Russian Air Force Commander Confirms Accelerating Su-57 Fighter Deliveries: Production Increase Gains Urgency

Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Maksimtsev has confirmed that preparations are underway for the deliveries of Su-57 fifth generation fighters at an accelerated rate. “In accordance with the state procurement order, the Russian Aerospace Forces are receiving modern and upgraded weapons and equipment on an annual basis… The delivery of Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets with modern aircraft armaments and hypersonic weapons is being ramped up,” he stated. Russian industry had set a highly ambitious target of a 67 percent surge in the production of Su-57s in 2024, with 20 fighters expected to enter service that year compared to just 12 fighters in 2023 and only six fighters in 2022. This would have nearly doubled the fleet size from 22 to 42 fighters, although significant uncertainty has remained regarding whether this target was met. The delivery of just two batches of Su-57s was confirmed in 2024, with the number of aircraft in these batches remaining unknown.

The Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant in the Russian Far East saw new facilities opened in August for production of the Su-57, raising the possibility that the increased delivery rate referred to by General Maksimtsev may largely be facilitated by this expansion. A further significant source of uncertainty remains whether production of the baseline Su-57 will cease in 2025, as the heavily enhanced new Su-57M1 is expected to replace it on production lines. Although it has been confirmed that the first Su-57s will be delivered abroad in 2025, namely to equip the Algerian Air Force, it is also unknown how many of the aircraft scheduled to be produced in 2025 will be sent to the African state. Should a significant expansion of production of the Su-57 be achieved, it could allow the Russian Aerospace Forces to receive the aircraft at greater rates than the U.S. Air Force is receiving its own fifth generation fighter class the F-35A, as procurements are intended to be cut from 48 to just 24 aircraft in 2026 due to a significant budget crisis affecting the latter service and to growing questions regarding the American jet’s future viability.

The importance of increasing production of the Su-57 has increased due to multiple converging factors, foremost among which are the growing interest being shown by potential foreign clients, and the mounting pressure being placed on Russian defences by multiple NATO members. Closely coinciding with General Maksimtsev’s statement, the Indian government was reported to have informed U.S. officials that it was not interested in procuring the F-35 fighter, which was seen to leave the Su-57 as effectively the country’s only near term option to acquire fifth generation fighters. Russia in May made an unprecedented offer to provide the Indian Defence Ministry with full access to the Su-57’s source code as part of a large license production deal, with Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh having confirmed that procurements are under consideration. The ability to deliver the fighters quickly both to Algeria and to the Russian Aerospace Forces will be key to reassuring India and other potential clients that orders can quickly be met.

The Su-57 is one of just four fifth generation fighter classes currently in serial production worldwide, alongside the F-35 and the Chinese J-20 and J-35. Although it stealth capabilities and avionics are considered less advanced than those of its foreign rivals, it benefits from an entirely unique level of combat testing in the Ukrainian theatre. Operations have included air to air combat, air defence suppression, precision strike missions,and operations in heavily defended enemy airspace. A leading strength of the fighter is that its operational costs and maintenance needs are comparable to those of advanced fourth generation fighters such as the Su-30, which allows fighter units to transition without downsizing or imposing significant extra costs. This contrasts sharply with the American F-22 and F-35, which not only have far lower availably rates than the F-15 and F-16 they were designed to replace, but also have sustainment costs close to twice as high, which has forced the U.S. Air Force to significantly downsize its fleet.