Russia has an anchor customer for the new Checkmate light fighter from among the foreign Air Forces. This was announced on Tuesday, July 20, by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov at the MAKS-2021 International Aerospace Salon.
"There is already (a customer from the foreign Air Force. - Ed.), we are doing it for him, " Interfax quotes Borisov as saying.
In turn, the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, told the agency that the Russian Defense Ministry will also become a customer of the new fighter.
He stressed that the aircraft is an initiative development of the Irkut company (part of Rostec), but the state corporation provides for deliveries not only to foreign, but also to the Russian military.
Earlier in the day, a model of this aircraft was presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It was noted that the first flight of the fighter is planned for 2023, and in 2026 it is expected to build an installation batch.
The press service of Rostec said that the new Russian fighter has low radar visibility and high flight performance characteristics, the project was called "LTS Checkmate".
On July 20, the MAKS-2021 International Aerospace Salon opened in Zhukovsky, near Moscow. During the presidential screening, on the first day, viewers will be able to see the flights of Ka-226 and Mi-171 helicopters, Su-57 and MiG-35 fighters and an experienced passenger aircraft MS-21-310. The audience will also see a single aerobatic flight of the Yak-152 training aircraft, the fifth-generation Su-57 and generation 4++ MiG-35 fighters, as well as passenger IL-114 and SSJ-100.