Military expert Khodarenok called the competitive advantages of the Checkmate fighter
A prototype of the fifth-generation Checkmate light fighter may appear before the end of 2025, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation - Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said on November 13. What kind of plane is this and what advantages does it have over foreign analogues, the military observer of the Newspaper understood.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
"I expect that this will happen before the end of 2025," Denis Manturov said. According to him, foreign customers are also interested in the Checkmate fighter. The Deputy Prime Minister did not specify which countries he was talking about.
Checkmate Light tactical aircraft (Checkmate) The Sukhoi Design Bureau is being developed for possible exports to India, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America. The machine is a fifth-generation single-engine fighter. The mock-up of the aircraft was presented on July 20, 2021 at the MAKS-2021 air show. The foreign premiere (also in the form of a mock-up) took place in the same year at the Dubai Airshow. The characteristic features of the aircraft include low visibility, low cost of flight hours, open architecture and high performance according to the "cost-effectiveness" criterion.
Earlier it was reported that the cost of the Checkmate flight hour is expected to be six to seven times lower than that of the American F-35 fighter ($ 33-35 thousand), and will be comparable to a deeply upgraded version of the Swedish SAAB Gripen NG fighter (from $ 4.5 to $ 8 thousand), It is believed that the machine will receive the name Su-75.
For comparison, the cost of one fifth-generation fighter of the US Air Force F-22 Raptor (taking into account the costs of R & D research and development work) is about $ 250 million, and one flight hour of this machine costs up to $ 45 thousand. The cost of another fifth-generation fighter of the US Air Force - the F-35 Lightning II - has now decreased slightly and is about $ 85 million.
Manturov said that the prototype Checkmate may appear before the end of 2025. Meanwhile, it is not entirely clear from his words what exactly is being discussed - about rolling out the car or about the first rise of the fighter into the air. And between these events usually takes at least several months (or even significantly more).
For example, last week, the first flight of the promising Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider strategic bomber took place at Edwards Air Force Base. And the rollout of the B-21 (this is the name of the first acquaintance of the general public with the newest aircraft), which represents a leap in the development of aviation technologies, took place on December 2, 2022.
Previously, the flight model of the Checkmate light tactical aircraft was planned to be created in 2023. The production of the installation batch was supposed to be carried out in 2026, serial deliveries to begin in 2027. Meanwhile, today's statement by Denis Manturov means that the timing of the creation of a new car is significantly shifting to the right.
Recall that the first flight of the T-50 (aka Su-57) committed on January 29, 2010. In 2013, small-scale production of aircraft began at KnAAZ (Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yu. A. Gagarin). In the summer of 2019, serial production of the fighter was launched.
By 2028, it is planned to deliver 76 aircraft to the VKS, which will complement three fighter aviation regiments. On December 25, 2020, the Russian Aerospace Forces received the first serial Su-57 fighter. In total, a little more than ten aircraft have been built at the moment. It is unlikely, experts believe, that the timing of the launch into mass production of Checkmate LTS will differ significantly from these parameters.
Technical specifications
The design documentation for Checkmate has already been transferred to the manufacturer, and earlier the United Aircraft Corporation announced the development of three modifications of a promising light tactical aircraft (single, double and unmanned).
The tactical and technical characteristics of Checkmate are as follows. The flight range of the aircraft reaches 2,900 km, cruising speed in the afterburner mode is 2,450 km/ h, the practical ceiling is 16,500 m, the take-off length is less than 500 m, the take-off weight is 18 tons, the combat load is 7,400 kg. It is stated that
The Checkmate light tactical aircraft can be equipped with RVV-MD R-74M, RVV-SD, X-38, Grom-E1, X-58USHKE guided missiles, adjustable aircraft bombs and unguided aircraft missiles of various types.
The biggest problem of the Su-75 at this stage is the engine. "Product 30" (the fifth generation engine for the Su-57 and Checkmate) has not yet reached the required parameters. In addition, the serial production of Checkmate (whatever it was) will require considerable expenses. Whether the necessary funds will be found for this aircraft in the conditions of a special military operation and the difficult economic situation of the country is a debatable question.
Possible competitors
Among the possible competitors of Checkmate in the world market are KAI KF-X (South Korean program for the development of an advanced multi-purpose fighter of the 4++ generation), Qaher-313 (a promising Iranian fighter at the project stage), HAL AMCA (Indian program for the development of a multi-purpose combat aircraft of the fifth generation), TF-X (a fifth-generation fighter project being developed by the Turkish aerospace industry company), Chengdu J-20 (Chinese fifth-generation fighter from Chengdu Aerospace Corporation), Shenyang J-31 (Chinese fifth-generation multipurpose fighter developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation).
But in order for the competitive advantages of our aircraft to look significantly more prominent against the background of all its possible rivals, it is necessary to fulfill only a few conditions. First, it is necessary to organize the serial production of Checkmate (and in considerable quantities, hundreds of units). Secondly, it is necessary that the LTS Su-75 be in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces. Third, it is desirable that the machine has a successful experience of combat use. If these few (but very important) conditions are met, the commercial success of the project will be most likely.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for the newspaper.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy Commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1998).
Columnist of "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Military-Industrial Courier" (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok