Algeria’s Su-57E Program: What’s Confirmed and What’s Still Unverified

Algeria has spent nearly two years being described, unofficially, as the first export customer for Russia’s Su-57E stealth fighter. State television in Algiers made the claim outright in February 2025. Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) says it delivered two Su-57s to an unnamed foreign buyer in late 2025. Leaked Rostec documents, low-quality video clips, and flight-tracking data all point the same direction. Yet as of October 2026, neither Moscow nor Algiers has issued a joint, on-the-record confirmation naming the aircraft, the contract value, or a firm delivery schedule — leaving Africa’s presumed first fifth-generation fighter program unusually well-documented and unusually unofficial at the same time.

What Happened

The clearest on-the-record statement so far came from UAC chief executive Vadim Badekha, who said on Russian television in November 2025 that the corporation had handed over two Su-57 aircraft to an undisclosed foreign customer. Algerian state broadcasting had already reported in February 2025 that Algeria was that customer, saying Algerian pilots were training in Russia and that deliveries were expected before the end of that year. Neither statement named a contract value or a confirmed aircraft count.

Russian officials had signaled an export deal was coming well before either statement. Rosoboronexport chief executive Alexander Mikheev announced at Airshow China in Zhuhai in November 2024 that Russia had signed “the first contracts” for Su-57 export sales, without naming the buyer. He repeated the claim at Aero India in February 2025, again without identifying the country. Algeria’s state broadcaster filled in that blank days later.

Visual evidence has trickled in since. A low-resolution clip traced to an Algeria-based TikTok account and geolocated near Oum El Bouaghi Air Base surfaced in February 2026, reportedly showing a Su-57-shaped aircraft in Algerian skies; independent reviewers said the footage was too degraded to confirm markings. Russian state outlet Izvestia, reporting from the Dubai Airshow in November 2025, went further, naming Algeria as the first Su-57E customer and describing two delivered airframes with plans for a 12-aircraft squadron. By September 2026, Africa-focused defense outlet Military Africa reported that Su-57Es were operating alongside newly arrived Su-35 and Su-34M aircraft at Algerian bases, though it put the confirmed Su-57E delivery count at only two against a reported 14-aircraft order, with further jets expected through 2026 and 2027 due to Russian production constraints.

A separate, harder-to-verify thread emerged in October 2025, when the hacker group Black Mirror published documents it said originated from Rostec, Russia’s state defense conglomerate. The leak, covering more than 300 files on export pricing and sanctions-evasion payment routes, listed Algeria under an internal customer code and described a package of 12 Su-57E fighters and 14 Su-34 bombers for delivery between 2024 and 2026. The documents have not been independently authenticated, and aviation outlet AeroTime, which reported on the leak, cautioned that the material “appears to confirm” rather than proves the deal.

The Product/System

The Su-57 Felon is Russia’s twin-engine, fifth-generation air-superiority fighter, built by Sukhoi under UAC and intended to compete with aircraft like the F-22 and F-35. The Su-57E is its downgraded export configuration, reportedly fitted with a different identification-friend-or-foe system and less sensitive avionics than the version flown by the Russian Aerospace Forces. Unattributed specification reports circulating in trade media put its unrefueled range near 2,800 kilometers, extendable to roughly 7,800 kilometers with two aerial refuelings, and its payload at up to 7,500 kilograms across 12 hardpoints, split between internal weapons bays for stealth missions and external stations for heavier loads.

Russian production of the Su-57 has run well behind its original schedule. Industry tracking cited by Military Africa counted roughly 14 combat aircraft of all Sukhoi types — Su-35S, Su-57, Su-34 and Su-30SM2 — delivered to Russia’s own air force in the first eight months of 2026, against a pre-war production rate of 20 to 30 aircraft annually. That bottleneck is the most consistently cited reason, across multiple outlets, for why Algeria’s reported order of roughly 12 to 14 Su-57Es has arrived only two at a time.

