MWM: 20 Russia’s SU-35 Fighters for Iran

Su-35 Fighter
Photo: MWM

The Russian Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant has complete the production of 20 Su-35 fighter aircraft ordered by the Iranian Air Force, with the Iranian Defence Ministry currently paying for their sustainment in Russia before they are transferred to facilities in the country, Military Watch Magazine writes.

This follows leaked Russian military industrial correspondence in late 2025 revealing that 16 Su-35s were at the time in production to meet Iranian orders. Although the plant previously produced Su-35s at rates of only around 14 per year, General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation Vadim Badekha in May 2025 confirmed that work had been initiated to increase production. It is expected that the Russian Aerospace Forces will see deliveries of Su-35s reduced over the next two-to three years to accommodate Iranian orders.

The procurement of Su-35 fighters has been far from isolated, with Russian sources on June 4 confirming that the Iranian Defence Ministry had ordered 12  Su-30SM2 fighter aircraft, which will be delivered second hand from mid-2027 from frontline Russian units. The Su-30SM2 is a less complex derivative of the same Su-27 airframe design than the Su-35 is based on, and while using a common engine and similarly advanced avionics, it is not only far less costly and easier to maintain, but is also better suited to strike operations and to providing training for Su-35 crews.

The Iranian Air Force’s procurement of its first post-Cold War era fighters is particularly significant due to the effective use which it has made of its much older Vietnam War era fighters during hostilities with the United States and its strategic partners. In late April it was confirmed that an Iranian Air Force F-5E third generation fighter had successfully conducted a bombing run against Camp Buehring in Kuwait, penetrating multi-layered U.S. and U.S.-supplied Kuwaiti air defences.

Subsequently in early May it was confirmed that the F-5’s heavier and longer ranged counterpart in the Iranian Air Force, the similarly obsolete F-4E, had been used to launch a successful penetration strike over Saudi Arabia. This operation became known only because it resulted in an engagement between the F-4 and at least one U.S. Air Force F-16CJ fighter, in which the F-16s failed to shoot down the Iranian aircraft. The report raised the possibility that F-4s may have been launching penetration strikes more widely.

During recent hostilities with the U.S. and its strategic partners in the Middle East, the Iranian Air Force proved capable of preserving its aircraft despite the high intensity of attacks launched against its facilities. The successes it achieved with obsolete fighter types further raised the possibility that the delivery of Su-35s will allow for much more significant offensives to be launched against hostile targets across much of the Middle East.

The Su-35’s outstandingly long range, with a combat radius of close to 2,000 kilometres, provides the potential to conduct penetration strikes deep inside hostile airspace, while its ability to operate from short or makeshift airfields will leave the fleet less vulnerable to the targeting of airbases and support dispersed operations. Although it is in many respects less advanced than more capable U.S. and Chinese fighter types such as the F-35 and J-16, the Su-35 has been more intensively combat tested than any other post-Cold War fighter type in the world in complex air-to-air operations, and has been incrementally modernised including with the integration of new generations of air-to-air missiles.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs