Is the World Heaviest Fighter Heading to North Korea Why the KPA Air Force Needs Su-34M Strike Jets

The rapid expansion of defence ties between North Korea and Russia since the outbreak of full scale hostilities in Ukraine in early 2022 has fuelled growing speculation that the Korean People’s Army Air Force could soon begin to receive new Russian combat aircraft, with multiple indicators of an interest in such procurements having been made as relations have strengthened. As manned combat aviation remains one of the very few areas where North Korea’s defence sector has been unable to produce for the country’s needs,speculation that procurements could be made grew from September 2023 after North Korean officials inspected facilities at the the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant in Vladivostok producing Su-35 and Su-57 fighters.

Speculation further grew from October 2024 after South Korean government sources reported that North Korean combat aviation pilots had been dispatched to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East the previous month, raising the possibility that they may have begun training on modern fighters. A leading source of uncertainty, however, remains the fighter classes which could be procured, with Russia being able to supply more than ten different types of tactical combat jets, while North Korea has over half a dozen fighter classes in service that are obsolete and in need of replacement.

While the Su-57 fifth generation fighter and modernised variants of the much lighter MiG-29 fighter have appeared to be leading candidates to modernise North Korean aerial warfare capabilities, replacing many of the older MiG-17, MiG-19 and MiG-21 units that currently form the backbone of the East Asian country’s fleet, a significant possibility remains that replacing the fleet of Il-28 bombers may also be prioritised. The Il-28 is one of the oldest classes of combat jet in service anywhere in the world, with approximately 80 estimated to currently serve in the Korean People’s Army Air Force. These aircraft are relied on for strike and maritime strike missions, and have been kept somewhat viable with the integration of modern cruise missiles, and possibly modern avionics as well. As a direct successor to the Il-28, Russian currently produces the Su-34M strike fighter at a relatively low cost, which could potentially be prioritised for procurement due to a number of its performance attributes.

Procuring the Su-34M would totally transform the efficiency of the Korean People’s Army’s bomber force, with the aircraft’s weapons carrying capacity and range being totally unrivalled, allowing not only for loitering over the Pacific to strike American bases in Japan from multiple directions, but also for anti-shipping and anti-surface attacks on targets as far as Guam and beyond. Although designed primarily for strike missions, the Su-34’s secondary air-to-air capability is considerably greater than those of current North Korean fighters and at least on par with most fighters fielded by the United States, Japan and South Korea. Alongside a formidable defensive air-to-air capability, including the ability to engage enemy fighters at ranges of close to 200 kilometres, the supersonic aircraft benefit from far superior flight performances, reduced frontal radar cross sections, and advanced electronic warfare systems, making them significantly more challenging to target. Procuring the aircraft could effectively complement North Korea’s investment in building its first ever ocean going destroyers for its Navy, with the ships and fighters potentially being able to provide key support to one another far from friendly territory.

The Su-34’s particularly large weapons carrying capacity allows it to carry oversized air-launched weapons such as the FAB-3000 bomb and Kh-47M2 ballistic missile. This could provide North Korea’s defence sector with significant opportunities to develop new missiles for the aircraft, including nuclear-tipped weapons, which would provide the country with a genuine nuclear triad. The Su-34’s range, and the ranges of the missiles it can accommodate, allow it to launch strikes over longer distances than any other fight sized aircraft, with only the strategic bombers fielded by China, Russia and the United States able to strike targets further away. North Korea’s focus on its nuclear capabilities, and increasingly on being able to diversify its assets to strike targets further afield, makes procurement of long range strike fighters appear increasingly attractive. With the Su-34 being produced for under $20 million per aircraft, depending on exchange rates, they are also highly affordable, particularly in light of the size of the revenues Pyongyang has earned from defence exports to Russia. As Russia has depended increasingly heavily on North Korean arms supplies to support its ongoing war effort, and more recently on personnel contributions from its neighbour, expectations have grown that Moscow will end its longstanding policy of barring arms exports to the Korean People’s Army, which could pave the way for such a sale.