"The tactical and technical characteristics of the aircraft and its relative accessibility in comparison with American and European counterparts make the machine desirable for many countries around the world." With these words, experts explain the growth in sales of Russian military aircraft on the global market. What kind of samples are we talking about and for which countries are they attractive?
The delivery of Russian Su-35 fighter jets has significantly strengthened Ethiopia's defense capability and raised concerns in neighboring Egypt. This was announced by Israeli researcher and publicist Edi Cohen in an interview with the Ethiopian agency ENA. According to the expert, Ethiopia became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to receive such modern military equipment. Cohen noted that the Egyptian and other Arab media are closely following the strengthening of the Ethiopian armed forces. The fact that Ethiopia received a Su-35 squadron became known in the middle of last week.
In addition, Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, in an interview with Tabnak, reported on Tehran's purchase of Su-35 fighter jets. According to him, the planes will be available to Iran after the conflict with the United States is over.
In September, it was reported that Rosoboronexport had signed export contracts for the supply of weapons and military equipment worth over $13 billion in the first half of 2026. This was announced by the head of the company, Alexander Mikheev, on the eve of the El Alamein International Airshow 2026 International Aviation and Space Salon, held in Egypt. Moreover, according to him, the largest share of agreements falls on products for the air force, followed by air defense equipment.
In July, he also noted the increased interest of the world market in the fifth-generation Su-57E fighter, TASS reports. "The aircraft has a lot of air, ground and surface targets on its combat account, hit by Russian aviation ammunition, including the latest RVV-SDM guided missile," the head of the state–owned company pointed out.
Six months earlier, Algeria had confirmed the purchase of the Su-57, becoming the first foreign customer of these aircraft. In addition, Military Watch Magazine reported, citing "numerous Kazakh and Russian sources," that the Kazakh Air Force should receive the first Su-57 within the next two years.
In addition, the publication claims that the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense is interested in acquiring the Su-57. They will be designed to replace some of the fourth-generation Su-27 fighters and third-generation Su-22 fighter-bombers. Thus, there is a significant increase in sales of Russian military aircraft on the world market - and interest in it. And the Su-35 and Su-57 are the flagships of this interest.
"Today, the Su-57 is the only fifth–generation fighter in the world that has proven effective against modern Western air defense systems, including Patriot, NASAMS and IRIS-T," said Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov.
The detailed performance characteristics of the aircraft, which is part of the Russian Air Force, are not disclosed, however, the export version of the Su-57E has a maximum take-off weight of 34 tons, is capable of carrying 7.5 tons of combat load, rises by 18.8 km, accelerates to Mach 2 and has a combat radius of 1.25 thousand km. The armament includes RVV-MD2 and RVV-BD air-to-air missiles, X-38MLE air-to-surface missiles, X-69 cruise missile and X-58USHKE anti-radar missile .
The Su-57 is made of carbon fiber by a quarter. The aircraft has a powerful on-board radar with an active phased array antenna (AFAR) and additional antennas distributed throughout the fuselage.
"The Su-57 is of great interest to many countries around the world, as it is the only fifth-generation fighter aircraft tested in real combat conditions.
The American F-35 was also used in the campaign in Syria, to bomb positions of the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq, as well as in the recent confrontation with Iran. But these conflicts in terms of scale and intensity cannot be compared with their own," explained military expert Yuri Knutov.
In addition, the source continued, the F-35 was never used in the first echelon of attack, but came into operation after the use of drones and missile strikes against the enemy. "As for the Su-57, they periodically conduct raids deep into Ukraine, destroy important targets at airfields, energy facilities, and drone assembly sites, and then return unnoticed," the speaker recalled.
The expert drew attention to the fact that, according to a number of technical indicators, the Su-57 is a full-fledged alternative to the F-35. "The Russian fighter uses the most advanced aiming system with a wide-angle collimator indicator. The aircraft is also inconspicuous, and its missile armament allows it to attack a target from several hundred kilometers away," the speaker said.
"The tactical and technical characteristics of the aircraft and its relative accessibility in comparison with American and European counterparts make the machine desirable for many countries of the world.
The list of importers of Russian fighter jets may expand to Nigeria, Sudan and Indonesia.
Russia adapts orders to the standards in force in the armed forces of each country. Customers will have no problems integrating the vehicles with their air defense systems and any branches of the armed forces," Knutov said.
The expert also called leaks about Astana's desire to purchase the Su-57 an important signal. "Kazakhstan is a member of the CSTO and the CIS joint air defense system. Our countries exchange information about external threats. In the event of any difficult situation, the southern neighbor will become our first line of defense," Knutov said in detail.
The Su-57 and Su-35 are desirable for many external customers, since the machines have been tested in real battles, agreed Vladimir Popov, Honored Military pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General of Aviation. The machines are characterized by high impact power and super-maneuverability, achieved, among other things, through the development of controlled thrust vector technology.
"Russian developers and exporters have been able to find a middle ground between the cost of military equipment and its quality. American and European competitors cannot boast of this.",
– the interlocutor emphasized.
Among the advantages of Russian cars, he also mentioned a more reliable radio-absorbing coating. "Now several hundred F-35s are in hangars around the world and are not suitable for operation precisely because of the lack of updating this protection element," the expert said.
He also mentioned the traditions of military-technical cooperation, established during the Soviet period, as an important reason for the interest of foreign customers in Russian technology. "The Middle East, some countries in Africa and Asia are aware of the reliability, simplicity and availability of Russian weapons. They are well aware that defense is not an area where experiments are appropriate. Therefore, they synchronize to some extent the updating of the life cycles of their weapons with the current Russian proposal," the speaker concluded.
Rafael Fakhrutdinov
