Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
Russian designation for the aircraft is in English, at least for now.
by Mikhail Zakharov
[REGNUM] Russia has begun preparing the production of the first samples of light fighters of the fifth generation Checkmate, RIA Novosti reported with reference to the press service of Rostec.
“Today, the design documentation has been transferred to the manufacturing plant, and preparations for the production of the first samples have begun,” the state corporation said in a statement. It was published on the eve of the opening of one of the leading aerospace shows in the world - the Dubai Airshow 2023 exhibition.
The Checkmate light tactical aircraft, also known as the Su-75, is Russia's first fifth-generation single-engine aircraft.
The project was first presented at the Russian air show MAKS-2021, and the presentation of a full-size prototype of the aircraft took place at the same Dubai Airshow in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.
Now, as reported, Rostec has organized feedback with potential customers, the company has adjusted the cost of the project and individual technical solutions based on the work performed. Thus, changes in the aircraft’s layout, control system and aircraft weapons are reported .
“This significantly increased the competitiveness and commercial attractiveness of the domestic single-engine aircraft, and also reduced the technical risks during its creation,” the company emphasized.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov believes that the first prototype of Checkmate can be created before the end of 2025.
Previously, production of the pilot batch (to confirm readiness to start production of the aircraft) was supposed to begin in 2026, and to be launched “in series” in 2027. Perhaps the timing of the creation of the new machine will be revised, but there has been no information on this topic from officials yet.
WHAT DISTINGUISHES AN AIR “HORSE”
The new aircraft was called “Checkmate”, because, if you imagine an air battle in the form of a chess game, this machine is assigned the role of a knight, explained Alexey Bulatov, deputy project manager at the UAC (United Aircraft Corporation Rostec, which includes Sukhoi)).
“If drones are pawns, the queen is, relatively speaking, the Su-57, the knight, on the one hand, is not a very remarkable figure, but at a certain moment when leaving, it is very necessary,” Bulatov said last year .
The chess metaphor is quite justified, experts say. Among the key features of the Su-75 are stealth, low cost per flight hour (six to seven times lower than the American F-35) and open architecture, which the customer can change to suit themselves.
“Checkmate is a concept that can be adapted to a specific customer. Any electronics, any weapon can be installed on the created glider, and Russia has both,” military expert Dmitry Litovkin explained in a commentary to Regnum .
According to the developers, the aircraft’s speed will be Mach 1.8 (about 2150 km/h), and its combat radius will be about 3,000 km. The vehicle will be able to carry more than seven tons of payload.
This payload will be placed in the intra-fuselage compartment for missiles and bombs (air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons). The aircraft will reportedly be able to simultaneously hit up to six targets. The electronics in the fighter are also advanced. Checkmate fighters should receive interference-protected radars with AFAR (active phased array antenna). The target detection range of such radars is 180–200 km, which is not inferior to their American and European counterparts, writes the Russian Weapons portal.
WHAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO THE GLOBAL MARKET?
Checkmate is expected to be produced in several modifications: main, single, double - training, and in the unmanned version, the aircraft will be able to operate under the control of a manned Su-57 combat aircraft, which will significantly expand the range and possibilities of its use.
“The appearance of Checkmate suggests that our industry is ready to work ahead and compete in the field of single-engine fighters with South Korea, China, Japan and the United States, which are present on the market today with the single-engine F-35 fighter,” Dmitry Litovkin previously noted.
Another competitive advantage of the Russian fighter should be the price: with an estimated cost of the aircraft of 25-30 million US dollars, for a copy of the French Dassault Rafale or the Swedish Saab Gripen, the buyer will have to pay from 60 million to 90 million dollars. In addition, the Sukhoi product benefits from ease of maintenance and transportation, which is important for buyers from developing countries.
In the future, the fighter may be supplied to countries in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific region and Latin America; Nigeria, in particular, had previously shown interest in Russian fifth-generation Checkmate combat vehicles . General Director of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheev stated that Russia is inviting Middle Eastern countries to participate in the Russian LTS project.
The export Checkmate may in the future take its share of the market for relatively cheap single-engine fighters, Sergei Denisentsev, an expert at the Center for Analysis, Strategies and Technologies, noted in a commentary to IA Regnum.
But, he added, first we need to wait for the machine to be “finished” and put into production. And if we talk about the prospects for global sales, then wait until the end of the CBO and the stabilization of the market in order to have a substantive conversation. “ By the time the aircraft reaches the serial production stage, the political situation may change greatly ,” Denisentsev notes.
“MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS”: WHAT DOES THE VKS GAIN?
Former commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, now senator Viktor Bondarev, noted in his Telegram channel that the launch of a new light fighter will not only expand the export capabilities of the Russian military-industrial complex, but will also increase the country’s combat potential.
“The production of a new type of combat aircraft with many advantageous characteristics will definitely increase Russia’s combat potential, against the backdrop of the continuing growth in global demand for the Su-35, Ka-52 and T-90 as a result of their successful use in the Northern Military District,” writes the former commander-in- chief VKS.
“We have a fifth-generation heavy fighter - the Su-57. Now it will be easy to gain air supremacy,” says military expert Vasily Dandykin. Experts highly appreciate the capabilities of the newest Russian fighter and point to its many advantages over its competitors, in particular the American F-16, the supply of which to the Kiev regime has long been talked about in the West.
“Checkmate is a Maybach next to an F-16, which has already become an old Zhiguli.” The Russian fighter is significantly superior to the American one,” Litovkin points out. It can also be a good competitor to another, newer American fighter, the F-35.
The conversation about Checkmate may also be relevant in connection with the news about the possible transfer to Ukraine of such combat vehicles as the French and Swedish fourth-generation Rafale and Gripen fighters. But the difference between these aircraft and the Checkmate is too great to even talk about, says honored military pilot Vladimir Popov . “It’s like comparing a 12-14 year old child with an adult man, a professional in his field,” Popov told IA Regnum .
According to the expert, today our aircraft are comparable in many respects to American 5th generation aircraft.
These are 4+ or 4++ generation aircraft, such as the Su-30SM, Su-35, Su-33 (strike version), Su-34 or light fighters on the MiG-29 platform - MiG-29 KUB or MiG-29 M/ M2, Popov listed. In his opinion, comparing the new “Checkmate” with the F-16 or its analogues is simply pointless - “it will look like beating babies.”
However, there should be no dizziness from success: if the Ukrainian army, based on the results of the deliberations of its Western allies, can receive the F-16, then NATO countries are seriously interested in American fighters of the fifth generation - the F-35. This is indicated by Ilya Kramnik, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Strategic Planning at IMEMO RAS .
If the requests of the air forces of Poland, the Czech Republic, Norway and the newcomer to the alliance, Finland, are satisfied, then by 2030 the air forces of these countries will receive about two hundred “thirty-fifths,” the expert notes .
In this regard, the development program of Checkmate, a “classmate” of the F-35, is becoming an urgent task for the domestic industry. “Because maintaining parity in numbers with NATO when there are only heavy and not at all cheap Su-57s in the series will not be the easiest task, given that they will be needed not only in the west of the country,” Kramnik points out. The ability to produce numerous affordable vehicles under these conditions becomes the key to the combat effectiveness of the Aerospace Forces, the expert summarizes.
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