Military

These Countries Have the Most Sukhoi Fighter Jets

Venezuela+Sukhoi | Photo by Sergio j. Padrón from the backseat of a Venezuelan Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MkII flying the slot position of a four-ship formation.
my_public_domain_photos / Flickr

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / 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

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

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

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

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

Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SDASM Archives / No known copyright restrictions / 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

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

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

Su-24+Fencer | Sukhoi Su-24 ’54 red’
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

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

Poland+Sukhoi | Sukhoi Su-20
SDASM Archives / No known copyright restrictions / 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

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

NATO Airfield | Two Polish Air Force Su-22 fighter-bombers at a NATO exercise.
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

Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / 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

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

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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