{"id":30105859,"date":"2026-10-29T11:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ethiopia-su-35-fighters-s-400-russia-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T11:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:15:02","slug":"ethiopia-su-35-fighters-s-400-russia-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ethiopia-su-35-fighters-s-400-russia-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia Su-35 Fighters: Twelve Russian Jets Arrive, S-400 Next"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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Behind the smiling delegation, though, stands a grey-and-white fighter with the Ethiopian tricolour on its twin tails. On Wednesday 28 October, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told his followers on X that Ethiopia had just taken delivery of its first twelve <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/su-35-flanker-e\/\">Su-35<\/a> fighters.<\/p>\n\n<p>He added a second announcement in the same breath. Ethiopia, Abiy said, will also receive four batteries of Russia's S-400 long-range air defence system. No delivery date was given for those.<\/p>\n\n<p>The timing was no accident. Abiy was in Moscow for the third Russia-Africa Summit, held on 28 and 29 October, and the Ethiopia Su-35 deal instantly became the most visible piece of hardware to come out of it. For a country that has flown second-hand Flankers since the late 1990s, it is the biggest jump in air power in a generation.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Delivered:<\/strong> 12 Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters, announced 28 October 2026<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Announced by:<\/strong> Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on his X account<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Schedule:<\/strong> &ldquo;A year ahead of our agreed schedule&rdquo;, according to Abiy<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Next:<\/strong> Four S-400 air defence batteries, no delivery date given<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Undisclosed:<\/strong> Price, financing, basing and total number of jets ordered<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Occasion:<\/strong> Third Russia-Africa Summit, Moscow, 28-29 October 2026<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Existing Flankers:<\/strong> Su-27s bought in the late 1990s, plus two Su-30Ks delivered in January 2024<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A year ahead of schedule<\/h2>\n\n<p>Abiy's written statement was precise about the numbers and vague about everything else. In accordance with an earlier agreement with the Russian government, he wrote, Ethiopia had that day taken delivery of the first twelve Su-35 &ldquo;4++ generation&rdquo; fighter jets. He thanked Vladimir Putin personally for getting the aircraft to Ethiopia &ldquo;a year ahead of our agreed schedule.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>He framed the purchase as deterrence. A stronger, readier military, he said, would allow Ethiopia to &ldquo;preemptively deter aggression.&rdquo; In an Amharic post with a short video of the jets, he declared that the new warplanes leave Ethiopia readier than ever to protect its airspace.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2115417808313999641&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:520px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>What the statement left out about the Ethiopia Su-35 deal matters just as much. Neither Addis Ababa nor Moscow has disclosed the price, how it is being paid, where the aircraft will be based, or whether twelve is the whole order. The word &ldquo;first&rdquo; in Abiy's statement hints that it may not be. Leaked documents from the Russian state conglomerate Rostec had earlier pointed to an Ethiopian order for six Su-35s, so the delivered batch is already twice that figure.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From Su-27 to Su-35<\/h2>\n\n<p>Ethiopia knows the Flanker family better than almost any air force in Africa. It bought <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/su-27-flanker\/\">Su-27s<\/a> in the late 1990s, and in February 1999, during the border war with Eritrea, those jets shot down Eritrean <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-29-fulcrum\/\">MiG-29s<\/a> in one of the very few air battles ever fought between the two Soviet designs.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/ethiopia-su-35-fighters-s-400-russia-2026-img1.jpg\" alt=\"Abiy Ahmed and Russian officials at the handover of Ethiopia&#x27;s first Su-35 fighters\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Ethiopian and Russian officials at the handover of the first Su-35s, with an Ethiopian-marked jet behind them. Image: Abiy Ahmed Ali via X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>That fleet has aged. TWZ estimates that around 10, and perhaps as many as 15, second-hand Su-27s remain, including two-seat trainers. In January 2024 they were joined by a pair of <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/su-30-flanker\/\">Su-30Ks<\/a>, jets originally built for India that had spent years in storage in Belarus before being refurbished for Ethiopia. Reports earlier in 2026 also showed Russian-built <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/yak-130\/\">Yak-130<\/a> trainers in Ethiopian service.