The Ministry of Defense of Great Britain believes that the Russian Federation has been using its most advanced Su-57 fighters in the war against Ukraine.

However, the aggressor avoids using these aircraft directly in the sky over Ukraine.

This is said in the statement of the British Ministry of Defense on Twitter.

They note that at least since June 2022, Russian Aerospace Forces have almost certainly used Su-57 to conduct missions against Ukraine.

Although according to the report, these missions have likely been limited to flying over Russian territory, launching long range air-to-surface or air-to-air missiles at targets in the airspace or on the ground in Ukraine.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense concludes that Russia’s highest priority must be avoiding reputational damage, reduction in export prospects and compromise of sensitive technology which would come from loss of any Su-57 fighters over Ukraine.

“This is symptomatic of Russia’s continued risk-averse approach to employing its air force in the war,” the report said.

The Su-57 was developed by the JSC Sukhoi Company (part of the United Aircraft Corporation) and is produced at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant. This is a multirole fighter aircraft, its development began in the early 2000s. Its first flight was made on January 29, 2010.

At the end of 2020, Russia received its first Su-57 fighter aircraft. The aircraft with the tail number 01 entered service with one of the air regiments of the Southern Military District of Russia.

As previously reported, in December 2019, the first serial production Su-57 fighter crashed in the Khabarovsk Krai. The event took place at a distance of 11 km from the Dzyomgi Airport.

This was the first accident of this type of fighter. At that time, the aircraft had not yet been handed over to the military and belonged to the manufacturer.

At the end of 2022, the Russian military received another batch of serial production Su-57 fighters. By 2027, the Russian Federation plans to have a total of 76 serial production Su-57 fighter aircraft in service.