Zhukovsky. July 20. INTERFAX - The cost of a flight hour of the new Russian fifth-generation fighter Checkmate will be seven times less than that of the American F-35, said the head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Yuri Slyusar.
"An important advantage of the new aircraft is the low cost of a flight hour. This is often a crucial moment for success in the market. In our country, it is projected at about 7 times less than that of an aircraft such as the F-35, and is comparable to the cost of a Gripen NG flight hour. At the same time, the combat capabilities of the Checkmate LTS are significantly higher than the latter, " Slyusar said in an interview with Interfax.
According to him, the aircraft also "has low visibility, unique characteristics of on-board equipment, outstanding range, speed, load capacity for aircraft of its class."
Earlier, the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, said that the cost of the aircraft is estimated at $ 25-30 million.
The new light fighter "Checkmate" of the 5th generation was presented to Putin on Tuesday. "The LTS is a light single-engine fighter of the fifth generation, which has no analogues in Russia yet. It combines innovative solutions and technologies, including support for the pilot's work by means of artificial intelligence, as well as proven solutions that have already proven themselves in practice," Rostec said after showing the aircraft to the president.
The first flight of a light single-engine fighter of the 5th generation is expected in 2023. "2023 - the first flight of the LTS, 2024-2025-the construction of prototypes, 2026-the launch of the installation batch," the presentation notes.
