Russia has announced that JSC Rosoboronexport has signed the first contracts for the supply of the latest Su-57 fighter jet to a foreign customer.

Alexander Mikheev, CEO of the Russian company, stated this.

He gave the interview during a visit to the Airshow China 2024 international aerospace exhibition in China, where this Russian aircraft was presented.

“The system of military-technical cooperation should bring new models of weapons and military equipment to the market. We already have the first signed contracts for the Su-57E aircraft,” he said.

Previously, the Russian Federation claimed that foreign customers from the Middle East and Asia are interested in Russia’s newest combat aircraft.

This year, at the China Airshow 2024, and for the first time abroad, the Russians presented the Su-57 fighter jet in its export version, the Su-57E.

The Su-57 fighter jet

The Su-57 was developed by Sukhoi (part of the United Aircraft Corporation) and is manufactured at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant. This is a multi-role fighter aircraft, the development of which began in the early 2000s, and it made its first flight on January 29, 2010.

At the end of 2020, Russia received its first Su-57 fighter jet. The aircraft with tail number 01 entered service with one of the air regiments of the Southern Military District of Russia.

In December 2019, the first production Su-57 fighter jet crashed in Khabarovsk Krai. The incident occurred 11 km from the Dzemgi air base. It was the first crash of this type of fighter jet. At the time, the aircraft had not yet been delivered to the military.

In November, the Russian Aerospace Forces received a new batch of Su-57 fighter jets. However, it is not known how many aircraft were delivered. The previous transfer of such combat aircraft took place in September.

In June 2024, Russia acknowledged that Ukrainian drones shot two of the state-of-the-art Su-57 fighter jets at the Akhtubinsk air base in the Astrakhan region.

It is important to note that Su-57 fighter jets are carriers of Kh-69 cruise missiles, which the invaders have recently begun to use more actively against Ukraine to hit various ground targets.