- This development comes as Tripoli completes its transition to a Japan-based platform designed around aviation, without a well deck and optimized for fifth-generation aircraft, as reported by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Pacific Fleet, with the images made public through DVIDS.
 |
| USS Tripoli (LHA 7) conducted night F‑35B operations in the 7th Fleet on November 29, 2025, underscoring its transition to a Japan‑based aviation‑focused platform and its emerging role as a small carrier in the Indo‑Pacific (Picture Source: DVIDS / USNI) |
Leaked files confirm that Russia is producing the first 16 Su-35 fighter jets for Iran.
Leaked Russian military files show that the first 16 Su-35 jets for Iran are already in production by Russia, revealing a push to deliver all fighters by 2027.
- It also indicates that Russian units from the Ministry of Defense are supervising the acceptance of the subsystems for an export customer identified as “K10,” in one instance explicitly named as Iran, and that prepayments have already been made in several tranches.
- Taken together, these orders indicate that work on these 16 fighter jets has been underway since 2024 and that Russia intends to complete and deliver them within a two-year window, despite the demands of its own air force and ongoing combat operations in Ukraine.
The Su-35 can carry around 8,000 kilograms of ordnance, including short and long-range air-to-air missiles such as R-73, R-77, and R-37M, anti-ship missiles such as Kh-31, guided bombs from the KAB-500 and KAB-1500 series. (Picture source: Ros
- The technical requirements state that all products must be in export configuration, suitable for all climates, labeled and marked in English using the Anglo-Saxon measurement system, produced shortly before delivery, and accompanied by technical material written in English.
- Quality assurance and acceptance are assigned to several Russian Ministry of Defense units, including Unit 2311 and others referenced with numbers such as 291, 485, and 703, indicating a formal state-controlled process.
- The letters are dated between March 4, 2024, and September 9, 2025, and are accompanied by supply tables that distribute deliveries of components from 2025 to 2027, in line with the aircraft assembly cycles.
- Payment entries record prepayments completed on March 7, July 22, and December 26, 2024, which together support the assessment that all 16 aircraft are financed and scheduled to be completed and handed over by 2027, with a portion of the airframes plausibly already assembled or near completion during 2025.
Iran initially explored the acquisition of Su-30MK fighters around 2007 to renew a heterogeneous fleet of American, Russian, and domestic fighters, but those talks did not lead to deliveries due to international sanctions and concerns linked to the nuclear program. Subsequent efforts in 2015 to obtain Su-30SM jets with local production arrangements also remained without visible deliveries. Therefore, Iran continued to maintain and upgrade F-14A Tomcats, F-4E Phantoms, MiG-29s, Su-24MKs, and indigenous Saeqeh and Kowsar jets, but the technical regional gap increased. From 2022, Iranian personnel trained on Su-35s in Russia, and on September 11, 2023, the first two Yak-130s arrived and were stationed at Shahid Babaei Air Base in Isfahan, providing a training aircraft closer to modern Russian fighter cockpits and avionics.
Over the next years, Iran initially ordered 25 Su-35SEs to replace F-14A Tomcats based in Isfahan, before the planned quantity was increased to 50 units, so that F-4E Phantom II squadrons at Hamadan could also be replaced. The first two Su-35SE fighters were reportedly handed over on November 18, 2024, at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur plant, transported disassembled by An-124-100 cargo aircraft to Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, and then moved to the 3rd Tactical Air Base near Hamadan for assembly and integration.
- In addition, Iran is reported to have obtained a license to produce between 48 and 72 Su-35 aircraft and an unspecified number of Su-30s domestically, although such production will depend on Iran's industrial capacity.
Many of Iran’s current fighter jets entered service in the 1970s and 1980s and, despite national efforts to modernize avionics, radar, and weapons, face limitations in maintenance, spare parts, and compatibility with newer systems. A 12-day conflict with Israel and subsequent strikes on nuclear-related facilities highlighted the limited capacity of these older fighters to counter the Israeli F-35 strikes or maintain persistent patrols at extended distances. Iranian planners now see the Su-35 as a way to strengthen its air defense around critical sites, increase the range and persistence of patrols over areas such as the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and complicate planning for air operations by Israel, Gulf states, or the United States.
- At the same time, Iran has invested in hardened infrastructure such as the Eagle 44 underground air base and reinforced hangars at Hamadan and other locations, which are intended to reduce the exposure of valuable aircraft to preemptive strikes by Israel or the US.
- Continued upgrades of F-14AM aircraft, including integration of Fakour-90 missiles derived from the AIM-54 Phoenix and expanded air-to-ground roles, are planned to sustain a mixed fleet until at least 2030, with Su-35s gradually taking over.
Between 2000 and 2007, Russia accounted for around 85 percent of Iran’s military imports, valued at about 1.96 billion $, including deliveries of major systems and components. An example is the S-300 air defense system, whose transfer was delayed after the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 in 2010 and then resumed in 2016. More recently, Iran has received Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 trainers, and Russia has stated its readiness to engage in joint helicopter production with Iranian firms such as Panha. Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed drones and short-range ballistic missiles that have been used in the conflict in Ukraine, and Russian delegations have visited drone production facilities in Iran, indicating a reciprocal flow of capabilities. Russian-made Spartak 4x4 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles and Murmansk-BN electronic warfare systems were also spotted in Iran. Cooperation between Russia and Iran similarly includes joint activities in Syria, participation in bilateral and multilateral dialogues, and a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that links defense, energy, and economic projects.
The Su-35 is a twin-engine multirole fighter that represents a deep modernization of the Su-27 Flanker, combining an updated airframe, digital flight controls, and high thrust engines with vectoring nozzles.
- The AL-41F1S afterburning turbofan engines allow speeds around Mach 2.25 at altitude, flight at altitudes near 20,000 meters, and manoeuvres up to 9 g, while thrust vectoring and an advanced fly-by-wire system enable a high angle of attack and post-stall manoeuvres that can be used in within visual range engagements.
- The Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array radar is associated with detection ranges of up to about 400 kilometers against large aerial targets, the ability to track around 30 targets at once, and engagement of several simultaneously, while an OLS-35 infrared search-and-track system provides passive detection based on thermal signatures. A modern electronic warfare suite, frequently linked with Khibiny-M in export-related material, together with radar-absorbing surface treatments on selected areas of the airframe, is intended to reduce the aircraft’s detectability and improve survivability against radars and missiles.
The Russian Aerospace Forces initially ordered 48 Su-35Ss and expanded their fleet to more than one hundred by late 2022, with further deliveries in subsequent years, making the type one of the principal modern fighters in Russia’s inventory.
- China became the first foreign customer with a purchase of 24 Su-35s that were delivered between 2016 and 2018, and
- Algeria has begun operating Su-35s from Oum Bouaghi Air Base, while also engaging in arrangements for Su-57E and Su-34-related packages.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale
No comments:
Post a Comment