Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 09: A fresh buyer for Russia’s Su-57 jet is coming soon. Rosoboronexport chief Alexander Mikheev confirmed this recently. He said deliveries would start before 2026 ends. No country has yet been named publicly.
Guesswork around the buyer’s identity continues to swirl. India, Kazakhstan, Iran and North Korea have all been floated. None of these names carries official confirmation. A rumour repeated often is still not proof.
So far, only one export customer is confirmed. Algeria took delivery of its jets in November 2025. Rosoboronexport claimed in April that other orders existed. That claim itself has not been independently verified.
India’s track runs separately from the mystery-buyer story. New Delhi’s Defence Ministry has acknowledged ongoing Su-57 talks. These discussions concern building the jet under licence locally. Officials say talks hit an advanced technical stage by January 2026.
Moscow has reportedly floated an unusual offer to India. That offer allegedly includes access to the jet’s source code. A fully joint development programme has also been mentioned. None of this amounts to a signed Indian purchase.
Why would source-code access matter to India? It would let Indian engineers study and adapt the jet’s software. That kind of access rarely accompanies routine export deals. It could feed into broader efforts at defence self-reliance. Still, no localisation figures or timelines have been disclosed.
Behind the sales pitch sits a production question. Russia expanded Su-57 manufacturing facilities in August 2025. Officials say that expansion is speeding up output. More than 35 jets are expected off the line in 2026. That would outpace every other Russian fighter programme this year. Meeting that target while supplying Russia’s own air force is another matter. Algeria’s deliveries are also expected to continue alongside any new orders.
The rest of the buyer list stays speculative. Kazakhstan and North Korea keep surfacing in reports. Neither has been confirmed as a purchaser. North Korea’s case carries added complications under UN arms restrictions. Any deal there would have to sidestep those rules somehow.
Russia’s trade minister has pointed toward the Middle East too. He said contracts had been signed there this year. He gave no names, no values, no timeline. Iran is the country most often guessed at regionally. Its ongoing conflict with the United States complicates near-term delivery there.
Moscow has also pointed to the jet’s record in Ukraine. Officials describe missions ranging from strike work to air defence suppression. They present this as proof the aircraft performs under pressure. None of these performance claims can be verified independently here.
What remains open is fairly simple. The identity of the next buyer is still unknown. Russia’s production targets are projections, not delivered aircraft. And India’s talks, however advanced, have not become a deal.
