Russia delivers new Su-34 fighter-bombers to Air Force amid wartime production surge
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United Aircraft Corporation has transferred a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers to Russia’s Aerospace Forces, signaling steady wartime production. The move highlights Moscow’s drive to sustain frontline airpower and offset losses in the Ukraine conflict.
United Aircraft Corporation, the state aviation conglomerate inside Rostec, announced on October 6 that a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers has been handed over to the Russian Aerospace Forces under the state defense order, sustaining a drumbeat of deliveries that has accelerated through 2025. The disclosure points to stable output at the Novosibirsk Chkalov plant and underscores Moscow’s determination to replenish and expand its tactical strike fleet for the Ukraine theater. The same tempo has applied to air-superiority assets, with industry trackers noting the fifth Su-35S batch of the year transferred in late September.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Su-34 Fullback is a twin-seat, long-range fighter-bomber designed for precision strikes and deep interdiction missions. Equipped with advanced radar, electronic warfare systems, and a payload of up to eight tons, including guided missiles and glide bombs, it combines high survivability, range, and versatility for frontline and strategic attack roles (Picture source: Vitaly V.Kuzmin).
The Su-34, NATO codename Fullback, is a twin-engine, side-by-side two-seat strike aircraft derived from the Su-27 airframe and optimized for long-range interdiction and battlefield air interdiction. The modernized Su-34M standard integrates upgraded avionics, mission computers, and improved Sh141 radar alongside Khibiny electronic countermeasures. It typically carries a 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon and up to roughly eight tons of ordnance across twelve hardpoints, ranging from precision-guided missiles such as Kh-59 and Kh-31 to glide-adapted general-purpose bombs. Russian industry messaging this year has repeatedly framed the Su-34 as a primary carrier for FAB-series bombs fitted with UMPK wing-kit modules, a low-cost standoff solution that has reshaped strike profiles over Ukraine.
Sustained Su-34 output is intended to offset combat attrition while boosting sortie capacity. The aircraft’s side-by-side cockpit and long endurance support complex strike packages with terrain-following profiles and multi-target engagement. In Russian practice, the Fullback often works in concert with Su-35S escorts: the latter provides air-dominance cover and long-range sensor reach, freeing Su-34 crews to focus on target acquisition and weapons employment against air defenses, logistics nodes, and bridging points. Rostec and UAC officials have emphasized that production plants have reached a rhythmical pace this year, a notable claim given persistent sanctions and supply-chain constraints.
The Su-34’s most consequential adaptation since 2023 has been mass employment of UMPK-equipped FAB-500 and FAB-1500 bombs from medium altitude, giving standoff ranges measured in tens of kilometers while avoiding the densest short-range air defenses. That tactic, coupled with expanding satellite-guided kits, has enabled Russia to pressure frontline urban areas and logistics hubs without committing to low-level penetration in heavily defended sectors. Ukrainian strikes and air defenses still extract a price: independent reporting this summer highlighted successful attacks against Su-34s and associated infrastructure at Russian bases, reinforcing the cyclical race between production flow, attrition, and adaptation on both sides.
The Su-35S cadence adds another layer to Russia’s force mix. Multiple batches moved through the spring and summer, culminating in what industry outlets characterized as a fifth delivery of 2025 by September 24. Together with Su-34 batches, that pattern suggests Moscow is prioritizing replenishment of fourth-generation fleets even as fifth-generation Su-57 induction proceeds slowly. The focus aligns with UAC’s stated push to lift military aircraft production over the next five years while restructuring its workforce to overcome sanctions-era inefficiencies.
The latest handovers arrive as Russia seeks coercive leverage through sustained strike pressure during the winter campaign window, betting that volume of aerospace power can degrade Ukrainian mobility and morale despite Western air-defense inputs. For NATO planners, recurring Su-34 and Su-35S deliveries highlight the limits of sanctions alone and the need to pace Russian munitions output, integrated air defenses, and electronic warfare. The near-term consequence is a harder operational picture in southern and eastern Ukraine; the longer-term signal is that Russia’s war economy has absorbed enough shock to keep tactical aviation flowing even as attrition continues.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
United Aircraft Corporation has transferred a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers to Russia’s Aerospace Forces, signaling steady wartime production. The move highlights Moscow’s drive to sustain frontline airpower and offset losses in the Ukraine conflict.
