The Russian United Aircraft Corporation has transferred the first publicly announced batch of Su-35S fighters to the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The UAC reported this on its Telegram account.
The transfer and departure to Russian Aerospace Forces airfields took place from the factory airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where the aircraft are produced.
The exact number of aircraft in this batch was not disclosed. However, published photos and videos show the transfer of two Su-35S aircraft, marking the start of 2026 deliveries.
This is in line with UAC’s standard practice, under which a batch of two aircraft is typical. However, this year’s delivery was delayed, as in 2025, the first delivery took place on March 29 and the second on May 12.
Despite these delays, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation continues to state that it is committed to increasing production of this type of aircraft.
Last year, according to official information, deliveries of Su-35S fighter jets lasted from March 29 to December 25, 2025.
During the year, aircraft batches were delivered on May 12, June 25, August 21, September 24, and November 1.
In addition to deliveries to the Russian Aerospace Forces, the aircraft are currently also being exported.
For example, in internal Rostec Corporation materials published in open sources in the fall of 2025, plans to export the Su-35 to Ethiopia were first mentioned.
In the leaked documents, customer countries that ordered Su-35 aircraft were encrypted under special codes: 364 – Iran, 012 – Algeria, 231 – Ethiopia.
Militarnyi previously reported that on the night of April 11, 2026, a fire broke out in a workshop at the KnAAZ Russian aircraft plant named after Y.A. Gagarin, which is owned by Sukhoi and produces the Su-35S and Su-57 fighter jets.
History of Su-35S aircraft deliveries to the Russian Aerospace Forces
Deliveries of this aircraft type to the Russian military began in 2009. The first contract, totaling RUB 66 billion, was signed then for the delivery of 48 Su-35S fighter jets to the Russian Air Force in 2012-2015. By the end of 2015, all 48 aircraft had been produced.
In December 2015, a second contract was signed to deliver 50 aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Forces by 2020, for a total of RUB 100 billion. It was fully completed in November 2020.
The third contract was signed on August 25, 2020, at the Army-2020 forum by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Kryvoruchko and UAC head Yuri Slyusar, simultaneously with contracts for the Su-34 and Su-30SM2. The contract amount was 70 billion rubles.
The fourth contract was signed in 2021. It is believed to include 24 aircraft with delivery through 2024. The first four fighters under this contract were transferred to the Aerospace Forces in December 2022.
The fifth contract was signed after the start of the full-scale invasion. Current deliveries in 2025-2026 are being carried out under this contract. In 2022, KnAAZ transferred seven Su-35S fighter jets to the Aerospace Forces: three in September and four in December. In 2024, four batches were transferred with an estimated total of about 15 aircraft.
In 2025, production was expected to increase by almost 50% compared with 2024. However, estimates of the total number of aircraft delivered vary by source, ranging from a minimum of 7 to a maximum of 15 or 21.
At the same time, the real figure is likely somewhere in the middle, since each batch usually consisted of two to three fighter jets.