Who Uses It

Russia’s own Aerospace Forces are the Su-57’s only confirmed operator today. Algeria is the only country publicly named, by its own state media, as a Su-57E recipient, and the only one UAC’s leadership has even indirectly acknowledged through its unnamed “foreign customer” statements. No other country has been officially identified as a Su-57E buyer, though Russian officials have discussed export interest with other states in the past without confirmed contracts.

Algeria’s existing Sukhoi fleet gives the Su-57E a plausible home. Per the 2026 World Air Forces survey, IISS Military Balance data and Scramble magazine’s tracking, the Algerian Air Force already flies roughly 63 to 65 Su-30MKA multirole fighters, 33 Su-24MK2 strike aircraft, and 35 MiG-29M/M2s, alongside a reported order for nine more Su-35s and 14 Su-34 bombers under the same broader 2019 Russian arms package that is said to include the Su-57Es.

Export/Procurement History

Algerian interest in the Su-57E dates to at least 2019, when an Algerian delegation reportedly examined the export variant at Russia’s MAKS air show. Media reports at the time put a prospective contract near $2 billion for 14 aircraft, though that figure has never been officially confirmed by either government. The deal then went quiet for several years, with Russian officials publicly acknowledging only an unnamed “foreign customer” through 2023 and 2024 while Algeria reportedly built hardened aircraft shelters and sent pilots to train in Russia out of public view.

The pace picked up through 2025: Rosoboronexport’s Zhuhai and Aero India announcements, Algeria’s own February 2025 state-television confirmation, Su-35 deliveries beginning around January 2025, the first UAC handover of two Su-57s announced in November 2025, and the Izvestia report from the Dubai Airshow the same month. Su-34M bomber deliveries followed into early and mid-2026, with Military Africa reporting at least four aircraft transferred from Russia’s Chkalov plant in Novosibirsk and flying exercises alongside older Su-24MK bombers by March 2026. A reported, equally unconfirmed deal for three Il-78MK-90A aerial refueling tankers, with an option for three more, surfaced from “multiple Russian aviation sources” in August 2026.

Algeria’s defense budget for 2026 is reported at roughly $25 billion, level with the prior year, funding this buildup alongside continued purchases from France, Germany and China. No independent sanctions-monitoring body or Western government has published an official tally of aircraft delivered or dollars paid, and reports note that Russian firms have faced difficulty collecting payment from customers including Algeria because of SWIFT restrictions, reportedly prompting discussion of settlement in yuan, rubles or euros.

Global Competitors

If confirmed in strength, Algeria’s Su-57E fleet would make it the first African air force to field a fifth-generation fighter, ahead of regional rivals that have so far stayed with fourth-generation and upgraded fourth-generation-plus aircraft. Neighboring Morocco completed the maiden flight of its first F-16 Block 72 in October 2026, part of a 25-aircraft, $3.8 billion U.S. order that remains a generation behind the Su-57 on paper, though the Block 72’s AN/APG-83 radar and modern avionics narrow the practical gap. Egypt, the region’s other major air power, has pursued Rafales, MiG-29M/M2s and reported Chinese WJ-700 drones rather than a stealth fighter, and no other African state has a confirmed fifth-generation acquisition in progress.

Beyond Africa, Russia has positioned the Su-57E as a lower-cost alternative to the F-35 for customers facing U.S. export restrictions, with India, Vietnam and Iran among the countries periodically reported as potential buyers without confirmed contracts. Algeria’s position as the reported launch customer gives Moscow a marketing case for the aircraft at a moment when Russia’s own air force is absorbing jets only slowly.

Why It Matters

A verified Algerian Su-57E fleet would be the most significant shift in North African air power in years, altering the calculus for Morocco and other neighbors even at low aircraft numbers, since a handful of stealth airframes change threat perception well before they change daily force structure. It would also be a geopolitical marker: an African, non-aligned state fielding Russian fifth-generation technology despite Western sanctions pressure on Moscow’s defense-export financing, and despite a production line that cannot yet supply Russia’s own forces at pre-war rates.

