A hacker group calling itself Black Mirror dumped over 300 internal documents from Russia’s Rostec conglomerate online on October 3, 2025, laying bare export deals for advanced fighter jets. Among the files, pricing sheets and timelines point to Ethiopia’s contract for six Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters, positioning Addis Ababa as the latest African buyer in Moscow’s sanctions-defying sales push. The disclosures, which Rostec and Ethiopian officials have yet to address publicly as of October 16, 2025, also detail 48 Su-35s for Iran and Algeria’s order of 12 fifth-generation Su-57s alongside 14 Su-34 bomber variants. These pacts, inked around Russia’s 2022 Ukraine invasion, signal persistent demand for Russian hardware amid Western restrictions.
The Ethiopian deal emerges from a modernisation drive that began with two ex-Indian Su-30K fighters delivered in January 2024. Handed over in a ceremony led by Field Marshal Berhanu Jula and Lieutenant General Yilma Merdassa, the twin-seaters bolster training and strike roles for the Ethiopian Air Force, which fields about 17 ageing Su-27s, MiG-23s, MiG-21s, and Su-25s. Talks for up to 18 more Su-30s surfaced in July 2023, with Rosoboronexport director Alexander Mikheyev noting Ethiopia’s interest in upgraded variants returned from India, complete with enhanced missiles and tactics. The Su-35 order, if finalised, would leapfrog these, injecting 4.5-generation capabilities into a fleet strained by internal conflicts like the Tigray war.
Russia’s KnAAPO plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur kicked off Su-35 production in 2007 under the United Aircraft Corporation, entering service in 2014 after a 2009 domestic buy of 48 units. The fleet grew past 120 by mid-2025, with deployments in Syria for intercepts and Ukraine for ground strikes, though losses there—over a dozen to missiles and accidents—exposed gaps in electronic warfare and identification. China took 24 years between 2016 and 2018 for $2 billion, reverse-engineering key tech despite non-proliferation pledges. Algeria’s batch arrived starting in March 2025, with 14 of 34 ordered operational by summer. At $85 million to $100 million apiece, plus sustainment, the jet’s price tags off potential buyers, favouring cheaper F-16s or fifth-gen options like the Su-57.
The Su-35, NATO’s Flanker-E, evolves the Su-27 into a single-seat, twin-engine workhorse for air dominance and precision attacks. Saturn AL-41F1S turbofans, each pushing 142 kilonewtons in afterburner, enable supercruise above Mach 1.1, a 2,400 kilometre-per-hour dash, and 18,000-meter ceiling. Thrust-vectoring nozzles and composites yield a 1.1-plus thrust-to-weight ratio at half fuel, sustaining 9-g turns for dogfights. The 21.9-meter airframe ferries 4,500 kilometres with drop tanks; combat radius hits 1,600 kilometres on 11,500 kilograms of internal fuel.
The N035 Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array radar spots targets at 400 kilometres, tracks 30, and fires on eight, outranging many fourth-gen peers but vulnerable to low-observable foes. An OLS-35 infrared search and track spots heat signatures passively, while the L175M Khibiny-M suite jams radars and deploys decoys. The cockpit packs 23-by-30-centimetre multifunction displays, a head-up display, and HOTAS controls—throttle-and-stick setups for hands-free inputs. Radar-absorbent coatings trim the cross-section to 1-3 square meters, better than the Su-27’s 10-plus but no match for stealth jets.
Weapon bays handle 8 tonnes across 12 pylons: R-77 active-radar missiles for beyond-visual-range kills, R-73 for close-in infrared shots, Kh-31 anti-ship or anti-radiation variants, and Kh-59 guided munitions. Precision drops include KAB-500 and KAB-1500 laser-guided bombs; a 30mm GSh-30-1 cannon with 150 rounds backs air-to-air scraps. This loadout suits intercepts, escorts, or strikes, but integration with non-Russian networks demands custom software, hiking costs.
For Ethiopia, the Su-35 promises Horn of Africa dominance. Its radar horizon dwarfs regional rivals like Egypt’s Rafales or Sudan’s MiG-29s, enabling patrols over disputed borders or Red Sea chokepoints. Yet mismatches loom: recent fights against Tigray rebels favoured cheap drones over high-end jets. Addis Ababa deployed Turkish Akincis, and -Bayraktar TB2s—$5 million each, armed with MAM-L missiles—for 2021 strikes, claiming dozens of artillery pieces. Chinese Wing Loong IIs, at $1-2 million, added loitering munitions, while Iranian Mohajer-6s scouted with Sadid guided bombs. These platforms, totalling dozens acquired since 2020, suit asymmetric wars where insurgents lack air defences, unlike the Su-35’s peer-threat tuning.
The leak’s KRET files note avionics exports for export Su-35s, including jammers tailored for African spectra. Production logs suggest Ethiopia’s batch nears rollout, possibly by late 2026, but sanctions complicate payments. The last Rostec export nod dates to Algeria’s 2025 tranche.
Post-Ukraine, arms flowed to 20-plus nations, with Ethiopia’s $500 million-plus tab funding upgrades amid a 40 per cent export drop. For Addis, blending Su-35s with drones like the new Akinci—unveiled January 2024 with 450-kilogram payloads—could hybridise forces, pairing high-altitude overwatch with precision loiters. Trade-offs bite: jets demand runways and pilots, scarce in rugged terrain, while drones offer deniability and low logistics.