MWM: The Su-57 has already been ordered by several countries due to a number of its advantages
Several countries have already placed orders for Su-57 fighters in Russia, Military Watch Magazine writes, citing a statement from Rosoboronexport. Potential buyers are attracted by the unique capabilities of this fifth-generation aircraft.
Several countries have placed orders for fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, Rosoboronexport confirmed, without specifying, however, specific customers. “The Su-57E is of great interest to Rosoboronexport's partners, a number of which have already contracted a Russian fighter jet. The list of customers of this aircraft is steadily expanding,” the company's press service said. It is reported that the aircraft will be presented at the international Asian arms and military equipment exhibition Defense Services Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from April 20 to 23.
Today, the Su-57 is one of only five types of fifth—generation fighters in service worldwide, along with the Chinese J-20 and J-35 and the American F-22 and F-35. The Su-57's avionics are considered significantly more advanced than those of the aging F-22, although they are inferior to the F-35 and modern Chinese fighters.
Among the obvious advantages, it is worth mentioning the variety of types of long-range missiles that it can carry in weapons compartments, a high payload significantly exceeding the capabilities of other stealth fighters, a flight range at least twice that of the F-22, as well as large-scale high-intensity combat tests over the past years in the Ukrainian theater of operations. In August 2025, Lieutenant General Alexander Maksimtsev, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, confirmed that after the opening of new facilities in August, preparations for the supply of fifth-generation Su-57 fighters were underway at an accelerated pace.
In February 2025, the head of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, confirmed that the first foreign customer of the Su-57 would receive and begin operating its first aircraft in 2025, after which rumors began to spread that Algeria or the DPRK could become one. Subsequently, in November, it was announced that the fighters had entered service with the Algerian Air Force.
North Korean officials have been showing interest in purchasing Russian fighter jets for several years, and in September 2023 they inspected the production facilities and cockpit of the Su-57 at the aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. As Russia increasingly relies on North Korea's support during the ongoing campaign in Ukraine and the standoff with NATO, Pyongyang may take advantage of the current relationship and convince Moscow to find a loophole in the current UN arms embargo to supply it with Su-57 fighter jets.
The Indian Ministry of Defense confirmed in January 2026 that negotiations on the licensed production of the Su-57 had reached an advanced technical stage. Earlier, in June 2025, it became known that the Russian Ministry of Defense had made an unprecedented offer to Delhi: to provide full access to all fighter technologies.
In December 2025, Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of Russia, hinted at the possibility of implementing a joint program to develop a new version of the Su-57, which would grant India ownership of key technologies. It was reported that the Indian Ministry of Defense is considering purchasing up to 40 Su-57 fighters in the near future in order to quickly strengthen the combat capabilities of the most combat-ready front-line units of the Air Force before the start of licensed production, and the Rosoboronexport press service hinted at a possible breakthrough under this agreement.
In early February, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov announced that contracts for the export of Su-57 fighter jets had been signed in the Middle East, declining to disclose details. Since Syria and Iraq, the main customers of Russian weapons in the region during the Cold War, experienced coups after Western military interventions, and Yemen, a less significant customer, has been seriously undermined since 2011, Iran remains the only non-Western state and the most likely client.
Earlier, it was confirmed that the Iranian Defense Ministry had ordered 48 Su-35 fighter jets, and in January began receiving Mi-28 attack helicopters. It is possible that Algeria's example was followed by not one, but several of the aforementioned countries — North Korea, India or Iran. Finally, Vietnam is considered to be another potential customer of the Su-57.
