Algeria's first Su-35 fighter jet spotted in satellite image
The Algerian Air Force is already operating the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet, a satellite image from March reveals.
The service was reported to have received its first Russian fighter jets last month, with an An-124 flying from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Oum el Bouaghi Air Base.
An updated Google Earth image shows one of the Su-35s parked in position at the massive air base in northeastern Algeria.
The fighter was previously spotted in a satellite image taken on March 10, according to reports.
The Su-35’s camouflage suggests it is one of the aircraft originally manufactured for Egypt, but which later terminated its contract with the United Aircraft Corporation.
The Su-35 is a modernized and more capable variant of the Su-27 and currently flies with the Russian Air Force. Iran has also reportedly received some of these supersonic jets, but there has been no evidence of their presence in the country so far.
Su-57
The Su-35 sighting in Algeria comes shortly after the African country’s state media revealed that the Air Force had also ordered the Su-57, a stealth fighter jet from Sukhoi.
At least 28 Su-35s have been completed for Egypt and it is estimated that Algeria could receive between 14 and 24 of them.
There are reports that they have been leased until the Su-57s are delivered, but the government has not made any official statement.
The Algerian Air Force already operates Sukhoi aircraft. There are at least 63 Su-30s in the country, some of which are seen in satellite imagery at the same base in Oum el Bouaghi.
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