Sukhoi chief designer Mikhail Strelets has outlined a new role for the two-seat Su-57D, describing it as a test platform for combat AI and for controlling unmanned aircraft, including swarms and the S-70 Okhotnik. Reported from Moscow, the disclosure frames the aircraft not as a trainer derivative but as part of Russia’s wider effort to pair a crewed fighter with autonomous and semi-autonomous systems.
The second cockpit is intended to split flying duties from drone management, allowing one crew member to focus on the aircraft while the other coordinates unmanned systems and AI-assisted functions. That concept places the Su-57D in the role of an airborne command node for manned-unmanned teaming, a model increasingly associated with sixth-generation combat aircraft designs.
Coverage of the programme has also linked the two-seat version to intelligent mission support, swarm coordination and control of heavy unmanned aircraft. The prototype reportedly first flew in May, although public reporting has not provided technical specifications, test data or evidence that the systems are operational beyond the programme level.