Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

The Sukhoi Su-75 "Checkmate"[1] (Russian: Сухой Су-75; LTS, short for Light Tactical Aircraft in Russian), is a single-engine, stealth fighter aircraft under development by Sukhoi for export and for the Russian Aerospace Forces.[2] The Sukhoi Design Bureau also designates the aircraft as T-75 with marked registration RF-0075.[3]

Su-75 "Checkmate"
A static mock-up of the Sukhoi LTS at the MAKS Airshow 2021
Role Stealth light multirole fighter
National origin Russia
Manufacturer Sukhoi
Designer Sukhoi
First flight 2023 (planned)
Introduction 2027 (planned)
Status Under development

Development

A static mock-up was unveiled at the 2021 MAKS air show with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in attendance. The Checkmate's maiden flight is expected in 2023 and initial deliveries are planned for 2026-2027.[4][5][6] The Checkmate is designed to be low cost and for export,[7] and may compete with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Shenyang FC-31 aircraft of the same light to medium-weight category.[8][9][10] Production is forecast to be 300 planes over 15 years.[11][12]

According to the chief executive of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, the LTS ‘Checkmate’ Fighter Jet is expected to cost US $25-30 million each.[13]

On 14 November 2021, it was reported that the production of several prototypes of the Checkmate had begun at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant, where the Sukhoi Su-57 is manufactured.[14]

Su-75 Checkmate development could be delayed due to international sanctions[15] on Russia, and Russia could not import semiconductors[16] and high-tech machining equipment from the European Union.[17] The potential export sales also stalled because Russia cannot trade using U.S. dollars.[18]

Design

The Su-75 Checkmate has a diverterless inlet, a v-shape tail and internal weapons bays—all features intended to reduce radar signature. Its vast wing area implies Sukhoi designed the fighter to fly and engage in combat at high altitudes—40,000 feet or higher.[2][19]

The angular ventral inlet, which wraps around the lower nose section, shares features with a diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) design concept first introduced[20][21] in the Boeing X-32 aircraft.[22][23][4][24] A diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) is mechanically simple; DSI can reduce cost compared to more intricate inlet designs such as Boeing F-15 and Sukhoi Su-27.[25] Instead of separate horizontal and vertical stabilizers with moving rudders and elevators, the Su-75 fighter has “ruddervators” similar to that of Northrop Grumman YF-23.[26][23] Ruddervators require sophisticated flight-control systems to be developed by Sukhoi as the functionality does not exist in Su-35 and Su-57 fighters.[26]

According to the jet's designers, the Checkmate is designed to fly with a range of up to 3,000 km (1,864 mi), carry a payload of up 7,400 kg (16,314 lb), and reach speeds of up to Mach 1.8-2.[5][27][28] The fighter jet will also feature an internal weapons bay with five missiles and an autocannon.[27][29]

Engine
Mock-up of the Checkmate's engine

The powerplant appears to be the Saturn izdeliye 30 engine which will also power the Sukhoi Su-57's Su-57M variant.[30][3] The izdeliye 30 is designed to be 30% lower specific weight than its AL-41F1 predecessor, and up to 18% more effective, with an estimated thrust of 107.9 kN (24,300 lbf) dry and 171.7 kN (38,600 lbf) in afterburner. Once in series production, the izdeliye 30 engine will have a much longer life span than other Russian engines.[31][32]

Cockpit

Due to restrictions preventing taking cockpit photos, NBC News Matt Bodner, the first Western journalist able to see the jet in person, provided a preview without a point of view photo. According to Bodner, the cockpit layout is identical to the Su-57 with a glass cockpit with two 38 cm (15 in) main multi-functional LCD displays similar to the arrangement of the Su-35S. The cockpit has a wide-angle (30° by 22°) head-up display (HUD).[33]

Avionics

The electronic infrastructure of the Checkmate is all open-architecture and makes use of “Matryoska” diagnostics systems that are mostly on-board.[10] According to Russian newspaper Top War, the prototype Su-75 is built with an active phased array radar. According to Yuri Beliy, NIIP radar design bureau plans to develop a low-cost AESA radar for the aircraft.[10] According to Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, the Checkmate fighter jet will share the same components and avionics as the Su-57 as a cost-reduction mechanism by the Sukhoi Design Bureau.[34][35]

Checkmate's armaments were displayed besides the mock-up airframe

Armament

The Rostec chief executive said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the Su-75 fighter will carry over 7 tonnes of air-to-air and air-to-surface armaments and will be capable of striking several targets at a time.[36]

Variants

An unmanned variant is reportedly in development, a two-seat trainer version can be developed if requested, and a carrier-based version[10] is also under consideration.[37]

Potential operators

Rostec is anticipating that Argentina, India and Vietnam will become the primary export destinations for the aircraft, with the African market also showing interest.[38] Sukhoi aims to export 300 Su-75 Checkmate aircraft to African countries over the next 15 years.[39][34] The jet has also been pitched for export to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.[40]

In SITDEF-2021, Alexander Mikheev, the General Director of product export of Rosoboronexport stated that there was interest in the Su-75 in a number of South American countries.[17]

Specifications

Data from Flight Global,[1] Breaking Defense,[10] Suciu,[41] Lieser[42] and Filseth[43]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Maximum speed: Mach 1.8
  • Ferry range: 3,000 km (1,900 mi, 1,600 nmi)
  • g limits: +8.0
  • Thrust/weight: 1.0:1

