Russia's Su-35 – The Heavily Upgraded Derivative of the Su-27 - In September 2023, a Russian Su-35S (NATO reporting name "Flanker M") multirole fighter was shot down over the southern Ukrainian city of Tokmak. According to officials in Kyiv at least five of the Kremlin's highly touted fighters have been shot down in the fighting, but that particular aircraft was noteworthy as it was likely downed by friendly fire.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, a Russian air defense unit fired the surface-to-air missile that shot down the Su-35.

In late October 2023, the open-source intelligence Oryx website listed five Su-35 fighter jets as destroyed since February since February 2022.

Su-35: Initially Intended for Export

The Su-35 is just a heavily upgraded derivative of the Su-27 aircraft (NATO reporting name "Flanker") that was originally intended for export. However, it has been in service with the Russian Air Force since 2014 and made its first combat deployment in Syria in 2015 – where it was employed to provide cover for other Russian aircraft on bombing missions.

It was further utilized in guided and unguided strikes against ISIS and rebel forces in Syria.

The Kremlin is believed to have had 110 of the aircraft in its inventories as of December 2022. It is in service with several fighter aviation regiments of the Russian Air Force, including the 22nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Production of the aircraft is currently underway at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant located in the Russian Far East (part of the United Aircraft Corporation within the state tech corporation Rostec), and according to Russian state media, it delivered the latest batch of Su-35S fighter jets in July.

Developed to Counter the F-16 Fighting Falcon

Whereas the Su-27 was initially developed to address the development of the U.S. military's F-15 Eagle in the 1970s, the Su-35 was a response to the F-16. According to its designers, as a multirole fighter, the Su-35 can be used in a variety of missions and is capable of attacking ground and naval targets, including infrastructural facilities shielded by air defense systems, as well as those located at a considerable distance from home airfields.

The Sukhoi Su-35 is actually the second improved version of the Su-27M; it is a single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable aircraft. It reportedly features thrust-vectoring engines in place of the Su-27's canards. Designated the "Flanker-E" by NATO, this "4++ generation" fighter has been touted by Kremlin officials as being a very capable foe to current U.S. aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle, the F-18, and even the F-35 Lightning II.       

The Su-35's armament includes a GSh-30-1 30mm autocannon with 150 rounds, along with 17,630 pounds of payload on twelve external points. It can carry a variety of air-to-air, air-to-surface, anti-radiation, and anti-ship missiles, as well as a number of TV, laser-, and satellite-guided bombs. By comparison, the new U.S.-built F-22 has just four hardpoints on its wings and three on internal weapon bays.

The Su-35 is capable of employing an entire range of existing and future air-launched air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, including precision weapons. It carries a 30mm GSh-30-1 gun, short-, medium- and long-range air-to-air missiles, Kh-31, Kh-35U, or Kh-59M anti-ship missiles, and various types of precision munitions and rockets as its basic armament. The fighter integrates the IUS-35 information and control system and a phased array radar capable of detecting targets at a range of 100 km-400 km.

It has a maximum take-off weight of 34.5 tons and can accelerate to 2,500 km/h. The Su-35 has an operational range of 1,500-4,500 km and a service ceiling of 20,000 meters.

The twin Saturn AL-41F1S turbofans provide the Su-35 with maneuverability that can easily match or exceed the evasion techniques of nearly all existing fourth-generation fighters. With a maximum speed of 1,550 mph and a ceiling of 59,050 feet, it is a well-armed, speedy aircraft.

Foreign Buyers of the Su-35

As noted, the aircraft was initially developed as an export model of the Su-27. Several nations have been listed as potential operators including Algeria, Egypt, India, and the United Arab Emirates. However, sales of the aircraft to those countries haven't materialized.

Indonesia had been one of the foreign buyers, but announced in December 2021 that it was abandoning its plans to purchase the Su-35 due to a protracted acquisition process, and instead looked to French and U.S. options, including the Rafale and Boeing F-15EX respectively. Jakarta may have also had concerns that an acquisition of the Su-35 could have triggered U.S. sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act – the law that was passed by Congress in 2017 and is meant to discourage governments or entities from acquiring weapons as well as military hardware and parts from American adversaries including Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

In 2019, Russia did complete deliveries of twenty-four Su-35 fighters to China, in a deal that was worth a reported $2.5 billion. After Beijing became the first international customer of the Su-35, the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Asian nation for breaching the congressionally mandated CAASTA. Despite that fact, the Su-34 officially entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in April 2018.

Iran has also sought to acquire the advanced fighter, but the deal reported collapsed in July 2023. Instead, Iran has started to produce its locally designed Kowsar fighter.

Author Experience and Expertise

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

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