The main factor determining the state of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2022 was a special military operation in Ukraine, which turned into the largest war for Russia since 1945, and was accompanied, among other things, by significant losses of aviation equipment. Against this background, the supply of new combat aircraft to the Russian Armed Forces remained at a relatively low level - according to available data, 29 combat and combat training aircraft were delivered: four Su-30SM2, ten Su-34M, seven Su-35S, six Su-57 and two Yak-130. Five new-built Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft were also delivered. At the same time, it can be noted that in 2022, finally, for the first time, the pace of serial production of Su-57 and Il-76MD-90A aircraft has noticeably accelerated.
One of the Gagarin Aviation Plant built in 2022 for the Russian Aerospace Forces at Komsomolsk-on-Amur (KnAAZ) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation" of Su-35S fighters (tail number "05 blue"). In the background, the Su-35 fighters in storage, manufactured by KnAAZ in 2020-2021, initially for Egypt, are visible. Dzemgi (Komsomolsk-on-Amur), October 2022 (c) cockroach / russianplanes.net ( link )Regarding the losses, it is estimated that during the fighting in Ukraine in 2022, the Russian Armed Forces lost for all reasons at least 30 new types of combat aircraft (Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35).
Among the aircraft delivered to the Russian Armed Forces in 2022:
Six fifth-generation Su-57 fighters. According to available information, Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yu.A. Gagarin (KnAAZ) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation" (PJSC "UAC", part of Rostec State Corporation) in 2022 handed over to the Ministry of Defense of Russia six serial fighters of the fifth generation Su-57 (T-50S).
The first two Su-57 fighters built in 2022 with the tail numbers "53 red" (registration number RF-81777) and "54 red" (registration number RF-81778) were transferred in May 2022 and were spotted during an intermediate landing at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport during the drive to the bases in the European part of Russia from Komsomolsk-on-Amur May 25-26, 2022.
Four more Su-57 fighters were transferred in December 2022 and were spotted in Tolmachevo during an intermediate landing on December 28. Their on-board and registration materials on well-known photo and video materials were retouched.
Earlier, KnAAZ in 2020-2021 transferred four Su-57 aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Forces: fighters with tail numbers "01 red" (originally had the tail number "01 blue", the first actually received on January 29, 2021 by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation serial Su-57 fighter - T-50S-2 aircraft, serial number 51002); "02 red" (originally had the tail number "02 blue", T-50S-3, serial number 52201, built in 2021, seen in Tolmachevo during the stage on February 3, 2022); "52 red" (registration number RF-81775, built in 2021, seen in Tolmachevo during the stage on February 3, 2022) and "52 blue" (built in 2021, appears in the video of KnAAZ distributed in early 2022).
In August 2018, at the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2018", the Ministry of Defense of Russia and PJSC "Sukhoi Company" signed a contract for the supply to the Armed Forces of the first two serial Su-57 fighters (in the guise of T-50S - sides T-50S-1 and T-50S-2) with engines of the "first stage" ("product 117"). The terms of the contract were 2018-2020, with the delivery of one aircraft in 2019 and 2020. In June 2019, at the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2019", the Ministry of Defense of Russia and PJSC Sukhoi signed a contract for the supply of 76 Su-57 serial fighters to the Armed Forces in total (including the first two aircraft contracted in 2018), with a contract term of 2027.
The first serial Su-57 aircraft (T-50S-1 aircraft, serial number 51001, tail number "01 blue"), built at KnAAZ, made its first flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in early December 2019 and was planned to be transferred to the Ministry of Defense on December 27, but on December 24, 2019 at the final the factory test stage crashed as a result of an accident, due, presumably, to a malfunction in the aircraft control system. Flight tests of the second of the two serial samples of the Su-57 fighter contracted in 2018 (T-50S-2 aircraft, serial number 51002) were started in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in October 2020, it also received the tail number "01 blue", and was commissioned in December 2020, but, As mentioned above, it was officially transferred to the Ministry of Defense only on January 29, 2021.
Thus, to date, 11 serial Su-57 fighters have been built, of which, after the loss of the main one, the Russian Aerospace Forces received ten. Presumably, the first two Su-57 fighters received by the Russian Aerospace Forces with blue tail numbers "01" and "02" entered the 116th Combat Training Center of the 185th Center for Combat Training and Combat Use of Fighter Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Privolzhsky airfield in the Astrakhan region.
Seven more Su-57 aircraft (with red tail numbers "51", "52" and "53", and four transferred at the end of 2022), presumably, joined the 4th Order of Lenin of the Red Banner Center for Military Testing and Training of Personnel of the V. P. Chkalov Aerospace Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to the Lipetsk airfield.
