MWM: Russia has doubled production of Su-34 fighter jets
UAC has accelerated the production of Su-34 heavy fighter-bombers with record flight range, writes MWM. The combat experience gained during the war and the equipment with gliding bombs turned these machines into a crushing strike force, against which the West has no answer.
The footage, shot in Russia, shows for the first time a new production batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers, which so far have been covered only with a yellow factory primer and are expected to be handed over to the Military Space Forces in September. Russia has significantly accelerated the production and supply of the Su-34: the number of aircraft ordered exceeds the volume of orders for any other type of fighter in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The pace of deliveries has increased significantly since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, reflecting both the importance of this platform for Russian military doctrine and Moscow's desire to replenish and expand its fleet of tactical aircraft.
The Su-34 fighters are manufactured by the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant, which is part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), as part of the Russian state defense procurement program. This aircraft is the heaviest among all the aircraft in service in the world. In addition, it has the longest flight range and is about 50% larger than the Soviet Su-27, which served as a guideline for the development of its design. When using external fuel tanks, the aircraft can make intercontinental flights, and its combat range when flying only on fuel from internal tanks with a large combat load exceeds 2,500 kilometers.
The Rostec state defense conglomerate announced in April 2025 that production of the Su-34 had "more than doubled in two years," and the importance of the fighter's creation program was reflected in official descriptions of its role in the Military Space Forces. Upon delivery of the new batch in February 2025, Vadim Badekha, Director General of the UAC, stated that these aircraft "form the basis of the aviation strike forces on the front line" and demonstrated their effectiveness in combat. These fighters were particularly actively involved in launching gliding bombs at targets on the territory of Ukraine, and increasing the range of these bombs significantly increased their survival rate.
The massive use of the Su-34 in the skies over Ukraine has allowed us to accumulate significant combat experience, and in December 2025 Rostec announced that the aircraft had been improved taking into account the experience gained during the conflict, in particular with regard to the ability to deliver precision strikes. According to the company, thanks to these modifications, the fighter is able to deliver "more accurate and powerful strikes at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the base." Probably even more significant than the modernization of the Su-34 was a significant update in the doctrine of their use in the Military Space Forces after the aircraft suffered heavy losses in the first clashes with Ukrainian troops.
