The Sukhoi series of fighter jets is among the most prominent in the world in terms of military aviation. The evolution of Sukhoi fighters mirrors significant advancements in military aviation technology, especially during the Cold War and in the contemporary era. These jets have found their way into air forces around the world as a result of their versatility, speed and firepower. (These are the most widely-used fighter jets in the world.)
Launched in the mid-20th century by Pavel Sukhoi, the Sukhoi series was developed to address a variety of combat requirements, beginning with models such as the Su-7 and Su-9. However, the true transformation of this series came with the introduction of the Su-27 in the early 1980s. This aircraft, known for its maneuverability and range, set the standard for all future models and it remains a key component of the Russian air force.
Later designs, including the Su-30 and Su-35, expanded on the Su-27’s capabilities, improving on the avionics, stealth technology, and armament. The newest model is the Su-57, Russia’s fifth-generation fighter, which incorporates stealth capabilities and is expected to play a key role in future aerial combat.
Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the countries that utilize Sukhoi aircraft. To identify the countries with the most Sukhoi fighter jets, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry publication. We ranked these countries according to the number of Sukhoi fighter jets currently in service. We included supplemental information from GlobalFirePower regarding each country’s current air force and overall military strength ranking. We excluded countries that are not in the process of ordering combat aircraft.
Currently, Russia maintains the largest fleet of Sukhoi jets. Apart from Russia, India and China have sizable fleets of Sukhoi jets as well with customized variants specifically tailored to their strategic needs. (These are the world’s most iconic strike fighter aircraft since WWII.)
Here is a look at the countries with the most Sukhoi fighter jets:
Why Are We Covering This?
Source: Laski Collection / Getty Images
The widespread adoption of Sukhoi jets underlines their strategic importance and the enduring legacy of Soviet-era military engineering in shaping today’s aerial combat doctrines. As geopolitical dynamics evolve, the presence of Sukhoi jets in multiple air forces worldwide underscores their crucial role in modern military strategies.
34. Eritrea
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 2
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-27
- Total military aircraft: 20
- Military strength score: 2.4152 – #117 out of 145
33. Ivory Coast
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 2
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 9
- Military strength score: 1.9869 – #98 out of 145
32. Myanmar
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 2
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 4
- Variants: Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 293
- Military strength score: 0.5251 – #35 out of 145
31. Niger
Source: sndr / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 2
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 24
- Military strength score: 2.5988 – #121 out of 145
30. Libya
Source: scaliger / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 3
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22, Su-24
- Total military aircraft: 132
- Military strength score: 1.4449 – #79 out of 145
29. Democratic Republic of Congo
Source: Jozsef Soos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 6
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 46
- Military strength score: 1.2491 – #73 out of 145
28. Uganda
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 6
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 55
- Military strength score: 2.2405 – #114 out of 145
27. Bulgaria
Source: Daniele Faccioli/Stocktrek Images / Stocktrek Images via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 7
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
26. Peru
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 8
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 258
- Military strength score: 0.8475 – #53 out of 145
25. Chad
Source: Kharkhan_Oleg / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 9
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 41
- Military strength score: 1.8607 – #93 out of 145
24. Azerbaijan
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 12
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 144
- Military strength score: 0.9934 – #59 out of 145
23. Sudan
Source: Artyom_Anikeev / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 15
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 170
- Military strength score: 1.4119 – #76 out of 145
22. Indonesia
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 16
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-27, Su-30, Su-35
- Total military aircraft: 474
- Military strength score: 0.2251 – #13 out of 145
21. Armenia
Source: Artyom_Anikeev / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 17
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25, Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 64
- Military strength score: 2.0583 – #102 out of 145
20. Malaysia
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 18
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Military strength score: 0.5992 – #42 out of 145
19. Venezuela
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 21
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 242
- Military strength score: 0.9447 – #57 out of 145
18. Yemen
Source: James Jones / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 23
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22
- Total military aircraft: 177
- Military strength score: 1.4692 – #81 out of 145
17. Turkmenistan
Source: rajanphotos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 25
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 90
- Military strength score: 1.4906 – #83 out of 145
16. Iraq
Source: Artyom_Anikeev / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 30
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25
- Total military aircraft: 371
- Military strength score: 0.7441 – #45 out of 145
15. Ethiopia
Source: Flight Video & Photo / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 31
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-27
- Total military aircraft: 91
- Military strength score: 0.7938 – #49 out of 145
14. Iran
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 32
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22, Su-24
- Total military aircraft: 551
- Military strength score: 0.2269 – #14 out of 145
13. Poland
Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 32
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
12. Angola
Source: shujaa_777 / iStock via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 38
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22, Su-25,Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 297
- Military strength score: 0.8702 – #55 out of 145
11. Uzbekistan
Source: Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 38
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-27
- Total military aircraft: 191
- Military strength score: 1.1069 – #65 out of 145
10. North Korea
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 56
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-25, Su-27
- Total military aircraft: 951
- Military strength score: 0.5313 – #36 out of 145
9. Syria
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 57
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22, Su-24
- Total military aircraft: 452
- Military strength score: 1.0026 – #60 out of 145
8. Belarus
Source: javarman3 / iStock via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 61
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 8
- Variants: Su-25, Su-27
- Total military aircraft: 183
- Military strength score: 1.0901 – #64 out of 145
7. Ukraine
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 65
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-24, Su-25, Su-27
- Total military aircraft: 321
- Military strength score: 0.2598 – #18 out of 145
6. Kazakhstan
Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 69
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 16
- Variants: Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 243
- Military strength score: 0.9495 – #58 out of 145
5. Vietnam
Source: the nguyen / 500px / 500px via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 79
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 0
- Variants: Su-22, Su-27, Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 226
- Military strength score: 0.3158 – #22 out of 145
4. Algeria
Source: Timm Ziegenthaler/Stocktrek Images / Stocktrek Images via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 105
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 10
- Variants: Su-24, Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 605
- Military strength score: 0.3589 – #26 out of 145
3. India
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 266
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 12
- Variants: Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 2,296
- Military strength score: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145
2. China
Source: Alert5 / Wikimedia Commons
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 399
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 50
- Variants: Su-27, J-11/16, J-15, Su-30/33, Su-35
- Total military aircraft: 3,304
- Military strength score: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145
1. Russia
Source: Dmitry Potashkin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Active Sukhoi aircraft: 1082
- Sukhoi aircraft on order: 110
- Variants: Su-57, Su-35, Su-34, Su-30
- Total military aircraft: 4,255
- Military strength score: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145
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