Su-75 Checkmate fighter is about to be launched, becoming a "hard" opponent of the US F-35

Tiêm kích Su-75 Checkmate sắp ra lò, thành đối thủ cứng của F-35 Mỹ - 1 — Russian-made Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter (Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense ).

Su-75 Checkmate is coming soon

According to Aviation21 , the press service of the state-owned corporation Rostec announced that the design documentation for the 5th generation Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter has been transferred to the production plant and production preparations have begun.

Based on the results obtained at the Dubai Airshow 2021 and negotiations with potential customers, Rostec revealed that the project cost and certain technical solutions have been adjusted in accordance with the requirements of potential customers.

At the Dubai Air Show 2023, which opened on November 13, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov affirmed that the new generation light tactical aircraft has many superior features.

Over the past two years, based on feedback from prospective operators, requirements have been gathered and the project has been tweaked, he said, explaining: “A lot of work has been done on the basis of the original Checkmate that was introduced here (in the UAE).”

The minister also expected the first fighter jet model to be launched before the end of 2025.

"The production of a new fighter with many superior characteristics will certainly increase Russia's combat potential, given the growing global demand for Su-35, Ka-52 and T-90 due to the success in Ukraine," said Viktor Bondarev, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council's Defense Committee. He noted that the pilot batch of Su-75 Checkmate fighters is expected to be delivered in 2026.

Checkmate was first presented at the MAKS 2021 air show in Russia and then at the Dubai Airshow 2021 in the UAE, attracting the attention of experts and media.

"Tough" opponent of the US F-35

Checkmate could become a competitive product in the global fifth-generation fighter market, as it is positioned at a significantly lower price point.

Moscow plans to offer the aircraft to countries that are familiar with Soviet/Russian technology and are looking to modernize their military aircraft fleets, but the US will never sell them the F-35.

The Su-75 Checkmate can compete with the US F-35 in terms of cost per flight hour, open architecture, allowing customers to shape the aircraft's exterior according to their requirements, as well as ideal indicators of the "cost-effectiveness" criteria.

Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Dmitry Shugaev, revealed in July that at the Russia-Africa forum, Nigerian representatives announced during the negotiations that they were interested in purchasing Russian fighter jets, including the fifth-generation Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter.

Buyers of Moscow's advanced fighter jets could also be other countries in Africa, such as Algeria, Egypt, as well as in Asia and the Middle East.

For decades, the basis of the Russian Air Force's frontline tactical aviation has been heavy, multi-role, super-maneuverable twin-engine aircraft: the Su-27, Su-30, Su-35 and Su-57.

Tiêm kích Su-75 Checkmate sắp ra lò, thành đối thủ cứng của F-35 Mỹ - 2 — Two stealth fighters, the Su-75 Checkmate (left) and the Su-57, made in Russia (Photo: Telegram)

However, approaches to fighter aircraft are changing and in addition to foreign buyers, the fifth-generation Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter may also be of interest to the Russian Defense Ministry.

But to do this, the aircraft had to take off and begin flight tests to prove to the military that they needed such a machine, and Sukhoi correctly identified the development trends of domestic combat aviation, because they were developing Checkmate on an active basis.

Defense News quoted US Air Force General Clint Hinote as saying: "Every F-35 that comes out of the factory today is a fighter that we wouldn't dare put in modern war scenarios."

Meanwhile, in mid-July 2021, Air Force General Eric Fick, who runs the F-35 program, told the US Congress that dozens of F-35s were grounded for engine repairs. As of August 7, 2021, 41 F-35s needed repairs.

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