Rostec announces second Su-57 delivery for 2024

By Sam Cranny-Evans, originally published on 18th November 2024. This article was updated with a correction and additional information from one of our readers on 22nd November 2024. Thank you! 

The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) , part of Rostec, has delivered the second batch of Su-57 and fighter aircraft along with a third batch of Su-35S to the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) this year, according to an 11th November press release from Rostec. 

Russian military bloggers indicated that five Su-57s had been delivered and identified from their tail numbers by the middle of 2022, and a Rostec press release in late 2023 stated that Su-57 production had “almost doubled”. It appears that two deliveries were reported in 2023, one in September and the second in December, so it is possible that between 10 and 12 were delivered. This latest announcement is also the second delivery for 2024, although it is common for Rostec to announce further deliveries around the 26th and 27th of December.

This is also the third announced delivery of Su-35S aircraft to the VKS in 2024, while four deliveries were announced in 2023. The Su-35 production line was able to deliver 50 aircraft to the VKS between 2015 and 2020, according to TASS, as well as 24 to China, indicating an annual output of 14 or more. Russia signed a further order for 30 Su-35S at the Army Exhibition in 2020, which brought the total number of contracted Su-35S up to 128, 98 of them having already been delivered to the VKS, according to the Military Balance, from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. 

Russia will have received 128 Su-35S by the end of the current contract. It is reportedly a capable air superiority fighter with an effective long-range radar and air-to-air missiles. Credit: Rostec.

The Su-57 is a multirole fighter with stealth characteristics that was designed in the early 2000s to upgrade and modernise the VKS. A contract was signed in 2019 for 76 of the aircraft to be delivered by 2028 including the establishment of a new production line. The director of UAC, Yuri Slyusar, outlined the goal to reach an annual output of 12 Su-57s per year in a meeting with Putin in 2021.

If we assume that UAC’s figures are a reliable indicator and 12 Su-57s are to be delivered in 2024, in addition to ten in 2023 and six up to 2022, including one delivered in 2019 that crashed, then the VKS may have received 28 serial production aircraft, out of the contracted 76. This leaves the UAC with four years to build the remaining 48 aircraft, which is not unreasonable at 12 aircraft per year. However, Guy Plopsky, an airpower analyst who specialises in Russian military affairs got in touch with Calibre and suggested more modest delivery figures; “The first “serial” Su-57 crashed in 2019 before it was delivered. The second was delivered in late 2020, formally, it was announced as being handed over to the VKS in early 2021. The third and fourth aircraft were officially handed over in late 2021, hence considered as being delivered that year; however they were de facto delivered on “December 32” i.e. early the following year. The fifth and sixth “serial” Su-57s were delivered in May 2022,” he explained. Another four Su-57s were delivered in December 2022, after which the delivery figures begin to get murky, he added, explaining that various sources such as Russian military bloggers indicate deliveries of 8-12 aircraft in 2023. 

“In 2024, the first batch was announced in September. It appears to have comprised three “serial” Su-57s, the second batch – this latest one – is less clear. But, it is likely between two and four aircraft, bringing the upper limit of delivered Su-57s to 28, whereas the lowest figure could be 22,” Plopsky explained.  “The important thing to note is that the “serial” Su-57s delivered to the VKS to date still lack the more capable Izd. 30 (AL-51F-1) turbofan engines (we can see that from photos of the aircraft in the latest batches). Unless there are additional delays with the new engine, we should see delivery of “serial” Su-57s with the new engines commence in 2025. The Russians are likely waiting for the new engine to be ready before increasing production of Su-57s,” he said.

Calibre comment

Rostec announced on its VK page on the 14th of November that it had signed contracts for the export version of the Su-57E during the Zuhai AirShow, without providing any details such as the customer or delivery timeframes. Export contracts will be critical to Russia’s defence industry in the near future. It has expanded dramatically since late 2021 and accelerated many of its expansions since launching its full scale war on Ukraine. The UAC, for example, has invested its own funds into an expansion of its production line and facilities enabling it to deliver Su-57s. This has led to a noticeable increase in output, UAC has reported four deliveries of the Su-34 fighter-bomber in 2024, over three in 2023 and even less in 2022, for example. 

At the same time, the Russian state does not pay market prices for its equipment, Sergei Chemezov, the head of Rostec, told Putin in August 2023 that the company’s net orders had reached 2.3 trillion rubles ($23 billion), but the net profit had fallen to 39 billion rubles (490 million) from 163 billion (approx $2 billion) in 2022. He attributed this to the company taking on state defence orders at either no- or negative profitability, with the company relying on its civilian production to make ends meet. Because of this, there will be a strong drive to increase exports of key systems like the Su-57 so that Rostec can stay profitable. However, it is likely that much of Rostec can only produce for the needs of the Russian MoD, and so any export orders will have to wait until the war is over.