The gap between the public narrative and the public record is itself a story. Multiple governments, a state-owned manufacturer’s chief executive, a hacked document trove and amateur video have all pointed to the same conclusion over nearly two years, yet the two governments most able to settle the matter with a single statement have chosen not to. That pattern is common to Russian arms exports generally in the current sanctions environment, but Algeria’s case has produced an unusually long, unusually detailed paper trail for a deal still officially unacknowledged.

What Happens Next

Military Africa’s September 2026 reporting put further Su-57E deliveries in 2026 and 2027, tied directly to how fast Russia’s own production bottleneck eases; none of the outlets tracking the program have identified a firm date for the next batch. A formal, named confirmation from either Moscow or Algiers — rather than unnamed “foreign customer” language — would resolve the central open question, as would independent satellite imagery or clearer video of operational Su-57Es at an identified Algerian base. Until then, aircraft counts beyond the two UAC has publicly acknowledged, and the reported 12-to-14-jet order size, should be treated as reported rather than confirmed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Algeria confirmed as the first Su-57 export customer?

Algerian state television said so in February 2025, and Russia’s UAC has confirmed delivering two Su-57s to an unnamed foreign customer. Neither government has jointly and officially named Algeria in a formal statement, so the identification rests on Algerian state media, Russian trade-press reporting and unverified imagery rather than a confirmed bilateral announcement.

How many Su-57E jets has Algeria received?

The only number with an official-ish source is two, cited by UAC’s chief executive in November 2025 without naming the customer. Reports of a 12-to-14-aircraft order, and of deliveries continuing through 2026 and 2027, come from trade media, an Izvestia report from the Dubai Airshow, and leaked documents that have not been independently authenticated.

Why are deliveries taking so long?

Industry tracking cited by Military Africa shows Russia’s combined Sukhoi production across all fighter types running at roughly half its pre-war pace in 2026, which outlets covering the Algeria deal consistently cite as the reason exports are arriving in small batches rather than as a complete order.

Does this make Algeria the first African country with a stealth fighter?

If the reported deliveries are confirmed at meaningful scale, yes — no other African air force has a confirmed fifth-generation fighter order in progress. Morocco, Algeria’s principal regional rival, is instead modernizing with F-16 Block 72s, a fourth-generation-plus design.

What else is Algeria buying from Russia alongside the Su-57E?

Reports describe parallel orders, under the same broader 2019 package, for Su-35 multirole fighters and Su-34M strike bombers, both of which have reportedly begun arriving in Algeria since 2025, plus an unconfirmed deal for Il-78MK-90A aerial refueling tankers reported in August 2026.

Sources

• Military Africa, “Russia Prioritizes Fighter Jet Exports to Algeria,” September 11, 2026 — primary source for 2026 delivery status, production-rate comparison and Su-35/Su-34M order details. military.africa
• The War Zone (TWZ), “Algeria Says It’s The Su-57 Felon’s First Export Customer,” February 2025 — reports the original Algerian state-TV claim and Rosoboronexport’s Zhuhai and Aero India statements. twz.com
• The Aviationist, “Algeria’s First Su-57E,” February 11, 2026 — details the February 2026 video sighting, Izvestia’s Dubai Airshow report, and Algeria’s current Sukhoi fleet composition. theaviationist.com
• Militarnyi, “Su-57E in Algeria: The Country Likely Receives Its First Russian Fifth-Generation Fighters,” February 8, 2026 — independent corroboration of the video sighting and delivery timeline. militarnyi.com
• AeroTime, “Algeria’s Su-57E Fighter Jet Deal Reportedly Confirmed in Rostec Leak,” October 2025 — covers the leaked Rostec documents on contract size and payment workarounds; used with explicit hedging per the leak’s unverified status. aerotime.aero