At the time for those who assured, not long ago, that the Su-57 program was probably going to be abandoned, based on the order of "only" 16 aircraft on the 2019-2017 GPV[efn_note]Russian ten-year military programming law[ /efn_note]. Indeed, during the defense meetings held in Sochi, the Russian Air Force will have 76 Su-57s, or more than 3 regiments, by 2028.
The production of Su-57 will follow the production of Su-30 in progress, for the Russian air and naval forces, as well as for export, and will be concomitant with the production of fighter bombers Su34 and multi-purpose fighters Su35. In this schedule, the Russian armed forces should therefore receive over the coming years 35 to 40 modern fighters per year, to which will be added a still undetermined number of Okhotnik combat drones.
In line with its strategy, they will continue to modernize older aircraft, such as the MIG31 interceptor, the Su24 bomber, as well as the latest models of Su27 and Mig29, as well as, surprisingly, the few remaining Su33 carrier-based fighters. The Russian air and naval forces should therefore be able to maintain their current format of 1200 weapon aircraft, with the gradual increase in the number of modern aircraft in this total, to which is added the hundred Tu160, Tu22M3 strategic bombers. and Tu95.
Like China, and unlike many Western air forces, Russia will therefore continue to acquire and use several types of aircraft of different generations, so as to have on the one hand a fleet adaptable to needs for specialized devices, while not neglecting the benefit of numbers. This approach also makes it possible to offer an expanded offering during export competitions, by offering the device(s) that best meet the needs expressed.
A strategy which should inspire European military planners, whose paradigms have led to the drastic reduction in the formats of the armed forces, significantly reducing the projection options and the reactivity of the forces.