KHABAROVSK (Sputnik) – Russia’s Eastern Military District (EMD) will receive its first batch of Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers this year, district spokesman Alexander Gordeev said Monday.
"The state-of-the-art Su-34 fighter-bombers are planned to be delivered to the district’s aviation regiment stationed in Khabarovsk Territory in 2016," Gordeev told reporters.
The two-seat Su-34, a derivative of the Su-27 fighters, are expected to replace the aging Su-24 strike aircraft in service with the Aerospace Forces and Navy.
The fighter-bomber is fitted with twin AL-31MF afterburner turbojet engines and can carry a payload of up to eight metric tons of precision-guided weapons over 2,500 miles.
Sukhoi manufacturer is expected to deliver a total of 124 Su-34s to the Defense Ministry by 2020.
