Russian Air Force Receives New Batches of Su-57 Fifth Generation Fighters and Su-34 Strike Fighters

<p >New batches of Su-57 fifth generation fighters and Su-34 strike fighters were announced on December 23 to have been delivered to the Russian Air Force by the state owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). This follows the delivery of previous patches of Su-57s in <a href=" >mid-November</a> and <a href=" >mid-September</a>. Prior batches of Su-34s were received in<a href=" >April</a>, <a href=" >June</a>, <a href=" >September</a>, <a href=" >October</a><a href=" > </a>and <a href=" >in November</a>. The two aircraft are being produced at higher rates than Russia’s other three production fighters the Su-30, Su-35 and MiG-29M/35, with orders to increase Su-34 production having been given by the Russian Defence Ministry in October 2023. Russian industry has also set a highly ambitious target of a <a href=" >67 percent surge </a>in the production of Su-57s in 2024, with 20 fighters expected to enter service this year compared to just <a href=" >12 fighters</a> in 2023 and only <a href=" >six fighters</a> in 2022, which will nearly double the fleet size from 22 to 42 fighters. The size of the two confirmed Su-57 batches has not been disclosed, and it remains uncertain how close Russian industry has come to meeting ambitious production targets. </p>