This past month, Heritage fired a loud warning shot at lawmakers responsible for the F-22’s sustainment, cautioning against legislation that would exacerbate the problem of our swiftly shrinking fighter fleet. Though the entire paper — The Growing Air Power Fighter Gap — is worth reading, their emphasis on the burgeoning Russian defense sector is particularly relevant.

Russia is expanding its fighter forces more than at any other time since the end of the Cold War. Russia is fielding the Su-34 Fullback strike aircraft, which is based on the Su-27 Flanker and can carry supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles and short-range air-to-air missiles for self-defense. The Russian Air Force plans to field 58 by 2015 and 300 by 2022. The Russian Air Force also has a requirement of about 300 Sukhoi PAK FA fifth-generation fighters. However, Russia appears to be planning for a production run of 500 to 600, which most likely includes planned exports.