Sukhoi’s Su-75 Checkmate fighter will enter serial production in 2027, state-owned conglomerate Rostec says, indicating a delay from a target outlined by Russia’s United Aircraft (UAC) late last year.
“We have plans for starting serial production in 2027,” Rostec chief executive Sergey Chemezov said following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 18 May.
“Work is in progress on the design documentation for the light fighter,” adds Rostec, which hopes to sell the new model to Russia’s defence ministry, plus international customers.
“We borrowed the onboard equipment and engine from the fifth-generation Su-57, but reconfigured them,” Chemezov notes.
Speaking at the Dubai air show last November, where a prototype of the single-engined Checkmate was displayed internationally for the first time, UAC outlined an ambition to launch production in 2025-2026. Director general Yuri Slyusar described the design as “cost-efficient”, and said the company had been in “intensive contact” with the Russian air force since the project was revealed at the Moscow air show in July 2021.
Meanwhile, Chemezov says Moscow will launch serial production of the Sukhoi-designed S-70 Okhotnik (“Hunter”) unmanned combat air vehicle next year.
“We will begin serial-producing and delivering it to the defence ministry in 2023,” he says. “Also, a new ground control post is being created for the drone.”
A prototype version of the stealthy type made its flight debut in August 2019, with Sukhoi subsequently tweaking the design to introduce a flattened engine exhaust intended to reduce its radar cross section.
