Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the Chkalov aircraft factory in Novosibirsk, which is situated in Russia’s southwestern Astrakhan region, where he held a meeting with the participation of the enterprise’s management and specialized military authorities.
During the visit, the Minister demanded to ramp up the large-scale production of the Su-34 Fullback combat jet.
“This warplane is the main workhorse, they have four, five sorties every day, so we need to step up, hurry up. We have enterprises that are ahead of schedule for the 2024 program this year. So we need to organize work here as well,” said Shoigu.
The Minister also noted that this year, thanks to the joint efforts of the industry and the Ministry of Defense, the delivery of new Su-34 aircraft and upgrading of those already in service with the troops is on schedule.
The Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber, known to NATO as the Fullback, represents one of Russia’s newer and more advanced fighter aircraft.
The fighter-bomber has a maximum range of 2,485 miles, and a payload of up to 26,455 pounds, or 12 missiles under the wings.
The open-source intelligence website Oryx has reported that Russia has potentially lost 22 Su-34 aircraft (including the newest Su-34M version) in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022.