The Su-57 aircraft with the tail number "52 blue" is presumably the first aircraft intended for the first linear part of the Russian Aerospace Forces, planned to be re-equipped with these fighters - the 23rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 303rd Guards Mixed Aviation Division of the 11th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Eastern Military District at the Dzemgi airfield in the same Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Earlier in 2014, the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was also the first in the Russian Air Force (VKS) to be re-equipped with Su-35S fighters (also manufactured at KnAAZ).
Four new serial Su-57 fighter jets built by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yu.A. Gagarin were transferred to the Russian Aerospace Forces in December 2022 by PJSC United Aircraft Corporation during an intermediate landing at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport during the transfer to their bases in the European part of Russia, 12/28/2022. On-board and registration numbers are retouched (with) NSK PlanesSeven Su-35S fighters.
According to available information, in 2022, the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yuri Gagarin handed over seven Su-35S fighters to the Russian Aerospace Forces.
On September 9, 2022, KnAAZ handed over the first three Su-35S fighters of its 2022 production program - aircraft with blue tail numbers "01", "02" and "03". They became the final aircraft under the third contract signed by the Russian Ministry of Defense with the UAC on August 25, 2020 during the International Military-Technical Forum "Army 2020" for the supply of, apparently, only six Su-35S fighters. These three Su-35S entered the 116th Combat Training Center of the 185th Center for Combat Training and Combat Use of Fighter Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Privolzhsky airfield in the Astrakhan region, becoming the first Su-35S aircraft in this Center. Earlier in December 2021, KnAAZ handed over the first three Su-35S aircraft under this contract in 2020, which entered the 4th Red Banner Center for Military Testing and Training of Personnel of the V. P. Chkalov Aerospace Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation at the Lipetsk airfield.
Four more Su-35S built in 2022 were transferred to KnAAZ by the Russian Aerospace Forces in early December 2022. The side numbers of the aircraft on the common video and photographic materials were retouched, however, according to available information, apparently, these machines have blue side numbers "04", "05", "06" and "07". Based on this line of numbers, it can be assumed that these aircraft also became part of the 116th Combat Training Center of the 185th Center for Combat Training and Combat Use of Fighter Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Privolzhsky airfield in the Astrakhan region.
Presumably, these are the first four Su-35S fighters manufactured within the framework of the fourth contract concluded in 2021 by the UAC for the supply of Su-35S aircraft to the Ministry of Defense of Russia. It is possible that this contract includes 24 aircraft with delivery by 2024.
Prior to that, under two previous contracts in 2009 and 2015, the Russian Aerospace Forces received 98 production Su-35S aircraft from 2012 to 2020. Thus, the total number of serial Su-35S received by the Russian Ministry of Defense now amounts to 108 units.
One of the Gagarin Aviation Plant built in 2022 for the Russian Aerospace Forces at Komsomolsk-on-Amur (KnAAZ) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation" of Su-35S fighters (tail number "03 blue"). The registration numbers on the keels are retouched. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 09.09.2022 (c) footage from the video of PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation"Ten Su-34M front-line bombers.
During 2022, the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant (NAZ) named after V.P. Chkalov, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation, delivered ten Su-34M (Su-34NVO) bombers to the Russian Aerospace Forces. The aircraft were delivered in three batches - in June (four aircraft), in November (three) and at the end of December (three). These aircraft were presumably manufactured under a new three-year contract signed in June 2020 by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation with the UAC for the construction of 24 upgraded Su-34M (Su-34NVO) bombers.
The first six Su-34M aircraft under this contract were manufactured by NAZ in 2021. Four of them in November 2021 were transferred to the 277th Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 303rd Mixed Aviation Division of the 11th Red Banner Army of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Eastern Military District based at the Khurba airfield (near Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai) (since November 2022, this regiment has been active taking part in a special military operation in Ukraine, has the rank of guard). Two other Su-34M bombers built by NAZ in 2021, presumably, were received in December 2021 as part of the 4th Order of Lenin of the Red Banner Center for Military Tests and Training of Personnel of the V. P. Chkalov Aerospace Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation at the Lipetsk airfield.
The side numbers of the Su-34M bombers delivered in 2022 were retouched in official photos and videos, but, according to available information, seven aircraft delivered in June and November 2022 also joined the 277th Bomber Regiment, which apparently allowed the acquisition of these aircraft by the third squadron of the regiment. Earlier, the 277th Bomber Regiment in Khurba received 26 Su-34 aircraft in 2016-2017, with which two squadrons of the regiment were equipped (two of these Su-34s were lost in a collision on January 18, 2019 over the Tatar Strait), and the third squadron of the regiment retained front-line Su-24M2 bombers, transferred to it during the rearmament from the other two squadrons. At the same time, due to the combat losses suffered in 2022, the regiment, apparently, still remains incomplete.
The three Su-34M aircraft transferred to NAZ in December 2022 apparently had blue tail numbers "01", "02" and "03". It can be assumed that, thus, these aircraft were delivered to the new aviation regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which had not previously used Su-34 bombers.
Presumably, now the total number of Su-34s built has reached 155 units, including seven experimental and pre-production aircraft.
In August 2022, according to available information, the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a new contract with the UAC for the manufacture of a certain number of Su-34M aircraft (according to unofficial data - about 15 units).
Novosibirsk, December 2022">
One of the three Su-34M (Su-34NVO) front-line bombers (tail number "03 blue") of the new construction of the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation transferred to the Russian Aerospace Forces in December 2022. Novosibirsk, December 2022 (c) stream / forums.airforce.ruFour Su-30SM2 fighters.
In November 2022 Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ) PJSC United Aircraft Corporation handed over four Su-30SM2 fighters to the Russian Ministry of Defense. These aircraft with blue tail numbers from "82" to "85" were delivered to the Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy and became part of the 4th Guards Naval Assault Aviation Regiment of the 34th Mixed Aviation Division of the Baltic Fleet Aviation based at Chernyakhovsk Airfield in the Kaliningrad region.
The four Su-30SM2 fighters delivered in 2022 are the second batch of Su-30SM2 aircraft built by IAZ under the contract for the supply of 21 fighters of this type for the Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy, concluded by the Russian Ministry of Defense with the UAC on August 25, 2020.
The first batch of four Su-30SM2 aircraft with blue tail numbers from "78" to "81" under this contract was transferred to the Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy at the end of 2021 and in January 2022 also joined the 4th Guards Naval Assault Aviation Regiment in Chernyakhovsk. Earlier in 2016-2018, eight Su-30SM aircraft with blue tail numbers from "70" to "77" were delivered to the 1st squadron of this regiment (formerly the 72nd Air base), and the arrival of the Su-30SM2 under a new contract allowed in 2022 to complete the staffing to the full staff of the 1st squadrons of the regiment and begin the rearmament of the 2nd squadron of the regiment with Su-24M and Su-24MR aircraft.
In general, the delivery of Su-30SM2 aircraft under this contract marked the resumption of deliveries of Su-30SM family fighters for the Russian Armed Forces, suspended since 2018. In total, under previous contracts from 2012 to 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defense received 116 Su-30SM fighters, of which 22 were delivered to the Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy. Thus, now the total number of Russian Su-30SM delivered has reached 124 units, including 30 for Naval Aviation.
One of four Su-30SM2 fighters (tail number "85 blue") built in 2022 for the Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation, November 2022 (c) Kirill MushakTwo Yak-130 combat training aircraft. On November 21, 2022, two new-built Yak-130 combat training aircraft of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant were transferred to the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
Presumably, this is the second batch (and became the only one in 2022) of Yak-130 aircraft built under the contract for the supply of 25 machines of this type for the Russian Aerospace Forces, concluded by the Russian Ministry of Defense with the UAC on August 25, 2020. According to available information, IAZ handed over the first two Yak-130s under this contract to the VKS at the end of 2021. The side numbers of the aircraft delivered in 2021 and 2022 are unknown.
Thus, since 2009, the Russian Ministry of Defense has received a total of up to 120 Yak-130 aircraft under various contracts - of which 12 of the first two series were built at JSC Nizhny Novgorod Aviation Plant Sokol, and the rest at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.
One of the newly built Yak-130 combat training aircraft transferred to the Russian Aerospace Forces by the Irkutsk Aviation Plant of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (part of Rostec State Corporation). The on-board and registration numbers are retouched. Irkutsk, November 2022 (c) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation"It is also worth mentioning that on January 12, 2022, the first (experimental) Tu-160M strategic bomber of new construction, built at the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ) named after S.P. Gobunov, a branch of PJSC Tupolev (as part of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation), made its first flight.
In fact, this aircraft with the serial number 8-05 was made from the stock left over from Soviet times. On December 30, 2022, the UAC was [...] ru/ru/press-center/news/pervyy-vnov-izgotovlennyy-strategicheskiy-raketonosets-tu-160m-sovershil-ocherednoy-polet " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">it has been announced that this aircraft has completed the stage of factory tests, that is, it has not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
This aircraft was built under a contract signed on January 25, 2018 by the Russian Ministry of Defense with PJSC Tupolev worth 160 billion rubles for the construction of ten new Tu-160M bombers (also sometimes designated Tu-160M2) by 2027. On December 30, 2022, the UAC announced the roll-out and transfer to the KAZ flight test station of the second a new-built Tu-160M bomber, however, this aircraft (presumed serial number 9-01) has not yet taken to the air.