Avionics

See also

Related development

Related lists

References
  1. Karnozov, Vladimir (21 July 2021). "Russia targets low cost, high performance with Su-75 Checkmate fighter". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021.
  2. Axe, David. "Russia's New Fighter Breaks Cover—It's Got 'Stealth' Written All Over It". Forbes. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  3. Donald, David (20 July 2021). "New Sukhoi Fighter Design Unveiled at MAKS". AINonline. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. Newdick, Thomas. "Russia's Checkmate Light Tactical Fighter Is Officially Unveiled (Updated)". The Drive. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021.
  5. Isachenkov, Vladimir (20 July 2021). "Putin hails Russia's air power as new fighter goes on view". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  6. Jenkins, Cameron (20 July 2021). "Russia unveils prototype for advanced stealth fighter jet". TheHill. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  7. "Putin Unveils Russia's New Single Engine Jet 'LTS Checkmate Fighter'". www.defenseworld.net. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  8. Szondy, David (26 July 2021). "Sukhoi shows off Checkmate 5th-Gen fighter to compete with F-35". New Atlas. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  9. Liu, Zhen (25 July 2021). "India expected to seek new Russian stealth fighter to counter China". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021.
  10. Johnson, Reuben (22 July 2021). "Russia's New SU-75 Checkmate Promises A Lot. Can It Deliver?". Breaking Defense. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. Stolyarov, Gleb; Balmforth, Tom (20 July 2021). "Putin inspects new Russian fighter jet unveiled at air show". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  12. "Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate - LTS - Light Tactical Aircraft". www.globalsecurity.org. 24 July 2021. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  13. "Russian 'Checkmate' Stealth Fighter has Launch Customer, to Cost $30 Million Apiece". www.defenseworld.net. 20 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021.
  14. "В Комсомольске начались работы по производству нескольких опытных образцов Checkmate". ТАСС.
  15. "U.S. Treasury Sanctions Russia's Defense-Industrial Base, the Russian Duma and Its Members, and Sberbank CEO". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  16. Seoul, Yang Jie in Tokyo and Jiyoung Sohn in (19 March 2022). "Chip Sanctions Challenge Russia's Tech Ambitions". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  17. Eastwood, Brent M. (31 March 2022). "Is Russia's Su-75 Checkmate Stealth Fighter Doomed?". 19FortyFive. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  18. Parachini, John V.; Wilson, Peter A. (6 January 2022). "Is Russia's Su-75 'Checkmate' Aircraft a Case of Vapor Marketing?". www.rand.org. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  19. Axe, David (22 July 2021). "Who's Going To Pay for Russia's Checkmate Stealth Fighter? Probably Not Russia". Forbes. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  20. "JSF Diverterless Supersonic Inlet". Code One Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  21. "Su-75 turned out to be the most cost-effective fifth-generation machine?How likely is it to be in mass production?". iNews. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  22. "New Russian Fighter in F-35 Class Echoes Other JSF Designs". Air Force Magazine. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  23. Makichuk, Dave (20 July 2021). "Checkmate: Russia's newest, most advanced fighter jet". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  24. "Sukhoi officially Unveils the Checkmate, allegedly codenamed "Screamer" by US Intelligence". The Aviation Geek Club. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  25. Axe, David. "Russia's New Fighter Breaks Cover—It's Got 'Stealth' Written All Over It". Forbes. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  26. Axe, David. "Look Closely At Russia's Checkmate Fighter—Its Tail Is One Key To Its Stealth". Forbes. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  27. "Official presentation of the New Sukhoi LTS Checkmate or Screamer", YouTube.com, 20 July 2021, archived from the original on 21 July 2021, retrieved 25 July 2021
  28. Шерзад, Тимур (20 July 2021). "Раскрыты характеристики новейшего однодвигательного истребителя «Сухого»". Телеканал «Звезда» (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 July 2021.
  29. "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021.
  30. Díaz, Pablo (20 July 2021). "Sukhoi Checkmate: An advanced yet affordable match for the F-35 Lightning II". aviacionline. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  31. Wolf, Fabrice (9 December 2019). "Su-57's new engine not yet available". Meta-Defense.fr. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  32. Newdick, Thomas; Rogoway, Tyler (16 July 2021). "Now We Know Russia's Mysterious New Fighter Is A Single-Engine Design (Updated)". The Drive. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  33. "Russia Unveils New Fighter Jet Viewed As Competitor To America's F-35", YouTube.com, NBC News, 26 July 2021, archived from the original on 27 July 2021, retrieved 30 July 2021
  34. "Чемезов назвал цену нового российского истребителя". Ведомости (in Russian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  35. "Новый российский истребитель Checkmate поднимется в воздух в 2023 году". Ведомости (in Russian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  36. "Russia's new Checkmate jet fighter in high demand on world arms market — Rostec head". TASS. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  37. Sineva, Milena; Azanov, Roman. ""Шах и мат". Конструктор Стрелец: новый истребитель превзойдет все мировые аналоги". TASS (in Russian). Archived from the original on 21 July 2021.
  38. "The Checkmate aircraft will have no built-in gun for the first time in decades". PravdaReport. 22 November 2005. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  39. "Истребитель Checkmate могут включить в госпрограмму вооружений". Ведомости (in Russian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  40. "A new arms race? Putin's friend leads Russian effort to sell weapons to U.S. allies". NBC News.
  41. Suciu, Peter (26 July 2021). "Russia's New Checkmate Su-75 Stealth Fighter Has Another Trick Up Its Sleeve". 19FortyFive. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  42. Lieser, Ethen Kim (22 July 2021). "Russia's New Su-75 'Checkmate' Stealth Fighter Has a Serious Problem". 19FortyFive. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  43. Filseth, Trevor (24 July 2021). "Russia's New 'Checkmate' Su-75 Stealth Fighter Has Enormous Wings". The National Interest. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  44. "Checkmate details emerge, triggering some new questions and specific areas of concern". Army Technology.

Media related to Sukhoi S-75 at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.