Rosoboronexport Signs $13 Billion in Weapons Deals, Confirms New Su-57E Buyers

Russia’s state arms trader Rosoboronexport says it signed export contracts worth more than $13 billion in the first half of 2026, matching the company’s entire 2025 total, and that deliveries of the Su-57E stealth fighter to newly contracted, still-undisclosed foreign customers are set to begin this year.

What Happened

Speaking to journalists ahead of the El Alamein International Airshow 2026, running September 8-10 on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev said the company’s order portfolio now exceeds $60 billion, according to TASS and Kommersant. Mikheyev said the largest share of contracts signed in 2026 falls on combat aircraft, followed by air defense equipment, and that the $13 billion signed in the first six months of the year equals the company’s entire 2025 output.

On the Su-57E, Mikheyev said “execution of obligations to new foreign customers is planned to begin” in 2026, referring to contracts concluded with buyers the company has not named. Interfax separately reported Rosoboronexport officials saying deliveries of combat aircraft to foreign partners are planned “in the near term.” Neither Mikheyev nor any other Rosoboronexport official identified the countries involved, and no aircraft quantities or contract values for the new Su-57E buyers were disclosed.

The portfolio Mikheyev described also includes the Il-78MK-90A aerial tanker, the Yak-130M combat trainer, and air defense systems from the Pantsir and S-400 families, alongside what Russian media described as the new S-71 air defense system, which Rosoboronexport is expected to show publicly at El Alamein.

The Product: Su-57E

The Su-57E is the export variant of Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 Felon, built by Sukhoi’s parent United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), part of Rostec. Rosoboronexport first confirmed a Su-57E export contract with an unnamed customer in November 2024, with deliveries originally slated for 2025. Since then, the company has periodically confirmed new export interest — including at the DSA-2026 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur — without naming buyers, a pattern it repeated this week.

Mikheyev’s sales pitch leaned heavily on combat performance: he said more than 90 percent of the systems Rosoboronexport contracted in 2026 have been used in actual combat against Western-made air defense and strike systems, including Patriot, NASAMS and IRIS-T batteries, a reference to the war in Ukraine. Mikheyev also stressed that export execution “will not affect” deliveries under Russia’s own state defense order.

Who Uses It

Algeria remains the only country widely reported to operate the Su-57E, though neither Moscow nor Algiers has ever officially confirmed the sale or delivery. Video geolocated to Oum El Bouaghi Air Base in February 2026 showed what analysts identified as an Su-57E in Algerian air force markings, following earlier reports that Russia delivered the type to an undisclosed foreign customer in late 2025. Algeria has also separately confirmed operating the Su-35 and is reportedly negotiating for the Chinese J-10CE, illustrating a mixed-source procurement approach common among African and Middle Eastern buyers of Russian equipment.

Beyond Algeria, no other Su-57E operator has been officially confirmed. Leaked trade documents cited by regional defense outlets have named Iran and Ethiopia as possible future recipients of Su-57, Su-35 or Su-34 aircraft, but these reports remain unverified and unconfirmed by any government.

Export and Procurement History

Rosoboronexport’s order book has grown steadily despite Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company says it supplied military products to more than 20 countries in the first half of 2026 alone, concentrated in the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the CIS. Mikheyev’s office has separately said it is building aircraft and air-defense maintenance infrastructure in African states and discussing joint production of aircraft weapons with African governments, part of a broader push to convert Soviet-era equipment familiarity into contracts for newer Russian systems.

Global Competitors

The Su-57E competes for export orders against China’s stealth-adjacent offerings built around the J-10C and, longer term, the J-35, as well as France’s Rafale and the U.S. F-35, which remains closed to most states buying Russian hardware due to American export restrictions and sanctions risk. India, a longstanding Su-30MKI operator and original Su-57 co-development partner, withdrew from the program years ago and has shown no public interest in the export variant. Vietnam, another traditional buyer of Russian aircraft, has been reported as weighing Western alternatives instead, underscoring how sanctions exposure and parts-supply uncertainty continue to complicate Su-57E’s export prospects even as Rosoboronexport touts new contracts.

