Algeria has become the first foreign customer to field Russia’s Su-57E stealth fighter, and it is now adding long-range Su-34M strike jets and new aerial tankers to the same fleet.
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Russia’s main military aircraft manufacturer, confirmed in November 2025 that it handed over two Su-57E stealth fighters to an unnamed foreign partner. The Algerian state broadcaster had already confirmed in February 2025 that Algeria was the platform’s inaugural launch customer, with its pilots already undergoing advanced training in Russia. Independent trackers later verified the delivery when the Su-57E was filmed conducting historic test flights over Algerian territory alongside newly delivered Su-35 air superiority jets sporting Algerian Air Force colors.
The Su-34M followed a similar pattern of leaks before confirmation. Images of the jet in a desert camouflage surfaced in August 2025, and footage showing Su-34s with Algerian markings appeared in May 2026. The first four Su-34ME bombers were transferred from the Chkalov plant in Novosibirsk to an Algerian airbase early in the year, where they were already flying in exercises alongside older Su-24MK bombers by March 2026. On June 13, 2026, video confirmed a new batch of Su-34Ms arriving in Algeria, this time painted in an ocean-blue scheme rather than the earlier desert pattern, confirming that different units or bases operate different color schemes. Algeria placed the original order for 14 Su-34ME jets under a 2019 contract with Russia, alongside matching orders for 14 Su-35E and 14 Su-57E aircraft.
Su-35 deliveries began in January 2025, giving the air force a bridge between its long-serving Su-30MKA fleet and the newer stealth aircraft. It was reported that at least 4 more Su-34s reached Algeria in 2026, part of a broader pattern in which Moscow has continued to fill Algerian orders even as its own air force absorbs wartime losses. Russia’s combat aircraft deliveries to its own forces totaled roughly 14 airframes over the first 8 months of 2026, well below the 20 to 30 aircraft a year Russia produced before the invasion of Ukraine, according to Defense24’s tally of Su-35S, Su-57, Su-34 and Su-30SM2 output.
In August 2026, footage circulated of a newly rolled-out Il-78MK-90A tanker in export configuration, and multiple Russian aviation sources pointed to Algeria as the buyer, reporting a signed contract for 3 tankers with an option for three more. The Il-78MK-90A is built on the Il-76MD-90A transport airframe, runs on four PS-90A-76 engines, and can carry a maximum takeoff weight of around 210 tons while transferring up to 78 tons of fuel in flight, depending on the mission. Algeria operates older Il-78 tankers bought from Ukraine, so a move to newer Russian-built aircraft would replace rather than add to capability.
The Su-34M utilizes a built-in internal electro-optical targeting system alongside external universal reconnaissance pods, allowing it to swap between radar, signals-intelligence, and optical surveillance components. This configuration feeds target data to other aircraft or ground command nodes in near real time. A Kopyo-DL radar, tucked into the aircraft’s tail “stinger,” watches the rear hemisphere, warning pilots of incoming threats and automatically triggering jamming and countermeasures. Across 12 hardpoints, the jet can carry up to 14,000 kg of ordnance, including Kh-35 anti-ship missiles and Kh-38 precision tactical missiles, alongside satellite-guided glide bomb kits that let it release munitions from high altitude and up to 100-200 km from the target, keeping the launching aircraft outside most air defense envelopes. A tanker fleet stretches that reach further still, supporting longer patrols, standing intercepts, and strikes deeper into contested airspace.
The Su-57E brings a different set of numbers. Its unrefueled range runs to around 2,800 km, extending to roughly 5,200 km with one aerial refueling and 7,800 km with two, according to reports on the export variant. It carries up to 7,500 kg of payload across 6 internal and 6 external hardpoints (12 in total), mixing R-77M and R-74M2 air-to-air missiles with Kh-69 and Grom-E1 strike weapons and a 30 mm cannon derived from the GSh-30-1. However, instead of the anticipated initial batch of 6 aircraft in 2025, factory tracking confirmed that only two airframes were delivered late in the year, with subsequent units expected across 2026 and 2027 due to Russian manufacturing constraints.
The purchases also test how far Russia will go to protect a key African export customer while its own air force absorbs combat losses. Analysts at Chatham House and other Africa-focused trackers note that Moscow has continued shipping to Algeria, Belarus and Myanmar even as domestic demand competes for the same production lines, a sign of how central Algeria has become to Russia’s remaining arms-export business.
For Algeria, the immediate defence budget backs up the ambition. The government’s 2026 finance bill sets defence spending at roughly $25 billion, level with 2025 and among the largest in Africa, according to reports.