By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington DC) Russia’s newly unveiled Su-75 Checkmate aircraft appears specifically designed to rival the U.S. F-35 and Chinese J-31 as a 5th-generation aircraft to market to Russian allies and customers worldwide.
Selling to Allies and Partners
The success of the U.S. in expanding its multi-national network of F-35s capable of interoperation, forming joint formations, and sharing information across a multi-domain, international force.
This clearly empowers the U.S., especially in Europe, as the F-35 is fast becoming the fighter jet of the free world, a scenario that causes problems for adversaries.
Russia has already for years been operating with a massive air-power deficit compared to NATO, so the growing F-35 force and the fast-expanding number of nations acquiring the F-35 only complicates this further for Russia.
This circumstance is likely one of the key reasons Russia is fast-tracking its Checkmate jet, an aircraft that developers say will be light-to-medium weight and low-cost. Production plans are slated to include an effort to buy as many as 300 Checkmates over 15 years, according to a Globalsecurity.org report.
Su-75: Unveiling and Building the Vaporware
Russia’s TASS news agency reported last year that Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation plans to build four prototypes and take them to the sky by 2024.
A mock-up of the aircraft was unveiled in 2021.
There are many Russian partners who now fly Su-27s, Su-30s, and other Russian fighter jets, so it would make sense that there is a market for something intended to rival the F-35.
While indications clearly suggest that the Su-75 will primarily go to Russian allies, the aircraft will also likely support the Russian military.
“Russia proposes to create a fighter of the future in broad international cooperation. Each of the countries will be able to choose the most acceptable option for themselves and build such a combat aircraft that meets exactly its interests – in terms of price, technical quality and combat capabilities,” Globalsecurity.org writes.
The Checkmate mockup unveiled in 2021 looks a lot like an F-35 with its single-engine and rounded or blended wing-body configuration. However, the margin of difference or any ability to compete with Western 5th-generation aircraft likely relies upon a number of key variables.
With a maximum take-off weight of 18 tons, the Checkmate has a much lighter capacity than the F-35, which has a maximum take-off weight of 31 tons.
While elements of the Checkmate fuselage may also resemble a single-engine-like F-22 copycat to an extent, the F-22’s maximum take-off weight is also much higher at 41 tons.
Therefore, should globalsecurity.org’s weight be correct, Checkmate may be challenged to operate with a large arsenal in a “bomb truck” kind of mode.
However, many key questions remain, such as how fast will it be? How maneuverable? While listed as a multirole fighter, some might wonder if its weight and narrow front end suggest it will be fast and maneuverable as an air supremacy platform.
Available statistics seem to indicate that the aircraft will likely operate as more of a multirole fighter, as its speed is listed at 1.8, much slower than an F-22, which is listed as having Mach 2.25 speed.
The Su-75 Checkmate’s speed is much closer to that of an F-35. However, there are several critical remaining questions, such as how might the Checkmate’s sensing, targeting, and computing compare with an F-35, and to what extent will the Checkmate be engineered to truly interoperate with 4th-generation platforms in terms of massing formations and sharing data across the force.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
