Throughout the current year, developments regarding the Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have mainly focused on the promotional efforts by Rostec and Rosoboronexport for its export variant, showcased at air shows in India and offered to third countries. However, according to Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), the first batch of new fifth-generation aircraft for the year 2025 may have already been delivered.
Since late last year and into the beginning of this one, Rostec and Rosoboronexport have been making significant efforts to promote the export version of the Su-57 Felon (designated Su-57E) to third-party nations. This is evidenced by the presence in China and India of one of the program’s prototypes, the T-50-4 “054 Blue,” which carried out a series of major demonstrations and displays in front of thousands of spectators.
Although there is no official confirmation, these efforts may have borne fruit, with a possible sale of fifth-generation fighters to Algeria, which reportedly also received Su-35 air superiority fighters recently. However, it remains unclear whether these aircraft are part of the Su-57 deal or separate procurement packages.
In parallel with these export efforts, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), through its Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft manufacturing plant, continues the production of new units of the stealth fighter for delivery to the VKS.
According to various reports, during 2024, Rostec confirmed the delivery of three Su-57 batches to the Russian Aerospace Forces, which reportedly took place in September, November, and December. Although Russian authorities have not disclosed the exact number of aircraft delivered, it is speculated that each batch included two or three fighters, based on previous trends.
Following developments registered during the current month of April, a series of photographs that began circulating on the 10th suggest that the Russian Aerospace Forces received the first batch of Su-57s for 2025, consisting of two aircraft.
The viral images, shared on the social media platform “X,” showed two fifth-generation fighter jets bearing the serial numbers “25” Red (RF-81796) and “26” Red (RF-81797). However, as of today, Rostec has not issued an official statement confirming the delivery of these two—or potentially more—aircraft to the VKS.
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