<\/p>\n\n<p>The Su-35 is a different animal. It is the most developed member of the Su-27 line, with thrust-vectoring AL-41F1S engines, the powerful Irbis-E radar and a much wider choice of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. For pilots who already fly Flankers, the cockpit and the handling will feel familiar. The maintenance, the weapons and the training pipeline will not.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;By equipping itself with these fighter jets, Ethiopia has taken the lead among Sub-Saharan African nations.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Abiy Ahmed<\/strong> &mdash; Prime Minister of Ethiopia, statement on X, 28 October 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Ethiopia Su-35s built for Egypt?<\/h2>\n\n<p>How Russia found twelve spare Su-35s in the middle of its own war is the question every analyst asked first. One plausible answer leads back to Cairo. Egypt ordered around two dozen Su-35s, and production for Cairo began in 2020, but the deal collapsed under the threat of US sanctions under the CAATSA law and a US offer of F-15s.<\/p>\n\n<p>Some of those orphaned jets have already found a new home. Algeria began receiving Su-35s in 2025, and at least some of them are understood to come from the Egyptian batch. TWZ suggests the Ethiopian aircraft could also be left over from the abandoned Egyptian contract. Neither government has confirmed where the airframes came from.<\/p>\n\n<p>If true, there is a twist worth savouring. Egypt and Ethiopia have spent years at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile. Fighters once painted for Cairo would now be flying for Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/98ggX4oQo2E\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Firstpost's report on Ethiopia's Su-35 delivery and the planned S-400 purchase.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">S-400s and a tense neighbourhood<\/h2>\n\n<p>Four S-400 batteries would give Ethiopia a long-range umbrella over its bases, cities and infrastructure, including the dam. Ethiopia already operates Russian Pantsir-S1 short-range systems, and Defense Express has reported Chinese FK-2000 systems in its inventory too. The S-400 would sit at the top of that layered defence, if it arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/ethiopia-su-35-fighters-s-400-russia-2026-img2.jpg\" alt=\"Abiy Ahmed shakes hands with a Russian official in front of an S-400 display in Moscow\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Abiy Ahmed in front of an S-400 display during the visit. Ethiopia says it will receive four S-400 batteries, with no date given. Image: Abiy Ahmed Ali via X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>The neighbourhood explains the urgency. Ethiopia borders Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti, and relations with Asmara remain tense more than two decades after the border war. At home, Al Jazeera reports that federal troops entered the Tigray capital, Mekelle, on 4 October after Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters withdrew, while a separate insurgency by the Fano militia continues in the Amhara region.<\/p>\n\n<p>There is also a practical catch, which TWZ spells out. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian industry has had to prioritise its own Su-35S fleet, and Western sanctions restrict access to key components. A jet is only as good as its spare parts. Abiy says his air force now leads sub-Saharan Africa. Keeping it there depends on Moscow's ability to keep twelve demanding jets flying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sources: Abiy Ahmed (X), Addis Standard via AllAfrica, Al Jazeera\/Reuters, TWZ, Army Recognition, Defensehere, Wikipedia<\/em><\/p>\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>How many Su-35 fighters has Ethiopia received?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Ethiopia has received twelve Russian Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters, according to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who announced the delivery on X on 28 October 2026. He called them the first twelve, and neither Ethiopia nor Russia has said whether more are on order. Price, financing and basing have not been disclosed.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When did Ethiopia announce its Su-35 delivery?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the Su-35 delivery on 28 October 2026, while in Moscow for the third Russia-Africa Summit, held on 28 and 29 October. He posted photos and video of himself with Ethiopian and Russian officials beside the jets and thanked Vladimir Putin for delivering them a year ahead of the agreed schedule.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is Ethiopia buying the S-400 air defence system?