Russian Stealth Fighter Lands First Foreign Buyer

Russia’s first exported stealth fighter is now flying over Algeria—putting NATO’s southern flank on notice and daring Washington to pull the sanctions trigger.

Quick Take

Footage from early February 2026 indicates Russia’s Su-57E “Felon” is operating in Algerian airspace, ending years of speculation about delivery.
Algeria is the first foreign customer for the Su-57 export variant, signaling deeper Russia-Algeria defense ties despite Western pressure.
U.S. officials have threatened CAATSA sanctions tied to the purchase, raising the stakes for broader U.S. influence in North Africa.
NATO planners are watching the Mediterranean and North Africa more closely as Algeria modernizes with Su-57E, Su-35, and related upgrades.

Footage Over Algeria Confirms a New Strategic Reality

Early February 2026 social media video and follow-on reporting showed Su-57E jets flying in Algerian airspace, including sorties alongside Su-35 fighters. Multiple outlets treated the footage as the clearest public confirmation yet that Algeria has begun operating the export-variant “Felon,” a milestone because Russia had not previously exported its fifth-generation fighter. The available reporting suggests these flights were familiarization or test activity rather than combat operations.

United Aircraft Corporation leadership previously said that two Su-57 aircraft had been delivered to an unnamed foreign customer and placed on duty, and subsequent reporting tied that statement to Algeria. The exact number of aircraft now in Algeria is still not fully confirmed publicly, but the consistent thread across reporting is that an initial tranche has arrived and more deliveries are expected. Analysts also note that the aircraft’s real-world effectiveness cannot be verified from public footage alone.

How Algeria Got Here: A Long-Running Deal With Russian Roots

Reporting traces Algeria’s Su-57E path back to negotiations discussed around the 2019 MAKS air show, with later accounts describing a contract for roughly 14 aircraft as part of a broader package that also included other Sukhoi types. Algeria officially confirmed its Su-57E purchase in 2024, making it the first export customer. Deliveries were widely described as slowed by Russia’s production limits and broader disruption tied to sanctions and war-driven constraints.

What the Su-57E Adds—and What Remains Unclear

The Su-57 is presented in reporting as Russia’s first stealth fighter, built around low observability and modern avionics, and marketed for air-superiority missions. For Algeria, the immediate point is capability jump: a fifth-generation platform paired with advanced fourth-generation aircraft like the Su-35 can complicate an opponent’s planning even without firing a shot. At the same time, several sources acknowledge uncertainty about how the Su-57’s stealth and sensors compare against top Western systems.

That uncertainty matters because headlines can outrun reality. Public reporting does not provide independent, on-the-ground measurements of the Su-57E’s radar signature, electronic warfare performance, or readiness rates inside Algeria. What is clear is that even limited deployments can reshape how NATO and regional rivals allocate surveillance and air-defense resources. In practice, the “nightmare” framing rests as much on geography and operational planning as on any single specification sheet.

NATO’s Southern Flank Faces a Geographic and Political Complication

Algeria’s location makes this more than a regional procurement story. With Algeria sitting on the Mediterranean’s southern rim, NATO members operating in Southern Europe and across the central Mediterranean must consider how new aircraft affect radar coverage, air policing, and contingency planning. Reporting also places the purchase amid Algeria’s tensions with Morocco and broader North African instability, which can quickly turn modernization into escalation if misread by neighboring capitals.

Sanctions Pressure Returns: CAATSA as a Foreign-Policy Lever

U.S. reporting around the purchase emphasizes CAATSA sanctions threats, echoing a familiar playbook used to discourage partners from deepening reliance on Russian defense exports. The message is straightforward: buying marquee Russian platforms can carry economic and diplomatic penalties. For American conservatives who favor strong national defense and clear-eyed realism, the key question is enforcement consistency—whether Washington applies pressure strategically or uses sanctions so broadly that it pushes countries toward adversaries anyway.

The Felon in Africa: Why Algeria’s New Su-57E Is a Nightmare for NATO’s Southern Flankhttps://t.co/LuP89BuRFw

— 19FortyFive (@19_forty_five) February 9, 2026

From Algeria’s perspective, the reporting suggests a long-standing pattern of sourcing major systems from Russia, reinforced by training pipelines and logistics relationships. From Russia’s perspective, the export is portrayed as validation for a program that faced delays and skepticism, plus a revenue stream under Western restrictions. The result is a predictable collision: U.S. influence tools on one side, Russia’s arms-export strategy on the other, with NATO’s southern posture caught in between.