Russia receives third Su-35S fighter jet batch of 2026
Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec has delivered a new batch of Su-35S multirole fighters to the Russian Aerospace Forces, the company said Thursday. It is the third such delivery of 2026.
The aircraft, built by Rostec subsidiary United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) at the Yuri Gagarin Aviation Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, completed a full cycle of factory testing across various operating modes before flying to their home airbase, according to Rostec’s announcement. The company did not disclose the exact number of aircraft in the batch or the identity of the receiving unit.
Defense analyst Guy Plopsky, who tracks Russian military aviation and posted about the delivery on X, wrote that the batch is the third confirmed Su-35S delivery of the year.
“UAC delivered a batch of new production Su-35S multirole fighters to the Russian MoD (specifically, to the VKS). This is the third Su-35S batch delivered in 2026,” Plopsky wrote. “The number of aircraft in this batch is not specified; photos and video released by UAC show two or more.”
“The delivery of the first and second batch of new production Su-35S multirole fighters for 2026 was announced by UAC in April and May, respectively. Those two batches likewise comprised aircraft with blue bort numbers,” Plopsky wrote.
The Su-35S is a twin-engine fighter Russia classifies as 4++ generation, a designation for late-model aircraft built on fourth-generation airframes with substantial upgrades to avionics, radar and weapons systems, without the stealth characteristics that define fifth-generation designs. Rostec describes the aircraft as intended for establishing air superiority and for striking ground infrastructure targets located well beyond a base’s immediate vicinity.
A Su-35S pilot with Russia’s Aerospace Forces was quoted in the Rostec statement describing the aircraft’s roles in current operations.
“This equipment works without complaints, the crew finds it comfortable to fly,” the pilot said. “We carry out various tasks on this aircraft: intercepting air targets at long range, covering strike groups and ground targets, destroying unmanned aerial vehicles, and delivering precision strikes against ground and surface targets with high-precision weapons. We also conduct reconnaissance, uncovering enemy positions at significant depth from the line of contact.”
Russia’s Su-35S production traces to a first contract for 48 aircraft signed in 2009, completed by the end of 2015, followed by a second contract for 50 additional aircraft signed that December, according to Militarnyi. Deliveries under more recent contracts have continued into 2025 and 2026.
Rostec has not disclosed a total production figure for Su-35S deliveries so far in 2026 or specified where the newly delivered aircraft will be based.
Source: Defence Blog
