Russian Defence Ministry Refutes Media Reports on Sending Su-57 Fighter to Syria

MOSCOW(Sputnik) - The Russian Defence Ministry refuted on Tuesday media reports on a Su-57 allegedly being sent to the Hmeymim air base in Syria.

"Unfortunately, some media do not understand the essence of the news they publish relying on little-known sources from social networks in the pursuit of getting citations. The captions to the photos of a Su-57 at the Russian air base in Hmeymim, published on social networks, say that it is this updated image of the air base that is available to any Google Maps user," the ministry said.

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According to the ministry, the photos of Russia's fifth generation fighter at Hmeymim air base were taken in 2018 during its combat tests, which were officially announced by the Russian military.

The Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet, formerly known as Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation (PAK FA), is a single-seat, twin-engine multirole "stealth" aircraft designed for air superiority and attack roles.

It is equipped with an advanced avionics system and airborne active phased array radar as well as with a variety of high-precision weaponry. The jet carried out its maiden flight in 2010 and is still being tested by the military.