Second Only to Su-57: The Mainstay of Russian Combat Aviation Named

The Russian fourth-generation Su-34 fighter has become a key element of tactical aviation, which has significantly influenced the rules of aerial combat.

Analysts say that, unlike the Su-35S fighter, which was created on the basis of the Soviet Su-27 and focused on gaining air superiority, the Su-34 was developed as an attack aircraft from the very beginning.

After the decommissioning of a significant part of the fleet of front-line bombers and the collapse of the USSR, including the outdated Su-24, it was the Su-34 that occupied the niche of several types of combat vehicles at once.

Thanks to its high payload capacity, the Su-34 can use a wide range of weapons, from guided aerial bombs to high-precision missiles. In real combat conditions, the aircraft actively uses gliding munitions, which provide high accuracy in striking targets.

In terms of mass, the Su-34 is about 50% heavier than the base Su-27, and the use of composite materials and more economical AL-31FM2 engines among modern fighters allows it to demonstrate one of the longest flight ranges.

As MWM analysts noted, in terms of importance in Russian aviation, the Su-34 is second only to the fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft.

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