Russia Adds New Su-34 Fighter Bombers to Strengthen Long-Range Strike Operations in Ukraine.

Russia has delivered another batch of Su-34 fighter bombers to its Aerospace Forces, completing its 2025 production run and shifting lines to next year’s aircraft. The additions help Moscow offset wartime attrition and sustain long-range glide bomb strikes that continue to pressure Ukraine and complicate NATO planning in the Arctic and North Atlantic.

United Aircraft Corporation has transferred another group of Su-34 fighter bombers to the Russian Aerospace Forces, according to a December 10 statement from state conglomerate Rostec. Russian officials say the newest aircraft include refinements drawn from combat over Ukraine, with updates intended to boost accuracy for stand-off strikes that are now a central feature of Moscow’s daily air campaign. The deliveries complete UAC’s 2025 production schedule and keep the assembly line in Novosibirsk running as Russia works to replace airframes lost to Ukrainian deep strikes and operational wear.
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The Su-34 is a long-range Russian fighter-bomber with an 8-ton weapons load, armored side-by-side cockpit, terrain following radar, and stand-off precision strike capability (Picture source: Rostec).

The Su-34 sits somewhere between a heavy fighter and a compact bomber. Built on a modified Su-27 airframe, it uses twin Saturn AL-31FM1 turbofans to reach about Mach 1.8, with a ferry range beyond 4,000 km and an action radius of around 1,700 km when fitted with tanks. The jet carries roughly 8,000 to 8,500 kg of ordnance on 12 hardpoints, including stand-off missiles and heavy guided bombs, giving it payload levels close to classic strike aircraft but on a fighter-style platform. Its armored, side-by-side cockpit built around titanium panels and K-36 ejection seats is designed for long endurance missions and crew survivability over dense air defenses.

Sensors and defensive systems are central to the Su-34’s operational concept. The Leninets Sh141/V004 multimode radar supports terrain following and terrain avoidance, permitting low-level penetration and maritime strike profiles, while the Khibiny electronic warfare suite provides onboard jamming against search and fire control radars. The aircraft can employ Kh-59, Kh-31, and Kh-35 series missiles for land-attack and anti-ship roles, plus KAB-500 and KAB-1500 precision-guided bombs alongside unguided FAB munitions. A 30 mm GSh 30 1 internal cannon and up to six short and medium-range air-to-air missiles provide limited self-defense.

Since 2023, the Su-34 has become one of Russia’s primary carriers for UMPK and newer UMPB glide bomb kits that transform legacy FAB bombs into precision weapons with ranges typically in the 60 to 70 km bracket, and in some variants up to roughly 90 km. Recent reporting indicates Russia may now be dropping several thousand such glide bombs each month across the front, using Su-34s and other Sukhoi fighters to pound Ukrainian positions from well behind the front line and even from airspace above the Black Sea.

This tactic explains why Moscow continues to prioritize Su-34 production despite substantial losses. Open source assessments suggest that, as of early 2025, the VKS operates roughly 150 to 180 Su-34s, even though at least 41 airframes have been visually documented as destroyed or damaged during the invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian deep strikes on bases like Morozovsk and Marinovka, where Su-34s concentrate for daily glide bomb sorties, have destroyed additional aircraft, yet new deliveries from Novosibirsk keep the fleet numerically stable and sustain Russia’s ability to execute daily stand-off bombardment.

Geographically, the Su-34 gives Russia a flexible strike asset across several theaters. Bomber regiments at Baltimor near Voronezh focus on Ukraine and the wider western direction, while Khurba in Khabarovsk Krai anchors coverage of the Sea of Japan and Pacific approaches, and units near the Arctic are earmarked to support defense of the Northern Sea Route and the Barents and Norwegian Sea interfaces with NATO. During the Zapad 2025 strategic exercise with Belarus, Su-34s were again used for large-scale simulated strikes in the High North, underlining their role in scenarios that stress NATO defenses in the Barents and potentially the wider North Sea region.

For now, Russia remains the only confirmed Su-34 operator, but the aircraft is edging toward export reality. Algeria’s long-rumored contract for 14 Su-34ME aircraft appears to be moving forward, with Russian and independent outlets describing desert camouflage export-configured jets under assembly and likely intended to replace Algerian Su-24s. If deliveries proceed, North Africa will gain a heavy strike platform able to hold NATO surface groups in the central Mediterranean at risk with anti-ship missiles.

In capability terms, the Su-34 competes most directly with platforms like the F-15E and F-15EX, Rafale, and China’s JH-7A. The American Strike Eagle still outclasses it in payload, with more than 10,000 kg external load and a combat radius beyond 1,200 km, but lacks the Su-34’s armored crew capsule and dedicated electronic warfare suite in baseline variants. Rafale offers a smaller, more agile omnirole package with roughly 9 tons of weapons and advanced SPECTRA self-protection, while the F-35A trades raw payload for stealth and deep sensor fusion that Russia cannot match. In that context, the Su-34 is best understood as Russia’s workhorse deep strike truck, optimized to sling large stand-off munitions from reasonably secure airspace rather than penetrate modern integrated air defenses.

For Ukraine and for NATO planners watching the Arctic, Baltic, and North Atlantic, each new Su-34 that rolls out of Novosibirsk helps Moscow offset attrition, preserve its capacity to launch mass glide bomb salvos against Ukrainian front line cities and fortified positions, and maintain a credible conventional strike option for future crises in the Barents, the High North, or along NATO’s northern maritime flank.