Algeria’s state-run media has announced that the country is the first export customer for Russia’s Su-57 Felon new-generation fighter. The development follows a statement earlier this week from Russia that an undisclosed foreign customer will start to receive Su-57s this year. The vote of confidence could help improve the fortunes of the Su-57, which has so far suffered from a failed partnership with India and limited Russian orders and deliveries.
Information about the Algerian Su-57 order was provided by the country’s state television network, which also reported that Algerian pilots are currently undergoing training on the fighter in Russia. The deliveries are expected to begin later this year, the same source said, although the number of aircraft ordered and the cost of the deal remain unclear.
On Monday, Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run arms export/import agency, said that Su-57s would be delivered to an undisclosed foreign customer starting this year, but provided no details as to that nation’s identity. The statement was made at the opening of the Aero India 2025 international airshow by Rosoboronexport Chief Alexander Mikheev.
In November 2024, during Airshow China at Zhuhai, Mikheev also announced the signature of “the first contracts for the [sale of] Su-57 aircraft” to a foreign country. Again, he declined to name the customer or to discuss any planned delivery schedule.
Unconfirmed accounts suggest that Algeria may initially be acquiring just six Su-57s. If true, that could suggest that an initial batch will be used for evaluation, or it might be that Russia is able to supply an initial batch of six, with more to follow. Regardless, Russia’s claim that deliveries of Su-57s to a foreign customer will start this year looks questionable.
In fact, the Su-57’s sluggish production output is a potentially significant obstacle in terms of export orders — at least if a client requires the aircraft in larger numbers.
Although the Felon was first flown in T-50 prototype form back in 2010, the program has made only very slow progress, hampered by a lack of investment in the form of foreign orders. A significant blow was struck by India’s withdrawal from the program, with that country’s investment having been considered vital to speed development. The same had been true in the late 1990s when India’s purchase of the Su-30MKI Flanker essentially secured the development of the multirole version of this fighter, which was only later acquired by Russia.
Meanwhile, the Russian Aerospace Forces only began to receive series-built Su-57s in 2022, part of an order for 76 aircraft — a notably small production run.
While at least six aircraft were delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2022, more than 10 were handed over in 2023 before numbers tailed off again in 2024 when likely only two or three more were received.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent international sanctions, have certainly played a role in the slow pace of deliveries, with little prospect that this will change any time soon. Those same sanctions, as well as Moscow’s increasing pariah status, have further reduced the chances of export success. In an effort to drum up foreign interest, Russia has also offered a degree of local production of the Su-57, specifically with the hope of securing sales from India and the United Arab Emirates.
Russia has also attempted to use the Su-57’s supposed combat performance — in Syria and Ukraine — as a way to drum up interest in the fighter. However, the apparent operational evaluation in Syria appears to have been of very limited scope, while few hard details have emerged about how the Su-57 has been used in the war in Ukraine. Most notably, perhaps, at least one and maybe two Su-57s were struck by Ukrainian drones at an air base deep inside Russia, as you can read about here.
Another hurdle is the fact that the export version of the Felon — the Su-57E — has yet to appear in hardware form. While the ‘Su-57E’ has been presented at airshows previously — notably at Zhuhai — the aircraft was actually the fourth T-50 prototype.
As the export version, the Su-57E is likely to be somewhat downgraded, as well as having a different identification friend or foe (IFF) system, and cockpit displays calibrated in Imperial units and the English language. In the past, it’s been suggested that non-Russian weapons could be integrated if required.
With this in mind, the Su-57E is certainly more achievable than the advanced Su-57M version, which has long been promised but has so far made little tangible progress. Central to the Su-57M is the new AL-51F-1 (izdeliye 30) turbofan engine, replacing the current AL-41F-1, with increased thrust, lighter weight, and lower operating costs. This, too, has moved at a glacial pace, not helped by the low level of interest from Russia, let alone on the export market.
For the Algerian Air Force, however, the Su-57E would be a significant advance, reinforcing its status as the most powerful air arm in the region. With its reduced radar signature, supersonic cruising speed, high level of agility, and advanced sensor suite, the Su-57 provides a combination of capabilities not found in any other African air arm.
The backbone of the Algerian Air Force has long been provided by Russian-made equipment, currently including 63 Su-30MKA and 40 MiG-29S/M/M2 multirole fighters, 42 Su-24MK2 strike/reconnaissance aircraft, and 16 Yak-130 combat trainers. It also operates 33 Russian-made Mi-24 Mk III and 42 Mi-28NE attack helicopters. All those figures are for 2024 and are published by FlightGlobal.
This has all been enabled by the highest level of defense spending in Africa, supported by one of the continent’s largest economies in Africa, due mostly to its large oil and gas reserves.
Traditionally, the Algerian Air Force has been built up to face off the potential threat from Morocco, with which Algeria went to war over the contested Western Sahara region in 1976. In the 1990s, Algeria was engaged in a civil war, pitting the armed forces against various Islamist rebel groups. Beginning in the 2000s, meanwhile, the armed forces have fought with Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb or AQIM, an Islamist militant organization that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state.
Buying the Su-57 reinforces the Algerian Air Force’s capabilities vis-à-vis Morocco, which has been approved to buy 25 new F-16 Block 72s, as well as an upgrade package to bring that country’s existing Viper fleet up to the very similar F-16V standard. At the same time, it further underlines Algeria’s defense ties with Russia.
It remains to be seen how many Su-57s Algeria will acquire and when they will be delivered. But even a small number would be a shot in the arm for the Su-57 program, which has so far struggled to gain traction on the export market, not helped by the slow pace of the program and Russia’s reluctance to order it in more significant numbers.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com