Russia will seek to seduce India to join Checkmate development

Gastón Dubois

Su-75 Checkmate Dubai

Rostec Group will seek to convince India to join the Su-75 Checkmate project, the 5th generation single-engine fighter whose development Russia cannot finance alone.

According to Russian news outlet TASS, the Russian delegation attending the Aero India 2023 international air show plans to discuss possible cooperation with India in the creation of fifth-generation aircraft, in particular, the Checkmate light tactical fighter.

«A delegation of representatives of our aircraft construction companies will attend the Aero India air show. We plan to discuss cooperation on fifth-generation aircraft. In particular, there is an intention to invite our Indian partners to join the Checkmate light tactical fighter project,» a source close to the Rostec state technology corporation told TASS.

The Aero India 2023 international air show will be held in Bangalore from February 13-17. The Indian air show is held once every two years. Russia actively participates in Indian air shows and presented more than 200 military products the previous edition of the event, during Aero India 2021.

Checkmate appears on the scene

The Russian state corporation Rostec presented for the first time at the MAKS-2021 international air show the first single-engine fighter developed in decades by the Russian aerospace industry after the MiG-23 Flogger (NATO code), dubbed Checkmate.

The Checkmate, created on the initiative of Russian industry, is a 5th generation multirole fighter derived from the Su-57 fighter, from which it takes many elements and solutions. Its, for now only foreign presentation, took place at the Dubai Air Show 2021 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is because, as rumored for years, the UAE had initially helped finance the project, and after the American refusal to give them access to the F-35, it was expected to strongly increase its participation in the program. In the end, the UAE ended up closing a mega-contract with France for 80 Dassault Rafale fighters.

From the beginning, the aircraft was thought of as an export-oriented product, showing alleged pilots from Vietnam, Argentina, United Arab Emirates and India in its promotional trailer video. Among the arguments put forward by Rostec to tempt potential foreign customers (in the face of an initial lack of interest from the VKS), was a low acquisition price of about $30 million, a restrained maintenance and flight hour cost, and its open architecture software, which would allow it to meet diverse customer requirements.

Declared characteristics

The Checkmate incorporates the latest radar, EW and optronic systems (many borrowed from the Su-57) developed by Russian industry, including unique artificial intelligence technologies.

The new single-engine fighter is based on stealth technology and is equipped with a central internal compartment for large air-to-air and air-to-surface armament, and two smaller ones on the sides for defensive weapons. The fighter will carry a payload of more than seven tons and will be able to attack up to six targets at a time.

The Checkmate fighter will be able to fly at Mach 1.8 (1.8 times the speed of sound) and will have a range of 2,800 km. It will share powerplant with the Su-57 Felon (NATO code), the Saturn Izdeliye 30, the definitive engine for this fighter.

According to the revised schedule (taking into account the impact of sanctions due to the war in Ukraine) the first flight of a prototype is scheduled to take place in 2024, a pilot batch of Checkmat fighters should be produced in 2026, and series production should start in 2027.

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