Summary and Key Points: Russia’s VKS is suffering unsustainable losses of its elite Su-34 Fullback and Su-30SM fleets due to a massive intelligence breach.
-The capture of an intact SAP-518SM “Regata” electronic warfare pod near Izyum in 2022 allowed Western agencies to decode Russian jamming signatures.
Su-34 Fullback. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Su-34 fighter. Image Credit: Russian Government.
-This data was likely integrated into PAC-3 Patriot and F-16 targeting systems, leading to 41 confirmed Su-34 shootdowns—roughly 25% of Moscow’s pre-war stock.
-Throttled by sanctions, Rostec and the UAC struggle to replace these sophisticated multirole bombers, signaling a generational decline in Russian air power against NATO-standard defenses.
Beyond Stealth: Why the Su-34 Fullback is Falling to Decoded Electronic Warfare
The Russian Air Force (VKS) has taken a beating in the war with Ukraine. The VKS was expecting to sweep into Kyiv and destroy the Ukrainian Army and Air Force in less than a week in late February 2022.
The war has now dragged on into another year. Russia has lost more than 360 aircraft of all types, including top-of-the-line Russian aircraft such as the Su-35 Flanker-E air superiority fighter (eight), the Su-30 (18), and the Su-34 Fullback fighter-bomber (41), which have been particularly hard to replace for Moscow.
Recent shootdowns of an Su-34 and an Su-30, however, have shown that the aircraft were equipped with an advanced Khibiny electronic warfare (EW) system. These EW systems, specifically the SAP-518SM “Regata” pods, failed to defeat the Western air defense systems they were designed to jam.
And that is probably tied into an intelligence coup for the Ukrainians.
The SAP-518SM “Regata” Pods
The SAP-518SM “Regata” is an advanced, wingtip-mounted electronic warfare (EW) jamming pod developed by KNIRTI for Russian Su-30SM and Su-34 aircraft.
Su-30SM fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
As an upgraded variant of the SAP-518 (part of the Khibiny system), it jams enemy radars and missile seekers, providing self-protection against air defense threats in G-J bands.
Primarily used on Su-30SM (Regata) and Su-34 (Khibiny) aircraft, it forms part of the broader SAP-518 family, often in tandem with SAP-14 pods. It can deceive radars by creating false targets and jamming radar-guided missile seekers.
It has been active with the VKS since around 2010, with over 100 units delivered, including the enhanced SM version introduced in 2017.
The system is usually mounted on both wingtips, similar in role to the U.S. ALQ-99 system, but tailored for individual aircraft defense.
Ukraine Captured an Intact SAP-518 SM “Regata” Pod
Back in September 2022, a Russian Su-30SM Flanker H was shot down near the town of Izyum in the Kharkiv region. An inspection of the wreckage, however, showed a relatively intact jamming pod, the SAP-518SM.
It appears that at least on the surface, Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies were able to glean enough information from the pods that could be fed into U.S.-made PAC-3 Patriot missiles, which shot down the Russian aircraft.
Apparently, Russian war reporters on Telegram were the first to report the two latest shootdowns. Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated on UNN that, “He was whining about the loss of this unit yesterday. Well, information from this channel has quite often been confirmed.”
Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian Su-34. Image Credit: Russian Military.
Meet the Su-34 Fullback Fighter Bomber
The Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, tandem-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range, multirole strike aircraft initially developed for the Soviet Air Forces in the 1980s. The fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent financial issues with the Russian government stalled the development of the Su-34.
The program was revived later, and the Su-34 formally entered service in 2014. It is considered one of the VKS’s best aircraft.
The Fullback is powered by a pair of Saturn AL-31FM1 turbofan engines, giving the aircraft a maximum speed of Mach 1.8+ (1,381 mph) when fully loaded. The aircraft has a combat range of about 680 miles, and the airframe can withstand turns of 9+ gs.
It carries a 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 autocannon with 180 rounds and has a dozen hardpoints for loading 26,000-31,000 pounds of an assortment of bombs and missiles.
Russia’s Elite Su-34 Fighter Bombers Lost in Unsustainable Numbers
The Ukrainians have shocked the Russian military with a multilayered defense of handling threats at various altitudes and distances. The Su-34 is vulnerable when flying at low or medium altitudes.
Russian Su-34. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian Military Su-34 Fighter-Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
This has had a massive toll on Russia’s top-tier fighters and fighter-bombers. At the start of the unprovoked Russian invasion, the Russian VKS had about 140 Su-34 Fullbacks in its air fleet.
Thus far, it has lost at least 41 Su-34s in combat. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airbases, as well as saboteur attacks, may have accounted for even more. That’s about 25 percent of Russia’s best fighter-bomber stocks. The Russians made some noise in November 2024 about delivering a “batch” of new Su-34s, but that number was probably two.
The United Aviation Corporation (UAC) announced the delivery on social media. “All aviation factories of Rostec involved in fulfilling state defense orders continue to operate at full production capacity. Our enterprises constantly improve production processes to ensure accelerated rates of equipment production,” the UAC press release stated.
“Russia’s sanctions-throttled aerospace industry is struggling to build more than a couple of dozen new planes a year,” David Axe wrote for Forbes.
F-16 Shoots Down Su-34, Russia Remains Silent
In March 2024, Russia lost eight Su-34s in 12 days, three of them in just one day. In October, the Russians lost a Su-34 to an American-made F-16, as the Ukrainians reported and pro-Kremlin military bloggers in Russia repeated.
But the Russian news service Tass said only that a Su-34 was involved in an airstrike in “the border area” of the Kursk region and attacked a “Ukrainian stronghold” with an advanced form of ordnance. There was no mention of losing the aircraft, or how it went down.
“The Russian military is dying a brutal death in Ukraine,” said Harry J. Kazianis, at the time writing for the National Security Journal.
“I don’t see how Moscow doesn’t need a generation of rebuilding to get to anything close to being able to challenge NATO—if it ever truly can,” added Kazianis. “Russia may indeed get some territory from Ukraine in a peace deal someday; however, it may trade that territory for losing its right to be called a great military power.”
However, the intelligence obtained from the pod likely played a significant role in the recent shootdowns of Russian aircraft.
Oryx wrote that, “Since the Russian Army couldn’t be bothered to remove the wreckage of Su-30SM ‘RF-81773’ that came down in a formerly Russian-controlled part of Kharkiv Oblast, Western intelligence agencies are now the proud owners of a slightly dented SAP-518SM ‘Regata’ jamming pod.”
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.