Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Ethiopian officials with Russian officials beside a Su-35 fighter jet, in a photo released October 28, 2026. Photo: Abiy Ahmed via X
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Wednesday that Ethiopia has taken delivery of its first 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets, a year ahead of schedule, and will also receive four S-400 air defense batteries.
Abiy made the announcement on X and other social media from Moscow, where he arrived early on Wednesday for the third Russia Africa summit. "In accordance with our prior agreement with the Russian government, we have today taken delivery of the first twelve Su-35 4++ Generation fighter jets," he wrote. "Additionally, Ethiopia will receive four S-400 air defense system batteries."
Russia's state arms exporter gave a smaller number. Rosoboronexport handed over a batch of two Su-35s at Zhukovsky, near Moscow, on Wednesday, Interfax reported, citing the company's chief, Alexander Mikheyev. Abiy did not explain the difference. The trade publication Aviation Week also reported that the two jets handed over at Zhukovsky were the first of 12 planned, and that Abiy was shown Russia's Su-57 fighter during the visit.
He thanked "my friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin," for making sure the planes arrived a year earlier than agreed, and said that with these jets, Ethiopia "has taken the lead" among African nations south of the Sahara. He said the readiness being built in the defense forces gives the country "the capability to preemptively deter aggression," and called the delivery a "historic achievement" that strengthens Ethiopia's sovereignty and regional stability.
Photos released with the post show the prime minister, his wife and Ethiopian officials with Russian officials in front of a Su-35, with one Ethiopian officer holding a framed certificate. BBC Amharic said one of the photos shows Abiy, his wife and the commander of the Ethiopian Air Force, whom it named as Major General Yilma. Abiy did not say whether the jets have already flown to Ethiopia. He also did not give a price, or say when the S-400 systems would arrive.
In a second post in Amharic, Abiy wrote that the new jets make Ethiopia "more ready than ever" to defend its airspace.
The open source intelligence account @AfriMEOSINT, which tracks military flights and hardware in Africa and the Middle East, posted photos of what it said were the first two Ethiopian Air Force Su-35s, with the tail numbers 2551 and 2552.
The Su-35 is a heavy, long range multirole fighter, and the S-400 is one of Russia's most advanced surface to air missile systems. The Ethiopian commentator Anteneh Admasu wrote on X that Ethiopia would become the second African country, after Algeria, to field both systems, giving it what he called the strongest air defense and air superiority package south of the Sahara.
The announcement comes at a tense moment. The federal army is fighting Fano forces in the Amhara region, where residents have described repeated drone strikes to DW Amharic, and has been pursuing Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces in Tigray toward the border with Eritrea. Ethiopia's dispute with Eritrea over Red Sea access has also worsened, and Ethiopia expelled Eritrean diplomats this month, BBC Amharic reported. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is also in Moscow for the summit, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia is ready to help the two leaders meet.
DW Amharic, which carried Abiy's statement on its live page, noted that the prime minister made the announcement while in Moscow for the summit.
Ethiopia has bought Russian weapons for decades. Abiy's post did not say how the purchase was financed, and the details of the deal have not been made public.
The summit opened in Moscow on Wednesday and runs through Thursday, with representatives of about 50 African countries expected, BBC Amharic reported.
Sources
- Abiy Ahmed on X (Su-35 and S-400 statement)
- Abiy Ahmed on X (Amharic video post)
- Office of the Prime Minister on X (arrival in Moscow)
- @AfriMEOSINT on X (Su-35 tail numbers)
- @AfriMEOSINT on X (delivery)
- Anteneh Admasu on X
- DW Amharic live blog on the war in northern Ethiopia
- BBC Amharic live page, October 28, 2026
- Interfax, October 28, 2026 (Rosoboronexport, two Su-35s)
- Aviation Week, October 28, 2026