Every Russian Combat Aircraft Currently in Service

Special Report

Published: March 4, 2024 9:10 am

Russian military forces have made solid progress in Ukraine over the last few months, culminating in the recent capture of Avdiivka. Much of this recent success is due to the fact that Russia has achieved air superiority, albeit localized, in Ukrainian skies. Russian combat aircraft played an instrumental role in this capture, and they could continue to strike decisive victories if air superiority is maintained. (These are the most iconic MiGs throughout history.)

Despite this recent success, Russian aircraft have suffered heavy losses over the course of this conflict. The Russian Air Force saw its Kamov Ka-52 Hokum helicopter fleet lose roughly 40 percent of its pre-war strength. At the same time, Russia’s Mil Mi-35 Hind and Mi-28 Havok helicopters have suffered substantial losses as well.

Russia’s combat aircraft have not seen as severe losses as its helicopters. These fighter jets have served more in a strike capacity or to intercept Ukrainian aircraft, seemingly avoiding many air defense systems. The question now is air superiority. If Russia can maintain air superiority going forward in this conflict, it will likely succeed in its strategic objectives, and this will largely be due to its combat aircraft.

Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at which aircraft currently fill out the Russian ranks. To identify every Russian combat aircraft currently in service, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry publication. We ordered these aircraft by how many are currently in active service. We also included supplemental data on how many of these aircraft are on order and which Russian military branch they serve under.

Although Russia does not have a large variety of combat aircraft, its fleet of fighter jets is one of the largest in the world making Russia a daunting rival for any nation. (These are the most widely used stealth planes.)