Up in the Sky
Among the 70+ aircraft set to take part in the aerial portion of this year's parade is a pair of Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jets, which will be making their parade debut. The stealth air superiority fighter, presently in the final stage of pre-production flight-testing, has undergone combat trials in Syria. Packed with state-of-the-art avionics and an active airborne phased array radar, the supermaneuverable aircraft can be fitted for a variety of air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, including cutting-edge systems developed specifically for the fifth-gen plane. In addition to its internal weapons compartments for stealth mode, the Su-57 has with six external hard points, theoretically allowing it to carry the BrahMos anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile.
Also making its premier at this year's parade is the Kinzhal ('Dagger'), a hypersonic missile designed to be able to penetrate all existing and prospective enemy air defenses. Carried by the MiG-31 supersonic interceptor fighter, the Kinzhal has a range of over 2,000 km, flies at Mach 10, and is capable of maneuvering at all stages of flight. The system is nuclear-capable. Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the existence of the Kinzhal, already delivered into the military, alongside five other strategic weapons designed to preserve the global strategic balance, at a speech before lawmakers in early March.
