Rostec, the state-owned technology company that controls several Russian aerospace companies, will take the full-size mockup of “Checkmate”, the new single-engine stealth fighter, at the Dubai Airshow, according to a TASS source.
The event will take place between November 14th and 18th in the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft was unveiled at MAKS 2021, Russia’s largest aerospace event, which took place in July.
“The Checkmate has evoked a great interest abroad. The United Arab Emirates is an excellent venue for presenting the aircraft to a broad group of potential partners. There are plans to hold a series of closed-door presentations for the airshow participants and an open presentation for visitors and media representatives,” said the source.
The Russian government treats the fighter developed by the Sukhoi (informally called the Su-75) as a potential export product. That would explain the urgency of taking the model to its first event abroad.
The Checkmate project is still in its initial stages, with the inaugural flight scheduled to take place only in 2023. Serial production is considered for 2026, but so far the Russian Air Force has not announced an order for the supersonic jet, which, in theory, has not meets the criteria of the country’s military, focused only on twin-engine aircraft.
Checkmate was thought of as a cheaper fighter jet that benefits from the advances obtained by the Su-57. It will be able to fly at Mach 1.8 and have an operating range of 3,000 km. The capacity to carry weapons reaches seven tons, in external pods and an internal compartment.
Like other recent projects, Sukhoi incorporates an open avionics architecture so that it can be updated or modified quickly.
Rostec hopes to obtain orders from countries with a restricted defense budget and that need to modernize their air forces. Alexander Mikheyev, CEO of Rosoboronexport, a company dedicated to exporting Russian products, stated that several nations in South America are potential Checkmate customers.
