Key Points and Summary: Russia’s Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers are experiencing unsustainable losses in the Ukraine war, with at least 35 of the original 140 aircraft confirmed destroyed.
-Ukrainian multi-layered air defenses, including F-16 fighter jets, are proving highly effective against these advanced aircraft when operating at low to medium altitudes.
-Sanctions are also hampering Russia’s ability to replace these losses, with production significantly reduced.
-Experts suggest that these losses, coupled with broader issues in the Russian military, could significantly degrade Russia’s ability to project air power, potentially impacting its status as a major military power.
Ukrainian Air Defenses Ravaging Russian Su-34 Fighter-Bombers
The Russian Air Force (VKS) has been taking a beating in the war with Ukraine. The VKS was expecting to sweep into Kyiv in late February 2022 and destroy the Ukrainian Army and Air Force in less than a week.
As we know, not only did that not happen, but the Ukrainians gave them a thorough butt-kicking early in the war, throwing back the invasion and holding the Russian forces to a standoff for almost three years. Russia has lost more than 400,000 troops, most in outmoded human wave attacks with barely trained troops that are going into battle without all of their kit.
However, Russia’s proud Air Force is several times larger and much more modern than Ukraine’s, and the pilots thought they would have air dominance over Ukraine. That, too, has ground into a stalemate, but not before Russia had lost 286 aircraft of all types in the first month of the war.
However, the losses suffered by the top-of-the-line Russian aircraft, the Su-35 Flanker-E air superiority fighter and the Su-34 Fullback fighter-bomber, have been the hardest for Moscow to take.
A Brief Look at The Su-34 Fullback Fighter Bomber
The Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, tandem-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range, multirole strike aircraft initially developed for the Soviet Air Forces in the 1980s. The fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent financial issues with the Russian government stalled the development of the Su-34.
The program was later revived, and the Su-34 formally entered service in 2014. It is considered one of the VKS’s best aircraft.
Russian Military Su-34 Fighter-Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Fullback is powered by a pair of Saturn AL-31FM1 turbofan engines, giving the aircraft a maximum speed of Mach 1.8+ (1,381 mph) when fully loaded. The aircraft has a combat range of about 680 miles, and the airframe can withstand turns of 9+ gs.
It carries a 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 autocannon with 180 rounds and has a dozen hardpoints for loading 26,000-31,000 pounds of an assortment of bombs and missiles.
Russia’s Elite Su-34 Fighter Bombers Lost In Unsustainable Numbers
Ukranian forces have shocked the Russian military with a multi-layered defense of handling threats at various altitudes and distances. The Su-34 is vulnerable when flying at low or medium altitudes. Flights at these altitudes have taken a massive toll on Russian top-tier fighters and fighter-bombers. At the start of the unprovoked Russian invasion, the Russian VKS had about 140 Su-34 Fullbacks in their air fleet.
Thus far, they’ve lost at least 35 Su-34s in combat. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airbases, as well as saboteur attacks, may have accounted for even more lost airframes. That’s about 25 percent of Russia’s best fighter bomber stocks. The Russians made some noise in November 2024 about delivering a “batch” of new Su-34s, but that number was probably two.
The United Aviation Corporation [UAC] announced the delivery on social media. “All aviation factories of Rostec involved in fulfilling state defense orders continue to operate at full production capacity. Our enterprises constantly improve production processes to ensure accelerated rates of equipment production,” the UAC press release stated.
“Russia’s sanctions-throttled aerospace industry is struggling to build more than a couple of dozen new planes a year,” David Axe wrote for Forbes.com.
F-16 Shoots Down Su-34, Russia Remains Silent
In March 2024, Russia lost eight Su-34s in 12 days, three of them in one day. In October, the Russians lost a Su-34 to an American-made F-16, as the Ukrainians reported and pro-Kremlin military bloggers in Russia repeated.
Su-34 fighter from the Russian Air Force. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
But the Russian news service Tass said only that a Su-34 was involved in an airstrike in “the border area” of the Kursk region and attacked a “Ukrainian stronghold” with an advanced form of ordnance. There was no mention of losing the aircraft, or how it went down.
“The Russian military is dying a brutal death in Ukraine,” said Harry J. Kazianis, then senior director of National Security Affairs at the Center for the National Interest. Kazianis is now Editor-In-Chief of 19FortyFive and President of Rogue States Project.
“I don’t see how Moscow doesn’t need a generation of rebuilding to get to anything close to being able to challenge NATO—if it ever truly can,” added Kazianis. “Russia may indeed get some territory for Ukraine in a peace deal someday; however, it may trade that territory for losing its right to being called a great military power.”
About the Author
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in other military publications.