The first upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber (presumed serial number 8-05) of the new construction of the Kazan Aviation Plant - a branch of PJSC Tupolev (as part of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation) in the next flight. Kazan, December 2022 (c) PJSC "United Aircraft Corporation"Deliveries of combat and combat training aircraft of new production to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2008-2022
(c) Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (TSAST)
Deliveries of combat aircraft for export from Russia in 2022, it seems, were close to a historical minimum.
In addition, the American sanctions pressure, which intensified even more after the start of the SVO, also led to a sharp reduction in information openness in the field of military-technical cooperation between Russia and foreign countries, as a result of which many Russian supplies of weapons and military equipment abroad are now not publicly disclosed, or even simply hidden, which complicates the analysis.
Reliably in 2022, the following deliveries of combat aircraft of new production for export were made:
- two Su-30SME fighters manufactured by the Irkutsk Aviation Plant - to Myanmar. These are the first aircraft under the January 2018 contract for the supply of six Su-30SME aircraft to Myanmar. Both aircraft were actually manufactured back in 2019, but delivered to Myanmar only in March 2022 and officially commissioned by the Myanmar Air Force in December;
- six Yak-130 combat training aircraft manufactured by Irkutsk Aviation Plant - to Vietnam. These are the final aircraft delivered in early 2022 under the 2019 contract for the purchase of 12 Yak-130 units by Vietnam. The first six aircraft under this contract were delivered in November 2021.
Apparently, the execution of the 2019 contract for the manufacture and supply of 14 additional Su-30MKI(A) fighters to Algeria continued. The first two Su-30MKI(A) aircraft produced by IAZ under this contract were delivered in 2021, but there is no reliable information about deliveries under it in 2022.
According to Western reports, in 2022, Russia signed a contract with Iran to supply it with all or part of the Su-35 fighter jets manufactured under the "suspended" contract of 2018 for the supply of 30 of these aircraft to Egypt. As you know, all Su-35 aircraft were built according to it in 2020-2021, but in the end none of them were sent to Egypt, and all known Egyptian machines are stored in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Zhukovsky. Now it is reported that deliveries of these aircraft to Iran will begin in 2023.
As for the supply of non-combat aircraft to the Russian Armed Forces in 2022, it is worth noting that a certain breakthrough has occurred in the program of serial production of Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft at Aviastar-SP JSC (now the Ulyanovsk branch of PJSC Il - Aviastar as part of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation) in Ulyanovsk. From April to December 2022, Aviastar handed over to the Russian Ministry of Defense five new-built Il-76MD-90A aircraft at once, which is a record of annual production - boards with factory numbers 0208 (registration number RF-78663), 0209 (registration number RF-78664), 0210 (registration number RF-78665), 0301 (registration number RF-78666) and 0302 (registration number RF-78667). All of them, apparently, became part of the 235th Military Transport Aviation Regiment of the 18th Military Transport Aviation Division of the Military Transport Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, based at the Aviastara factory airfield Ulyanovsk-Vostochny (as a result, the 235th regiment now has, according to known data, 14 Il-76MD-90A).
Thus, to date, the Aviastar plant has built and delivered a total of 18 copies (including a prototype) of the Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft and one prototype of the Il-78M-90A tanker aircraft.
The construction of IL-76MD-90A aircraft at Aviastar was carried out under a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense dated October 2012 for the production of 39 Il-76MD-90A units in the amount of 139.42 billion rubles. Due to the strong delay in the implementation of the contract and the increase in the actual cost of aircraft, in May 2020, the Russian Ministry of Defense renegotiated a contract with Aviastar for the supply of Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft on new terms. Under the new conditions, under the old contract of 2012, the plant was now supposed to deliver a total of 13 Il-76MD-90A aircraft (and thus, the contract has now been completed with the delivery of aircraft 0301), and from 2021 a new contract for the supply of 14 such aircraft by 2028 - the first to be built under his board was 0302, commissioned at the end of 2022.
According to our assessment, in 2023, the supply of combat aircraft to the Ministry of Defense may be increased, which is primarily due to the effect of stabilization in the implementation of existing and signed contracts, as well as certain measures to intensify military production within the framework of its. It is estimated that seven Su-57 aircraft, up to 12 Su-35S, up to 12 Su-34, up to 10 Su-30SM2 and up to 12 Yak-130 can be delivered, as well as one or two Tu-160M strategic bombers of new production (already built boards 8-05 and 9-01). Up to four IL-76MD-90A aircraft and the first serial tanker aircraft IL-78M-90A can be commissioned in military transport aviation.
One of the IL-76MD-90A military transport aircraft delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2022 (factory number 0210, registration number RF-78665) of the new construction of the Ulyanovsk branch of PJSC IL - Aviastar (as part of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation). Knevichi (Vladivostok), 08.11.2022 (c) Vladimir Sergeevich / russianplanes.net ( link )
