Only a handful of engines power most of the world's fighter jets, and only two families of engines power most of the Russian fighters (as well as most Chinese fighters that haven't been upgraded with recently produced Chinese engines). These two families of engines are the Klimov RD-33 turbofan and the Saturn AL-31 turbofan. These engines are found on a range of fighter jets (and even nonfighter jet platforms like advanced UAVs).

Only some fighter jets have unique engines found in no other fighter jets; the Dassault Rafale with its Snecma M88 afterburning turbofan, the F-35 Lightning II with its powerful Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100, and the F-22 Raptor with its Pratt & Whitney F119 are examples.

Russian Air Force fighter jet engines

Currently, five types of fighter jet engines are in service in the Russian Air Force: the Klimov RD-33 turbofan, the Saturn AL-31 turbofan, the Soloviev D-30 turbofan, the Lyulka AL-21 turbojet, and the Tumansky R-13 turbojet. These engines have been a cornerstone of around half of the world's fighter jets for years. However, as China is now finally producing its own engines and India switches more to Western engines (as well as trying to develop its own ones), these old Soviet-era engines are likely to decline in global use.

Russian fighter jets are now produced in low numbers, and few countries buy them anymore. Even so, the Klimov RD-33 and Saturn AL-31 turbofans are set to continue to power many of the world's fighter jets for years to come.

Soviet fighters with other engines

Three Russian fighters in service today do not use the Klimov RD-33 or the Saturn AL-31. These are the MiG-31 (an interceptor), the Su-24 (a sweep-wing bomber), and the Su-25 (a ground attack fighter). All of these jets are aging and have long been out of production.

The aging MiG-31 (famous for being the fastest fighter jet in service today) is powered by the Soloviev D-30. First run in 1960, the Soloviev D-30 also powered commercial Soviet aircraft, including the Tupolev Tu-134, Tupolev Tu-154, and the Ilyushin Il-62. It also powers Russia's Ilyushin Il-76 strategic bomber (as well as the experimental forward-swept wing Su-47).

After Kazakhstan retired its MiG-31s, Russia is the last country to operate them. Russia appears not to use them much for frontline use; instead, they are mostly used for missions like being delivery trucks for Russia's Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles.

Russia's aging fleet of Su-24 Fencers is powered by Lyulka AL-21 turbojets that entered service in the 1960s. These are also in service with the Ukrainian Air Force. While Russia's Su-24s remain in service, they appear to be mostly withdrawn from frontline use and used for patrols and other missions (like recently violating Swedish airspace). Globally, 399 Su-24 Fencers are estimated to be in service (around 3% of the world's fighter jet fleet).

The Su-25 Frogfoot is powered by the Tumansky R-13 turbojet (which also powers the old MiG-21) and was the Soviet answer to the A-10 Warthog. They were produced in Tbilisi, Georgia, but their factory was destroyed in 2008 (by Russia). 379 Su-25s are believed to still be in service worldwide (they make up around 3% of the world's fighter jets).

Klimov RD-33 turobfan

The Klimov RD-33 is a Soviet-era engine designed for lightweight fighters and is the primary engine for the common MiG-29 Fulcrum (as well as the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder). Developed in the 1980s, it is the most-produced jet engine in its class and the first afterburning turbofan development by the Soviet (now Russian) Klimov company. It produces 18,000 to 20,000 lbf of thrust (or 8,000 to 9,000 kilograms-force/78 to 88 kN).

Russia developed the Mikoyan MiG-35 as an updated version of the MiG-29 in hopes it would prove popular in the export market. It was internationally presented in 2017, and the first units entered service in 2019. In the end, Russia didn't receive any export orders for the MiG-35, and the only units produced were six for the Russian Air Force. These are powered by an improved variant of the Klimov RD-33—the RD-33MK, built for Russia's MiG-29K and MiG-29UB fighters.

While the Russian Air Force may no longer purchase MiG-29 fighter jets, it remains today's fifth most common fighter jet. The MiG-29 can be found flying in many air forces around the world that were previously Soviet-aligned. FlightGlobal's 2025 report lists 788 MiG-29s in service, making up 5% of the world's total active fighter fleet.

Early prototypes of the Chinese Shenyang FC-31 (China's second fifth-generation fighter) were also fitted with RD-33 family engines (specifically the Klimov RD-93 variant).

During the 1980s, South Africa boasted a very capable air force for the region and was engaged with Cuban fighters over Angola. However, the apartheid country soon attracted sanctions, forcing it to find ways to keep its jets operational. It considered using the Klimov RD-33 engine to power its French-made Super Mirage F-1 and Super Cheetah D-2 aircraft.

The South African company, Aerosud, upgraded at least one Mirage F-1CZ with a Klimov RD-33 from a MiG-29. The project was later abandoned following the end of Apartheid and the lifting of sanctions.

Saturn AL-31

The Saturn AL-31 is the main fighter jet engine used by Russian fighters today (the Su-27 Flanker family makes up the bulk of Russia's frontline fighters). It was originally produced as the 27,560 lbf (12.5 ton or 122.6 kN) powerplant for the Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker (designed to be a long-range air superiority fighter). Today it continues to power the Su-27 family of fighter jets (which includes the Su-34, Su-30, and Su-35). The Su-27 family is the world's second most common active fighter jet, with an estimated 1,284 aircraft in service (including -30/-34/-35 variants). This is 9% of the world's total active fighter jet inventory.

Saturn AL-31 also powers some variants of China's Chengdu J-10 fighter jet and India's domestically produced Sukhoi Su-30MKI.

The Russian fifth-generation Su-57 Felon is also forced to use improved but unstealthy variants of the Saturn AL-31 (as Russia has failed to develop the Saturn AL-51 engine in time). They are also found in earlier production models of China's Chengdu J-20 fifth-generation fighter, although China is now producing its own jet engine. The Saturn AL-51 is also intended to one day power the Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate (if that program is ever developed).

Recently, the Indian government signed a deal to acquire 240 AL-31F engines for around $3.1 billion. These engines will be delivered over an eight-year period from 2025 and will power the country's fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters. The backbone of the Indian Air Force comprises its over 270 Su-30MKIs (produced domestically under license).

These engines are to be assembled locally in India, with 54% of the components being produced locally (the remaining parts are to be sourced from Russia). India has a long-running domestic program to produce a fighter jet engine (although it has still failed to deliver an engine that is able to power fighter jets). Additionally, India is in talks with GE Aerospace to produce its F414 engine locally (the F404 is used to power India's Tejas lightweight fighter).

The Saturn AL-31 is also being used on Russia's new large loyal wingman drone - the Su-70 Okhotnik-B (also called the Hunter-B). A prototype S-70 was used in Ukraine by Russia but was then downed by a Su-57 in October 2024 after it went out of control.

The common GE F404

One of the most common US fighter jet engines is the General Electric F404 family of afterburning turbofan engines (in the 10,500–19,000 lbf class). These power the Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk advanced trainer, the HAL Tejas Mk 1/1A lightweight fighter, the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle advanced trainer/light fighter, the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft, the naval McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighter, the Northrop F-20 Tigershark light fighter, and the Turkish TAI Hurjet jet trainer/advanced fighter. The RM12 variant also powers the Swedish Saab Gripen fighter jet.