United Aircraft Corporation, the state aviation conglomerate inside Rostec, announced on October 6 that a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers has been handed over to the Russian Aerospace Forces under the state defense order, sustaining a drumbeat of deliveries that has accelerated through 2025. The disclosure points to stable output at the Novosibirsk Chkalov plant and underscores Moscow’s determination to replenish and expand its tactical strike fleet for the Ukraine theater. The same tempo has applied to air-superiority assets, with industry trackers noting the fifth Su-35S batch of the year transferred in late September.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Su-34 Fullback is a twin-seat, long-range fighter-bomber designed for precision strikes and deep interdiction missions. Equipped with advanced radar, electronic warfare systems, and a payload of up to eight tons, including guided missiles and glide bombs, it combines high survivability, range, and versatility for frontline and strategic attack roles (Picture source: Vitaly V.Kuzmin).
The Su-34, NATO codename Fullback, is a twin-engine, side-by-side two-seat strike aircraft derived from the Su-27 airframe and optimized for long-range interdiction and battlefield air interdiction. The modernized Su-34M standard integrates upgraded avionics, mission computers, and improved Sh141 radar alongside Khibiny electronic countermeasures. It typically carries a 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon and up to roughly eight tons of ordnance across twelve hardpoints, ranging from precision-guided missiles such as Kh-59 and Kh-31 to glide-adapted general-purpose bombs. Russian industry messaging this year has repeatedly framed the Su-34 as a primary carrier for FAB-series bombs fitted with UMPK wing-kit modules, a low-cost standoff solution that has reshaped strike profiles over Ukraine.
Sustained Su-34 output is intended to offset combat attrition while boosting sortie capacity. The aircraft’s side-by-side cockpit and long endurance support complex strike packages with terrain-following profiles and multi-target engagement. In Russian practice, the Fullback often works in concert with Su-35S escorts: the latter provides air-dominance cover and long-range sensor reach, freeing Su-34 crews to focus on target acquisition and weapons employment against air defenses, logistics nodes, and bridging points. Rostec and UAC officials have emphasized that production plants have reached a rhythmical pace this year, a notable claim given persistent sanctions and supply-chain constraints.
The Su-34’s most consequential adaptation since 2023 has been mass employment of UMPK-equipped FAB-500 and FAB-1500 bombs from medium altitude, giving standoff ranges measured in tens of kilometers while avoiding the densest short-range air defenses. That tactic, coupled with expanding satellite-guided kits, has enabled Russia to pressure frontline urban areas and logistics hubs without committing to low-level penetration in heavily defended sectors. Ukrainian strikes and air defenses still extract a price: independent reporting this summer highlighted successful attacks against Su-34s and associated infrastructure at Russian bases, reinforcing the cyclical race between production flow, attrition, and adaptation on both sides.
The Su-35S cadence adds another layer to Russia’s force mix. Multiple batches moved through the spring and summer, culminating in what industry outlets characterized as a fifth delivery of 2025 by September 24. Together with Su-34 batches, that pattern suggests Moscow is prioritizing replenishment of fourth-generation fleets even as fifth-generation Su-57 induction proceeds slowly. The focus aligns with UAC’s stated push to lift military aircraft production over the next five years while restructuring its workforce to overcome sanctions-era inefficiencies.
The latest handovers arrive as Russia seeks coercive leverage through sustained strike pressure during the winter campaign window, betting that volume of aerospace power can degrade Ukrainian mobility and morale despite Western air-defense inputs. For NATO planners, recurring Su-34 and Su-35S deliveries highlight the limits of sanctions alone and the need to pace Russian munitions output, integrated air defenses, and electronic warfare. The near-term consequence is a harder operational picture in southern and eastern Ukraine; the longer-term signal is that Russia’s war economy has absorbed enough shock to keep tactical aviation flowing even as attrition continues.
