Despite the international sanctions imposed due to the war in Ukraine, Russia continues to successfully sell military equipment to third countries with which it maintains strong diplomatic and military cooperation ties. One such case is Algeria, which, according to videos that have gone viral on social media, has reportedly received its first Sukhoi Su-35S fighter jet to equip its Air Force.
Although there are no official reports on the operation—which is believed to have been carried out in complete secrecy—Algeria appears to have begun the process of incorporating a batch of Sukhoi Su-35S fighters. This conclusion is drawn from a recent series of viral videos on the social media platform X, showing the first flights of one of these aircraft at Oum El Bouaghi Airport.
As time passed, various experts pointed out that the aircraft in question was a single-seat Flanker-family jet, which should not be confused with the twin-seat Su-30 subvariant. This distinction is significant, as the Algerian Air Force operates various Russian/Soviet-origin models in its combat fleet, including Su-30MKA fighters, supplemented by MiG-29S/M/M2 jets, Su-24MK2 attack/reconnaissance aircraft, and Yak-130 advanced training aircraft.
Since yesterday, March 13, when the video was published on X (formerly Twitter), speculation has arisen that these aircraft could correspond to the order previously placed by the Egyptian Air Force. In 2018, Cairo and Moscow reached an agreement worth approximately $3 billion for the acquisition of a fleet of Su-35 fighter jets.
However, by 2020, the Egyptian government reversed its decision, ultimately not proceeding with the purchase. Nevertheless, UAC, which oversees the Sukhoi manufacturer, had already progressed in producing the initial aircraft. Satellite images later captured at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur production plant revealed that a total of eleven (11) aircraft had been manufactured and were ready for delivery, which never took place.
Returning to the current case, despite the viral videos, there has been no official confirmation from either the Algerian government or the Russian Federation to definitively state that the Algerian Air Force has become a new operator of the Russian air superiority fighter. Currently, the Su-35S is primarily operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China, and, more recently, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Air Force (an acquisition confirmed weeks ago by senior Iranian military officials, though without further official acknowledgment).
It should also be noted that Algeria may have become the first export customer for the Su-57 stealth fighter. As with the Flanker case, there is still no concrete data confirming this operation. The only indications come from Russian officials from UAC and Rosoboronexport, who, at air shows held in China in 2023 and more recently in India, reported that they had secured the first export contract for the stealth fighter and were even planning to make the first deliveries during the current year, 2025.
Photographs used for illustration purposes.
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