The Sukhoi office revealed that the second seat in the Su-57 fighter jet that recently flew is not for training, but for a second pilot, which, with artificial intelligence, makes it a 6th-generation combat platform for leading squadrons of combat drones.
The director of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, Mikhail Strelets, indicated that this technology will be used with the S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) heavy drone, which is being developed in parallel with the Su-57, to be an escort aircraft with a large combat payload and improved stealth capabilities.
He added that the second pilot will coordinate several drone operations with the support of artificial intelligence, which will enhance the capabilities of the Su-57 and take it out of the role of a traditional fighter. The aircraft will also be used as a flying laboratory to test combat artificial intelligence systems, which are being worked on by specialists in the office, to evaluate them before their widespread application in the Russian combat fleet.
