Ethiopia has taken delivery of 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets and intends to buy four S-400 air defence batteries, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Wednesday.
Abiy shared the news on X while visiting Moscow for the two-day Russia-Africa Summit. Russia is using the gathering to pursue closer security and economic links with African nations. The summit, which opened on Wednesday, brings African leaders together to discuss trade, investment and security.
According to the prime minister, the warplanes arrived a year ahead of schedule under an existing agreement with Moscow. He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for helping to speed up the delivery. He did not say when the S-400 batteries, which are built to shoot down aircraft and missiles, would arrive.
Abiy said the new equipment would strengthen Ethiopia's ability to "preemptively deter aggression". In a second post later the same day, he described the jets as newly deployed and said they would defend Ethiopian airspace.
The announcement is the latest sign of a deepening military partnership between the two countries. They signed a military cooperation agreement in Addis Ababa in July 2021, intended to improve training and technology for Ethiopia's armed forces. In January, the defence publication Janes reported that Ethiopia had shown off newly acquired Russian Yak-130 advanced jet trainers at celebrations for the 90th anniversary of its air force.
Russia supplied 15 percent of Africa's major weapons imports between 2021 and 2025, making it the continent's third-largest supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Moscow has been seeking stronger military and economic ties in Africa while under Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
The arms news comes as Ethiopian forces face renewed fighting in the north. Government troops and allied forces entered the Tigray regional capital, Mekelle, on October 4 after fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) withdrew. The TPLF, an armed group that once governed the region, has since lost more territory as government forces moved into other towns.
Addis Ababa has appointed a six-month caretaker administration for Tigray, but the fighting has continued. Last week a TPLF commander urged continued resistance in a television broadcast, and the group claimed attacks on government-aligned troops in northwestern Tigray on Wednesday.
The renewed conflict has effectively undone the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in November 2022, which ended two years of war. Researchers at Belgium's Ghent University estimate that the earlier fighting killed about 500,000 civilians. Government forces are also fighting Fano, an Amhara armed group that has battled federal troops since 2023.