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes, according to Abiy Ahmed. Alongside the Su-35 announcement, the Ethiopian prime minister said Ethiopia will receive four batteries of Russia's S-400 long-range air defence system. He gave no delivery date, and the price and terms of the deal have not been made public. The S-400 would sit above Ethiopia's existing short-range Pantsir-S1 systems.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Were Ethiopia's Su-35s originally built for Egypt?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Possibly, but it is unconfirmed. Egypt ordered around two dozen Su-35s and production began in 2020, but the deal collapsed under the threat of US CAATSA sanctions. Algeria has since received some of those jets. TWZ suggests the twelve Ethiopian aircraft could also come from the abandoned Egyptian batch, but neither government has said where they came from.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What fighter jets did Ethiopia fly before the Su-35?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Before the Su-35, the Ethiopian Air Force's front-line fighters were Su-27 Flankers bought in the late 1990s, estimated by TWZ at around 10 to 15 jets including two-seaters, plus two Su-30Ks delivered in January 2024. Ethiopian Su-27s shot down Eritrean MiG-29s during the 1998-2000 border war, in February 1999.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why does the Ethiopia Su-35 purchase matter for the Horn of Africa?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Su-35 is far more capable than Ethiopia's ageing Su-27s, and four S-400 batteries would add long-range air defence. Ethiopia borders Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti, relations with Eritrea remain tense, and fighting continues in Tigray and Amhara. Abiy Ahmed says the jets will help Ethiopia deter aggression.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many Su-35 fighters has Ethiopia received?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Ethiopia has received twelve Russian Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters, according to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who announced the delivery on X on 28 October 2026. He called them the first twelve, and neither Ethiopia nor Russia has said whether more are on order. Price, financing and basing have not been disclosed.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When did Ethiopia announce its Su-35 delivery?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the Su-35 delivery on 28 October 2026, while in Moscow for the third Russia-Africa Summit, held on 28 and 29 October. 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Algeria has since received some of those jets. TWZ suggests the twelve Ethiopian aircraft could also come from the abandoned Egyptian batch, but neither government has said where they came from.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What fighter jets did Ethiopia fly before the Su-35?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Before the Su-35, the Ethiopian Air Force's front-line fighters were Su-27 Flankers bought in the late 1990s, estimated by TWZ at around 10 to 15 jets including two-seaters, plus two Su-30Ks delivered in January 2024. Ethiopian Su-27s shot down Eritrean MiG-29s during the 1998-2000 border war, in February 1999.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why does the Ethiopia Su-35 purchase matter for the Horn of Africa?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Su-35 is far more capable than Ethiopia's ageing Su-27s, and four S-400 batteries would add long-range air defence. Ethiopia borders Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti, relations with Eritrea remain tense, and fighting continues in Tigray and Amhara. Abiy Ahmed says the jets will help Ethiopia deter aggression.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/su-27-vs-mig-29-ethiopia-eritrea-air-war-1999\/\">Su-27 vs MiG-29: The Only War They Fought Each Other<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/russia-su-35s-third-batch-2026\/\">Russia Delivers Its Third Su-35S Batch of 2026, Size Undisclosed<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/egypt-24-more-rafale-request-dassault-2026\/\">Egypt Asks Dassault for 24 More Rafales, Taking Its Fleet to 78<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story The photographs look like any official handover: dark suits, a red rope barrier, a framed certificate held up for the cameras. Behind the smiling delegation, though, stands a grey-and-white fighter with the Ethiopian tricolour on its twin tails. On Wednesday 28 October, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told his followers on X that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30105700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30105859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ethiopia Su-35 Fighters: 12 Jets Arrive | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ethiopia Su-35 delivery: Abiy Ahmed says 12 Russian fighters arrived a year early and four S-400 batteries will follow. 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