Unveiled at MAKS Airshow in July 2021, the new Russian fighter Sukhoi Checkmate had industrial designs registered in Brazil. The granting of registration by the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) was made on Tuesday on behalf of JSC “Aviation Holding Company Sukhoi”.
The document that the site had access to also brings the authors of the project: Mikhail Yurievich Strelets, Aleksey Sergeevich Bulatov, Denis Vladimirovich Fruktov, Mikhail Evgenievich Zhigunov and Dmitriy Vadimovich Khotilovskiy. The concession of the rights under the project lasts for 10 years, starting on January 8, 2022.
The Sukhoi Checkmate is a derivative project of the Su-57, from which it inherited solutions and some systems and equipment. But the new stealth fighter has some important differences such as propulsion by just one engine and conjugated horizontal and vertical stabilizers.
The air intake, under the cockpit, recalls the design of Boeing’s X-32, which competed with the X-35 in the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program, won by Lockheed Martin and which gave rise to the F-35.
The Su-75, as the Checkmate is also called, is intended to be a competitor to the US Lightning II fighter, which has amassed several contracts. UAC (United Aircraft Corporation), the state-owned conglomerate to which Sukhoi is subordinate, hopes to sell the new fighter jet to countries in the Middle East, Asia and South America.
Relationship with Brazil unlikely
Although the registration shows a concern of the Russian government to have the copyright in relevant countries, a possible sale of Checkmate in Brazil is practically ruled out and for several reasons.
The Brazilian Air Force, for example, has just received the first 4.5 generation F-39 Gripen fighter jets, which are expected to be in service for a long time.
A potential partnership with the Brazilian aerospace industry is a more credible alternative. With very capable manufacturers on account of Embraer, there are certainly companies in our country capable of contributing to the project, however, political pressure, especially from the United States now with the conflict in Ukraine, makes this hypothesis unlikely.
In a recent statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Yury Borisov, cited the BRICS countries as possible partners to replace components produced in the US and Europe for the MC-21 and SSJ100 commercial jets. A sign that Brazil is at least on the Russian radar.
