VIGIL CONSILIUM
Context, not headlines
PUBLIC ALPHAEvolving coverage — see the methodology and the corrections log.
Equipment Catalogue · Shared across conflicts

Su-34

Force Atlas / Equipment / Su-34

Recognition context, not a stat sheet. The catalogue covers major publicly documented systems relevant to the conflicts Vigil covers — not an exhaustive order of battle. No quantities, availability or current allocations are recorded. See the methodology.
Combat aircraft · strike

Su-34

The workhorse of the Russian glide-bomb campaign.

FieldedEvidence: Confirmed
Silhouette · not to scale

Record

FamilySu-34
VariantsSu-34; Su-34M
OriginRussia
ManufacturerSukhoi / UAC
Era2014 full service entry
Appears inUkraine–Russia · Syria

Conflict relevance

This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the modules below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.

Ukraine–Russia · Force AtlasSyria · Force Atlas

Operators

Russia · Primary operatorRussia in Syria · Historical operator

Russia in Syria: Flown throughout the 2015–2024 Russian air campaign in Syria from Khmeimim — historical employment context for the Syria module.

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

FullConfidence: highStatus as of 2026-06Reviewed 2026-07-11Sources: Established international media reporting · Oryx visually-confirmed equipment documentation · ISW campaign assessments · IISS Military BalanceMethodology