on Jul. 15, 2021, Photos started circulating on Twitter of an aircraft believed to be Russia’s new Sukhoi Su-75 CheckMate 5th generation stealth fighter jet ahead of MAKS 2021 airshow which kicks off next week.
Sukhoi Su-75 CheckMate’s next-generation single-engine fighter jet was spotted at the Zhukovsky International Airport outside Moscow for the first time.
We finally have a better idea of the “CheckMate” thanks to photos by Chinese Aviation subject matter expert and author Andreas Rupprecht:
The single seater featuring a delta wing and a ventral inlet (whose shape and position remind the one of the X-32 prototypes). Interestingly, the aircraft seems to have a side bay that might be similar to the side weapons bay of the Su-57 Felon.
Besides the digitized camouflage, one interesting thing is the registration, RF-00075 with bort number 75 Blue, which seems to point towards the designation Su-75 for the new type. However, it’s worth remembering that for the moment, the aircraft is just what is: a mock-up.
Just this week, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the state tech corporation Rostec) reported that it plans to unveil the new military aircraft on the first day of the MAKS-2021 international aerospace show.
“Russia is one of the few countries of the world that possesses full-cycle technologies to produce advanced aircraft systems and is a recognized trendsetter in creating combat planes. We are convinced that the new product developed by UAC specialists will evoke a genuine interest both in our country and in other regions of the world, including among our rivals abroad,” the press office said in a statement.
Rostec also opened the project’s website, where a countdown of the plane’s debut show on July 20 began overnight to Tuesday, the statement says.
In addition, earlier in May 2021, the TASS news agency reported that the Russian defense industry is developing a next-generation single-engine fighter.
According to TASS, Russian state aerospace company Sukhoi is now developing new light tactical fighter aircraft.
“The Sukhoi company is developing a single-engine light tactical plane with the takeoff weight of up to 18 tonnes. The plane’s maximum speed will be above 2 Mach. It will also have super-maneuverability and improved takeoff and landing performance, thanks to a thrust vector control engine. The plane’s thrust-to-weight ratio will be above 1,” the news agency reported, citing an industry source.
In general, a single-engine aircraft is better in terms of cost and (less) maintenance requirement and Russia plans to develop new light combat aircraft to replace the aging fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 close-support aircraft.
The newly improved Su 75 will fly at mach 2.5 plus and vertical climb to intercept high attitude aircraft like F35 & F22. Only time for Russian weapons will continue to upgrade to missile interceptions and full AI capability.