Su-34
The workhorse of the Russian glide-bomb campaign.
Record
Operators
Battlefield role
The workhorse of the Russian glide-bomb campaign — heavy standoff strikes from beyond most air-defence range.
Strengths
Large payload and range; UMPK glide-bomb kits turned cheap dumb bombs into standoff weapons, delivered in volume with low risk to the aircraft.
Limitations
Significant attrition when operating near the front, especially to Patriot ambushes; crew and airframe losses are publicly assessed as accumulating faster than production replaces them.
Visual identification
Side-by-side two-seat cockpit in a distinctive flattened "duckbill" nose; twin engines and twin vertical tails; long tail "stinger" between the engines.
Documented conflict use
In documented combat use throughout the war; from 2023 the principal carrier of UMPK glide bombs. Open-source trackers document dozens of airframe losses.
Branch & service operators
- Aerospace Forces (VKS)Documented