the thing is a very sophisticated model of seeker is made (most likely a working one), then why should it stay as a mockup when half of the work is done.
russia doesnt tell much about its modern stuff, like izdeliye 180, 810 and su57 itself.
i am not saying kh38 exist, and i am putting this in a very vague way, its most likely more than a mockup. chances are that this is still in devlopment or its just not meant for export anymore due to technology. other thing could be the limited production (hence limited) use of these IIR fnf missile when you there are laser missiles and man in loop missiles like kh59 doing the similar jobs.
and due to its relevance to su57, its info is likely hidden.
you mean all we can tell is that its a round PCB with a bearing mounted in the center on a weird box with nondescript metal cylinders sticking out the side, also important to mention the weirdly routed wires
yeah totaly real and not someone throwing together components that were sitting around
well im not super familliar with that specific seeker head its still a safe bet to assume they reused a part from an older missile in production in a new shell to show what this wundewaffe will look like.
This is an unsubstantiated claim as the image is not a significant of basis to say anything about the progess of development (other than that there has been some). Or if it is still ongoing.
I somewhat agree with the rest of what you are saying its just not really an argument for the MT variant to stay in its current state.
im used to taking apart electricals and thats pretty much what they all look like inside with weirdly routed wires and things. that is how production electronics genuinley look.
my assumption due to this being a missile shown to press that is russian is that its using spare parts to look real.