A prototype of Russia’s Su-75 Checkmate fighter jet at the Dubai Airshow 2021 (Chyrine Mezher/Breaking Defense)
DUBAI: Russia’s decision to make the Dubai Airshow the international debut of its Su-75 Checkmate is no coincidence, with Moscow actively positioning its fighter as an alternative for those who are having trouble buying the American-made F-35.
The UAE is clearly a big target for Russian industry, particularly given potential issues between the Emiratis and Washington over the F-35. Or as Victor Kladov, director of internal cooperation and regional policy at Rostec, told Breaking Defense, “the Emiratis are doing a great job in keeping pace with the latest and most advanced technologies on one hand, and we don’t put restrictions for cooperation with other countries on the other.”
Many delegations visited the Checkmate pavilion here at the show, “including Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,” Kladov said. “So far, we have seen a keen interest in our new jet at Dubai air show,” he added without further details.
So far, the jet, which was unveiled with much fanfare over the summer, lacks an initial customer. Yury Slyusar, head of United Aircraft Corp said in a press briefing that the Russian Air Force is “expected to place an order for the new fighter,” but did not provide more details. Of course, the messaging around the jet can be very different if its a domestic or international audience.
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“Domestically, they can champion the Checkmate as a triumph of engineering that can compete with cutting edge western technology, securing Russia’s place at the table as a competitive international industrial power,” said Samuel Archer, senior military analyst with Aviation Week.
Internationally, he added, it is “meant to appeal to countries from which the F-35 is out of reach or has too many strings attached for comfort.”
The Checkmate is due to take its maiden test flight in 2023, with production kicking off in 2026. In the meantime, “Russia’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur plant has started building several Checkmate fighters at the same time,” Slyusar claimed.
The key features of the aircraft are its “low visibility and light hour cost, open architecture and high cost-effectiveness,” a company statement said. The company claims a range of 2,900 kilometers and speed of Mach 1.8.
For its part, the UAE is eager to explore new types of cooperation. When asked about future possible collaboration with Russian firms, Faisal Al Bannai, CEO of the UAE’s major defense conglomerate EDGE, told Breaking Defense that the company has various discussions happening with many countries.
“Our biggest operating model is how we collaborate on joint developments in the fields of autonomous systems, electronic warfare and smart weapons,” he said.” We are trying to explore new meanings of cooperation and we are in a good position to find good deals.”
Rostec also unveiled the unmanned modification of the Checkmate, which can be seen in a new video posted recently on the YouTube channels of Rostec and the United Aircraft Corporation. According to Kladov, this version “will use artificial intelligence in the next few years.”
But as much as Checkmate was a major buzz of the show, perhaps the highlight of the marketing effort was the launch of the Checkmate fragrance, created in anticipation of the international debut of the prototype at the show. It combines the scents of glass, natural leather and metals used in the construction of the fuselage, engines and cockpit of the aircraft.
