Russia to sign contract for upgraded Su-34 jets

Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to sign a new contract in the summer for the delivery of several dozen Sukhoi Su-34 frontline bombers, according to local media.

Reportedly, the aircraft will also have their combat capabilities expanded under the ‘Sych experimental design work’, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

“The Defense Ministry plans to sign a contract with the Sukhoi Company this summer for the delivery of several dozen Su-34 planes to the troops with expanded combat capabilities. The aircraft will integrate the latest avionics suite developed under the Sych experimental design work,” the source was reported as saying.

The Sych experimental design work was completed in 2019 and, in particular, “it envisages installing underslung reconnaissance containers on Su-34s,” the source specified.

“Also, the range of air-launched weapons, which the Su-34 will be able to employ, increases significantly in the process of this work,” the source said.

The Su-34 is designed primarily for tactical deployment against ground and naval targets.

Russia is developing two new versions of the aircraft: one for electronic warfare (L700 Tarantul ECM pod can provide electronic cover for a group of aircraft) and one for Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

The Su-34M version will feature a new electro-optical infrared targeting pod, a Kopyo-DL rearward facing radar that can warn the pilots if missiles are approaching, combined with automatic deployment of countermeasures.