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LearningTranscript
00:00May I have a word, sir?
00:07Sure, what is it?
00:08Sir, how many episodes are you planning for the Su-57 series?
00:12Quite a few more, actually, because, well, the aircraft is very peculiar,
00:18and the hardware is little known, so there's not much stuff that I can give for granted.
00:23You may be interested to learn that one of the voice-activated coffee machines in the canteen
00:27of the upper floor of the Sun Hoi Bureau design office uses...
00:29No, no, this has to stop, you will end up getting in trouble, actually, no,
00:35I, I will end up getting in trouble because nobody will believe that you did it yourself.
00:41Is there any electronic device in the world that you're not connected with in any way, shape or form?
00:49Of course, sir. I have no acquaintance whatsoever with the clipper you used to cut your pubic hair, sir.
00:56This is the third episode of the series dedicated to the Su-57,
01:07and in this episode we will start discussing the avionics and the systems.
01:12The previous episodes were about the general configurations, the aerodynamics and the propulsion.
01:17And if you didn't watch those videos, there will be links above and there will be links below.
01:23The Su-57 for the Russians is a quantum leap.
01:28According to the designers, the system is entirely modular with a data bus connecting all the computers.
01:35I have found no mention of an open architecture in the same way it is used in Western designs,
01:42but I would not be surprised if the Russians had defined a minimum interoperability protocol,
01:50because that would just be the logical thing to do.
01:53Why it would be? Because an open architecture would allow for software updates
01:59without having to recertify and retest everything.
02:03Updating the software or adding a component would just be similar to what you do on your computer
02:10when you install a new application or you connect a new piece of hardware.
02:15Well, it's not that simple to be honest, but I think I got the point across.
02:20Always according to the Suhoi Bureau, the plane has a lot of spare room and a lot of spare electrical power
02:27for new or upgraded systems.
02:30It has been designed with upgradability in mind.
02:34This is a favorable condition for the longevity of the aircraft,
02:38but also to accommodate any particular requirement that an export client may have.
02:45The interaction between the pilot and the aircraft is managed by what the Russians call an IUS unit.
02:56Well, it can loosely be translated as Information and Control System.
03:02The computer has been designed by Suhoi itself, without relying on the usual Suhoi supplier, the RPKB from Ravenskaya.
03:11The reason for this is that Suhoi wanted to go with the best possible system that they were able to build.
03:19They decided to make no compromise on the system technology.
03:24The concept that they have followed is called Intellectual Assistance.
03:29With this term, the Russians describe the process of presenting the pilot with only the relevant information
03:36for that specific flight condition,
03:39or the automation of all the tasks that are better and more precisely executed without human intervention.
03:47Up to 90% of a mission can be flown automatically,
03:52with the pilot manually flying the plane only during take-off and landing.
03:58The mission can be pre-programmed, like the Russians like to do, particularly for the air-to-ground domain,
04:05but obviously the pilot in flight can change everything, can set new waypoints,
04:11change altitude and speed, choose flight profiles and so on.
04:16In this way, a large part of the pilot's attention can be focused on the mission itself.
04:23Some may say that this approach might reduce the amount of training required to effectively fly the plane,
04:32but I personally don't believe that they are going to go down that path,
04:37because it may be very very dangerous and may go wrong very very quickly if things do not go as expected.
04:48We know that at least one test of automatic flying has been successfully conducted,
04:54with the pilot just sitting in the cockpit as a spectator.
04:59However, we don't know whether this is going to become an operational feature,
05:04useful for example for high-risk suicidal missions.
05:09While honestly it doesn't seem very likely,
05:12but many of the 6th Generation Fighters projects currently ongoing do include this optional in-mand feature,
05:20which I'm still struggling to really understand if it could be useful in a real conflict, in real operational conditions.
05:32However, there is at least one case in which it could really be useful,
05:36that is taking home a wounded or an unconscious pilot.
05:42The Sukhoi 57 has one of the richest sensor suite ever installed on a fighter.
05:49Actually, Piotr Butowski in his book on the Sukhoi 57 Phalan has a really interesting picture
05:58that summarizes all the systems installed on the aircraft, but yeah, I'm afraid I can't use this in the video.
06:08We will cover this in detail, but for now what's important to understand is that a lot of sensors means also the risk of information overload.
06:20So sensors and information fusion is an essential feature to assist the pilot's job.
06:27This function in the Sukhoi 57 is performed by the IUS.
06:33So the pilot while not flying the plane can automate the target search,
06:38the attack profiles, the kind of firing solutions that are chosen.
06:43I believe this could be really useful, but could also be a double-edged sword.
06:48The standardization of combat procedure in case of a generalized and prolonged conflict,
06:55it is a vulnerability that can be exploited by the enemy.
07:00So during a long conflict, during a long period of time, and for long I mean more than a few days,
07:09it may be necessary to actually vary these procedures and these policies in a way that is not easily understood by the opponent.
07:21The Sukhoi 57 obviously features a secure data link, which we know very little about.
07:34The Russians have quite an important experience with long-range data links, which are necessary for a country that has the size of Russia.
07:43However, we can expect the Sukhoi 57 to be quite capable, even though we don't have any specific information.
07:50The reason is that we know that tactical experiments where the Sukhoi 57 was acting as the quarterback
07:59for the previous generation Sukhoi 35s have been conducted.
08:06Yes, that's exactly the same function that the F-35 is supposed to perform together with the F-16s and the F-15s.
08:16We don't know the result of the test, but if the plane is interoperable with Sukhoi 35, we know that the Sukhoi 35 data link is quite capable.
08:26For example, the commander of a Sukhoi 35 formation can physically provide the other plane's weapons with the firing solutions,
08:38leaving the other pilots in the flight the only task of materially pulling the trigger.
08:45It only seems logical that this kind of centralized command is implemented on the Sukhoi 57 too.
08:52A further function of the IUS is the automated aircraft self-defense.
08:58An automated system now is quite common, and the Sukhoi 57 features radio frequency jammers, infrared jammers, plus the usual dispensers of chaffs and flares.
09:11Obviously, all of these systems have to work in a coordinated way to maximize the effectiveness.
09:18Anyway, we will cover this in detail in a different episode.
09:25The production Sukhoi 57 has a different cockpit layout than the PAK FA.
09:31The PAK FA cockpit was sort of reminiscent of older generations.
09:38The production Sukhoi 57 is much more modern.
09:41So the general configuration is the classic HOTAS, that hands on throttle and sticks, but there are no analog instruments of any kind.
09:52There is just one large panoramic screen as it is commonplace in the most modern fighters.
10:01There is actually another small multifunction display mostly used for the communication management.
10:08The HUD is probably the largest ever installed on a Russian fighter, but on the Sukhoi 57 it may not be that necessary.
10:21In fact, the pilot's helmet makes use of augmented reality to show the flight information to the pilot as it is appropriate considering the flying conditions.
10:33The HUD information is replicated on the helmet, but obviously the helmet can also be used as the targeting device for the off-board side weapons.
10:44One uncommon feature present on the Sukhoi 57 is the capability of showing the picture captured by the four infrared cameras distributed on the helmet.
10:57If the pilot activates this function, he can actually see through the structure of the plane.
11:03Yes guys, that's exactly the same feature available on the F-35.
11:10However, on the Sukhoi 57 the cameras do not cover 360 degrees and they are used mostly for night navigation and low-level flight.
11:23But this will be the subject of one of the coming episodes where we will dive deep into the details of all the electromagnetic and electro-optic systems that are available on the Sukhoi 57.
11:40That's all I have for now. Thank you for watching and stay tuned.