The Russian Ministry of Defence (MOD) has inked a deal with the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) – a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec State Corporation – for the delivery of more Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers to frontline units.

The deal was signed by Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Alexey Krivoruchko and Alexander Bobryshev, vice-president of the UAC, during the second day of the International Military-Technical Forum ‘ARMY-2022’ on August 16. “A state contract is inked [for] the delivery of Su-34 aircraft,” an announcer said during the signing ceremony. However, the number of aircraft involved in this deal remains unclear and a delivery schedule has yet to be disclosed.

Having completed its maiden flight on April 13, 1990, the Su-34 entered operational service with the Russian Aerospace Forces (RuASF) on March 14, 2014. It is a supersonic-capable, multi-role fighter-bomber that has been designed to effectively strike both air- and ground-based targets in all weather conditions, day or night. Since February 24, the platform has been used to support Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine, during which a number of examples have been lost during combat operations. At least 147 Fullbacks have been manufactured to-date, comprising seven test aircraft and 140 serial examples.