Why It Matters

A $13 billion first-half haul that matches an entire prior year signals that international sanctions have not cut off demand for Russian arms, particularly among African, Middle Eastern and Asian buyers less exposed to Western secondary-sanctions risk. For Rosoboronexport, combat-tested performance against NATO-standard air defenses has become a central sales argument rather than a liability, a framing aimed squarely at states currently weighing Russian systems against Chinese and Western alternatives. The refusal to name new Su-57E customers, however, keeps the real scale of the export program impossible to independently verify — a pattern consistent with how the original Algeria sale was handled.

What Happens Next

Rosoboronexport is expected to give the Su-57E and other systems in its portfolio, including the newly referenced S-71 air defense system, a public airing at El Alamein International Airshow 2026 from September 8-10. Whether any new Su-57E customer is named at or after the show, or whether deliveries to the undisclosed buyers actually begin within 2026 as Mikheyev projected, will be the clearest test of the claims made this week.

FAQ

Has Russia named the new Su-57E export customers?

No. Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev said only that deliveries to new foreign customers are planned to begin in 2026, without identifying the countries or disclosing quantities or contract values.

Which country currently operates the Su-57E?

Algeria is the only country widely reported, via geolocated video and independent analysis, to have received Su-57E aircraft, though this has never been officially confirmed by Russia or Algeria.

How large are Rosoboronexport’s 2026 arms exports?

The company says it signed contracts worth more than $13 billion in the first half of 2026 alone, equal to its entire 2025 total, with a total order portfolio exceeding $60 billion.

What other systems are in Rosoboronexport’s current export portfolio?

Alongside the Su-57E, Mikheyev cited the Il-78MK-90A aerial tanker, the Yak-130M combat trainer, and air defense systems including the Pantsir, S-400 and the newer S-71.

Why is combat performance central to Russia’s export pitch?

Mikheyev said more than 90 percent of the systems Rosoboronexport contracted in 2026 have seen real combat use against Western-made systems such as Patriot, NASAMS and IRIS-T, a track record the company is marketing directly to prospective buyers.

Sources

• Alexander Mikheyev (Rosoboronexport CEO), remarks reported by TASS, “Rosoboronexport’s order portfolio significantly exceeds $60 billion,” September 7, 2026, https://tass.com/economy/2183481 — primary official statement on order portfolio and contract value.
• TASS, “Russia’s state defense procurement unaffected by arms exports — Rosoboronexport,” September 7, 2026, https://tass.com/economy/2183525 — confirms domestic defense order is unaffected by export contracts.
• TASS, “Rosoboronexport supplies military products to over 20 countries in 2026,” September 7, 2026, https://tass.com/economy/2183521 — regional breakdown of 2026 buyers.
• Kommersant, “Россия заключила новые контракты на поставку Су-57Э другим странам,” September 7, 2026, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/8937981 — confirms new, unnamed Su-57E export customers and 2026 delivery start.
• Kommersant, “Рособоронэкспорт за полгода заключил контракты на сумму свыше $13 млрд,” September 7, 2026, https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/8937705 — confirms $13 billion first-half 2026 figure.
• Interfax, “‘Рособоронэкспорт’ сообщил о заключении новых оружейных контрактов на сумму свыше $13 млрд,” September 7, 2026, https://www.interfax.ru/business/1113555 — corroborates contract value and product-category breakdown.
• Oreanda-News/TASS via Ореанда-Новости, on Russia’s agreements to supply foreign partners combat aircraft and air defense systems, September 7, 2026, https://www.oreanda-news.com/gosudarstvo/rf-zaklyuchila-soglasheniya-o-postavkah-inostrannym-partneram-boevyh-samoletov-i-/article1600130/ — near-term aircraft delivery statement and system list.
• The Aviationist, “Algeria’s First Su-57E Reportedly Captured in Flight,” February 11, 2026, https://theaviationist.com/2026/02/11/algerias-first-su-57e/ — independent geolocation of Algeria’s Su-57E.
• Air Data News, “Russia cites growing interest in Su-57 exports, but confirmed customers remain unclear,” 2026, https://www.airdatanews.com/russia-cites-growing-interest-in-su-57-exports-but-confirmed-customers-remain-unclear/ — background on prior unnamed export claims and lack of confirmed new operators.
• Militarnyi, “Russia to show Su-57E with new weapon at Egypt airshow,” 2026, https://defence-blog.com/russia-to-show-su-57e-with-new-weapon-at-egypt-airshow/ — confirms El Alamein Airshow context and dates.