Su-34
Tactical fighter-bomber / strike
Two-seat fighter-bomber on the Flanker base; replaces the Su-24. Large weapon load, long range and an armoured cockpit for deep strike and interdiction. In Ukraine the Su-34 has become the workhorse as a carrier of UMPK/FAB glide bombs: cheap glide bombs (FAB-250 to FAB-3000) released at 32–49 NM beyond the reach of much air defence. Limited self-defence against fighters, but devastating as a stand-off strike platform under the IADS umbrella.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- Length × wingspan × height
- 23.34 m (24.8 m with probe) × 14.7 × 6.09 m
- Max. take-off weight
- 44,100–45,100 kg (sources differ)
- Empty weight
- 22,500 kg
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia; WEG (ODIN)
General
- Role
- Strike / interdiction / recce
- Crew
- 2 (side by side)
- Max speed
- Mach 1.8
- Ceiling
- 49,200 ft
- Combat radius
- ≈ 594 NM
- Payload
- ≈ 12,000 kg
- Production / fleet
- Probably 10–15 new aircraft a year (deliveries 8 in 2022, 11 in 2023, 12–14 in 2024); fleet at end-2025 ≈ 125 Su-34/Su-34M, not all available at once — source: HUR via UNIAN (23 Oct 2026) and Euromaidan Press, RU Mil Tracker e-20261027-06; Ukrainian intelligence estimate, not independently confirmed
Armament
- Air-ground
- Kh-29, Kh-31, Kh-59, KAB-500/1500
- Anti-radar
- Kh-31P (SEAD)
- Self-defence
- R-73, R-77
- Gun
- GSh-30-1 30 mm
Sensors / EW
- Radar
- Sh-141 multimode
- EW
- Khibiny-10V
- Rearward
- Tail radar against attacks from behind
Threat
- Primary threat
- PGM strike on ground/sea under the SAM umbrella
- Countermeasure
- CAP interception, deny the IADS umbrella
- Threat level
- High as strike, modest air-to-air
- Loss (claim) 4 Oct 2026
- According to the SBU, its drones hit a Su-34 and a Su-35 at Khanskaya air base (Adygea, near Maykop); both carry KAB glide bombs. AviaVector satellite imagery shows signs of destruction — source: RU Mil Tracker e-20261006-01 (Kyiv Independent, Militarnyi); SBU claim, not independently confirmed
- Loss (claim) 14–15 Oct 2026
- According to the Ukrainian Navy, Neptune cruise missiles hit six Su-34Ms at Borisoglebsk air base (Voronezh Oblast, ~400 km from the front); President Zelensky claims four destroyed and two hit, loaded with aerial bombs. Satellite imagery (Exilenova+, AviVector) partly supports the claim — source: RU Mil Tracker e-20261016-01 (Ukrainska Pravda, Defence Blog, Euromaidan Press); claim by a warring party, not independently confirmed
News archive 10
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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Ukrainian intelligence: Russia can probably add 10–15 Su-34s a year, but builds no new Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s or Su-24s
In a reply published by the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN on 23 October, Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR said Russian aircraft plants still produce modern fighter-bombers and fighters, enough to partly cover losses. Older bombers are different: Russia has no serial production of new Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s or Su-24s and keeps them flying through repairs a…
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Russian Su-30SM crashes on a training flight in Kaliningrad Oblast and both crew eject; pro-war Telegram channels report a second Russian fighter lost the same day, with its pilots probably killed
A Russian Su-30SM two-seat multirole fighter crashed on 21 October 2026 in the Chernyakhovsk district of Kaliningrad Oblast. Russian media placed the wreck in a field between the villages of Timofeyevka and Zelyony Bor. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the crash, as reported by RIA Novosti and TASS. It said the aircraft was on a scheduled training fli…
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Ukraine's Navy says it hit six Su-34M bombers at Borisoglebsk air base in Voronezh Oblast with Neptune missiles; Zelensky claims four destroyed
On the night of 14-15 October 2026 the Ukrainian Navy struck the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, roughly 400 km from the front line, with its Neptune coastal missile system. According to the Navy, six Su-34M bombers were hit, aviation support equipment was destroyed, and secondary explosions and a fire were recorded; it said furt…
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UAC delivers second 2026 batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers; number of aircraft not disclosed
Rostec announced on 7 October that its subsidiary United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has handed a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers (NATO: Fullback) to the Russian Ministry of Defence under the state defence order. According to Defence Blog, it is the second Su-34 batch delivered in 2026. Rostec says the aircraft completed the full cycle of ground and fligh…
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SBU drones hit Su-35 and Su-34 at Khanskaya air base in Adygea; satellite imagery shows destruction
Drones of the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) Alpha special operations unit struck the Khanskaya military airfield in Russia's Republic of Adygea overnight on 4 October 2026, the SBU said. According to the agency, a Su-35 multirole fighter and a Su-34 fighter-bomber were hit, as well as an ammunition depot on the airfield. The SBU put the distance from…
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«От тактики роевого применения дронов до атак безэкипажных танков» (Krasnaya Zvezda: From swarm drone tactics to uncrewed tank attacks — Tsentr-2026 wrap-up)
Krasnaya Zvezda, the Russian Defence Ministry's newspaper, published an overview of the main phase of the strategic command-staff exercise Tsentr-2026, which ended on 2 October at the Central Military District's 255th Chebarkul range, watched by President Putin and with Defence Minister Belousov reporting. According to the paper, more than 6,000 troops took…
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«Су-35 та Су-34»: СБУ уразила два носії КАБів на військовому аеродромі в Адигеї
ArmyInform reports that during the night of 3–4 October the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Russian military airfield Khanskaya in the Republic of Adygea. According to the SBU statement, drones of the SBU's Special Operations Center "Alpha" hit an ammunition depot on the airfield and two combat aircraft: a Su-35 multirole fighter and a Su-34 fi…
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Новинки ВКС: больше бомб и новинка навигации
The Russian milblogger channel Dva Majora relays statements by Kirill Fedorov, made during a broadcast the previous day, that the Su-34 frontline bomber can now carry up to seven glide bombs. Fedorov is quoted describing a step-by-step increase: the aircraft started with one bomb, then two, then four, flew with four 'for quite a long time', after which two…
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Russia's glide bomb strikes hit new monthly record in August 2026
According to figures from Ukraine's General Staff, compiled and circulated via the OSINT monitor Oko Gora, Russia dropped a record 8,766 glide bombs on Ukrainian positions and cities in August 2026 — the highest monthly total since the start of the full-scale invasion. That works out to an average of roughly 283 bombs a day.
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Germany's Cobra 600 Jet Drone Completes First Flight, Armed With IRIS-T Missile, Creators Hope It Can Shoot Down russian Su-34 KAB Carriers
SINGLE SOURCE — Ukrainian publication (Defense Express), not independently corroborated. German defense contractor Diehl Defence, working with startup POLARIS Raumflugzeuge, has developed the Cobra 600, a reusable jet-powered interceptor drone with a takeoff mass of 600 kilograms. The first test flight took place in the second half of August 2026 over the B…