkey.

In 2019, Russia said it was offering an opportunity to localize the production of certain components of the Su-57 as part of possible sales of the cutting-edge combat aircraft. The efforts to attract buyers in the region picked up further pace in 2021, but without success.

The UAE initially expressed interest in the Russian fighter, but later backtracked, potentially due to skepticism about the Su-57’s stealth profile and the risk of sanctions from the United States under CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act). Some experts say that the Emirati kingdom may have used the Su-57 offer as leverage in stalled F-35 negotiations with the US.

However, as Washington sat on a F-35 deal due to concerns over the UAE-China ties, the Emirati kingdom signed a contract for 80 French Rafale F4 instead. 

Besides the Su-57, Russia had also earlier invited the UAE to join the Su-75 lightweight stealth fighter program.

It wouldn’t be easy for Russia to promote the aircraft to the UAE or other MENA countries, especially given the ongoing CAATSA fears under the Trump 2.0 administration. The UAE, for one, is reportedly exploring the possibility of buying the Turkish KAAN fifth-generation stealth aircraft.

A Difficult Journey For Su-57

The Su-57 is a supersonic, twin-engine fifth-generation aircraft designed to destroy air, ground, and naval targets. Designed to rival NATO’s fifth-generation fighters, such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, the aircraft can cruise at supersonic speed and has improved stealth thanks to composite materials.

It is a multi-role fighter jet capable of conducting electronic warfare, ground assaults, reconnaissance, and air superiority missions. Notably, Russia is integrating a variety of deadly weapons onto the Su-57 platform, including hypersonic missiles and the long-range R-37M missile for stand-off air-to-air attacks.

The aircraft is being integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance threat detection, decision-making, and pilot support. Moreover, some Russian officials earlier said that sixth-generation technology will be integrated into the aircraft.

However, all this has failed to attract buyers five years after the aircraft entered service in Russia in 2020, and it has signed only one export deal for the aircraft.

For at least the last three years, Russia’s focus on the conflict in Ukraine has resulted in delivery delays and limited production capacity, making it difficult to inspire confidence among prospective customers. In fact, several allies and partners that traditionally purchased Russian military equipment have signed contracts with other arms sellers to diversify their fleets.

Experts believe that, despite its struggles, the Su-57 would have become popular in the export market had it done well in Ukraine and accrued some valuable combat experience. The Su-57 has only been deployed for air defense patrols and launching stand-off attacks on Ukraine from the safety of the Russian airspace.

According to Western experts, the aircraft’s radar cross-section (RCS) is approximately 0.5 square meters, comparable to a standard fourth-generation aircraft and unquestionably larger than that of F-35-class fighters.

In contrast to the Su-57, China’s J-35A and Turkey’s KAAN have performed much better in the export market. According to reports, Pakistan is mulling the purchase of 40 J-35A fighters, whereas Indonesia has signed a deal to buy the KAAN. This shift could be attributed to skepticism about the aircraft’s capabilities and Russia’s production bottlenecks. 

As a military watcher earlier told this correspondent, “Countries that are looking to upgrade their fleets to face prevailing security challenges cannot wait years to receive the delivery of their first aircraft. It may be easier to explore alternatives than to wait around and stare at a capability gap for a decade.” 

Russia has been taking remedial steps to address production bottlenecks, as Rostec has noted several times over the past year. 

“The UAC will continue expanding the capacity for batch production of Su-57 this year. Last year, the deliveries considerably increased. The fighter jet has immensely evolved and continues to improve. Its arms and systems are increased. The expansion of production capacities will increase the deliveries of the jet to the troops and offer the Su-57 export option to foreign customers. Together with Rosoboronexport, we shall pay specific attention to the guideline,” United Aircraft Corporation CEO Vadim Badekha told TASS on the sidelines of the Aero India 2025.

It is pertinent to note that Russia’s arms exports declined by 64% between 2015–19 and 2020–24, dropping it from the second-largest to the third-largest arms exporter globally, behind the US and France, as per the 2025 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report.