The Russian pilots told who will win the battle between the Chekmat (Su-75) and the F-35.
I asked the pilots to conduct an imaginary battle between the promising light fighter Chekmat (Su-75) and the American F-35 KP.Ru.
According to Anatoly Knyshev, the upgraded F-35 will be inferior to the Su-75 in super maneuverability. American developers sacrificed it in favor of the overall dynamism of the combat system. And this will give an advantage to the Russian aircraft. For example, the F-35, unlike the Chekmat, is not able to make a combat turn at an angle of attack of 50 degrees.
The pilot also highly appreciated the Su-75 combat control system. One of its "trump cards" is the ability to simultaneously attack 6 targets and track 30 targets. The F-35 is not capable of this.
If we compare the power of the radar, then here too, Chekmate is ahead. And this means that our fighter will notice the invisible enemy before he finds it.
"And here the iron rule works: "The first I saw, the first I shot down," explains Anatoly Knyshev.
At the same time, he stressed that there will be no "cinematic" fights like in the movie "Only old men go into battle!", where planes try to enter each other's rear hemisphere. The battle will take place at medium or long ranges. And the fighters will move to the maneuverable stage only if absolutely necessary.
"Of course, you want to hear from me: "I'm going to kill an American!" No, I won't say that", - I will only say that the battle will be conducted by approximately equal combat vehicles, and the outcome will depend on the pilot's ability to squeeze the maximum out of his aircraft.
But the Hero of Russia, Major General Magomed Tolboev has no doubt: "Of course, our fighter will overwhelm the American! Definitely!". And here he turns to the history of the Korean War for an example. Then, too, there was a lot of discussion on the topic of who is stronger in the air than the American F-86 fighter or the Soviet MiG-15. And then came "black Tuesday", which brought the US Air Force the biggest losses of the day.
Of course, the principles of combat are completely different now, Magomed Tolboev admits, it takes place at breakneck speeds. Moments decide everything. But even here, a big role will be played by support from the ground, aiming the fighter at the target. The pilot assures that the Su-75 has a lot of surprises in store for the enemy in this regard.
Magomed Tolboev has already had a chance to sit in the cockpit of a promising fighter, and he is delighted with the "ingenious simplicity of control". The Air Force veteran believes that the aircraft took all the best from the design school of Sukhoi and Yakovlev, Tupolev and Mikoyan. Such an aircraft under the control of our professional pilots cannot fail to win, the Hero of Russia is sure.
Oleg Koryakin
