Russia announced Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate’s first flight date

 The date of the first flight of the 5th generation Su-75 Checkmate fighter developed by Russia has been announced. The fighter was launched last year and has one engine.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov made statements regarding the Su-75 Checkmate 5th generation fighter. Manturov announced that the first flight of the Su-75 Checkmate is planned for 2024.

In a statement to Interfax, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said: “In the time since the project was presented at MAKS-2021, feedback has been received from potential customers. Work was also carried out to optimize costs and analyze technical solutions, which made possible a significant increase in competitiveness. The commercial appeal reduces the technical risks of developing domestic single-engine aircraft.”

Based on these studies, the timing of the first flight was adjusted and changes were made to the project, Manturov said. According to him, the principle of modularity and modern digital technologies made it possible to make these changes as soon as possible. Manturov announced that Russia plans to start flight tests of the Su-75 “as early as 2024”.

“Times are as short as possible. Work on the Checkmate aircraft is now in preparation for the production of the first prototypes,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded his remarks.

Developed by the Sukhoi Company, part of the Russian United Aircraft Company [UAC], the new Checkmate 5th generation combat aircraft was shown for the first time at the MAKS-2021 International Air Show, held in Moscow on July 20-25, 2021.

The aircraft’s takeoff weight is said to be under 18 tonnes and will use the Izdelie 30 engine that is favored in the Su-57 fighter jets.

The delta blade plywood mock-up has not yet reached the final design. Rostec plans to market the aircraft, whose design is in preliminary stages, to foreign customers and win investment. Although experts emphasize that the aircraft is very similar to the Su-57, they also liken it to a “single-engine Su-57”. The canopy, landing gear, and tail of the aircraft resemble the Su-57.

Currently, Russia does not have a 5th generation fighter. The purpose-built twin-engine Su-57 is still defined as a 4.5 generation in terms of performance. Although there has been no official statement, Russia aims to offer an alternative to the F-22 with the twin-engine Su-57 and the F-35 with the single-engine Su-75 Checkmate.