Key Points and Summary on Su-75 Checkmate – Russia’s Su-75 “Checkmate” is an ambitious project to create a low-cost, single-engine, fifth-generation stealth fighter for the export market, but its future looks bleak.
-Designed as a $30 million alternative to the F-35, the Su-75 promises impressive speed and a stealthy design.
-However, Russia’s crippled defense industrial base, hammered by sanctions, makes mass production highly unrealistic.
-The program is more likely a “paper tiger”—a high-tech concept Russia can’t afford or build at scale, making it another of Moscow’s troubled and likely-to-fail super-weapon projects.
Su-75 Checkmate Explained
A lesser-known light, tactical stealth fighter is quietly lurking underneath the noise generated by the world’s most advanced 5th and 6th-generation fighter jets, such as the F-35, J-20, and Su-57. It’s called the Su-75 Checkmate.
Built by Russia’s Sukhoi, the Su-75 is intended to support the Russian Air Force and serve as a lower-cost stealth fighter available. Russia intends to offer the fighter to the international market. It is a single-engine, multi-role fighter designed in one and two-person crew configurations.
Sukhoi says the intention is to build a 5th-gen stealth aircraft for a much more reasonable $30 million cost compared with most fighters in its class, something accomplished in part by using some parts and technologies from the Su-57. The idea is to develop and sell a lower-cost 5th-gen aircraft to countries less able to afford expensive 5th-gen aircraft such as the F-35.
Prospects for the Su-75 look rather bleak, given that sanctions related to Ukraine have further crippled Russia’s already “taxed” production capacity.
Su-75 vs F-35
Sukhoi says the Checkmate is built to fly 3,000km, travel with a payload of up to 16,314 pounds, and hit speeds up to Mach 1.8.
If accurate, this Mach 1.8 speed would make the Checkmate faster than an F-35, which reports state the craft can reach Mach 1.6. However, the Checkmate does not appear to be as fast as the F-22, which is capable of reaching speeds of Mach 2.25.
The goal of $30 million per plane, while ambitious, does raise some pertinent questions, such as whether the new jet can successfully be mass-produced and distributed across a broad international base of customers.
Russia’s technologies may be exquisite and reasonably competitive in many respects, yet the country seems to, at times, lack the internal production capacity to “scale” high-tech weapons systems.
Therefore, despite Sukhoi’s ambitious goal, it looks unrealistic that Russia would have the industrial capacity to surge large numbers of Su-75s for international customers. Should this be possible, quickly mass-producing a new, less-expensive fleet of 5th-gen stealth aircraft could allow a customer to successfully “bulk buy” or “mass” a sizable fleet of aircraft.
In terms of its external configuration, the Su-75 looks quite similar to an F-35 and F-22 bend or combination to a certain extent, with a rounded single engine and blended wing-body fuselage and wings, similar to an F-22.
The Su-75 also has a “diverterless supersonic inlet” designed to streamline direct airflow into and away from the engine to ensure a smooth air-boundary layer. A smooth or laminar airflow surrounding the aircraft enables a smoother, less turbulent, and more stable airflow surrounding the plane, increasing flight stability.
Cost & Capability
While some might be inclined to think there is a clear, linear relationship between cost and performance, meaning the more you spend, the better the aircraft is, yet there are also many notable exceptions to this rule.
However, the cost is likely to play a significant role in developing and producing those elements of the aircraft that are most responsible for advanced performance. It may be possible to design and build a sleek, stealthy-looking design with an external configuration that is equally impressive.
However, what determines air superiority in a fighter jet is likely less visible characteristics such as computing, sensing, fire control synergy, avionics, and weapons applications.
Stealth encompasses more than mere external configuration; several additional variables, such as radar absorbent materials and thermal management or heat signature reduction, also determine it.
The closer an aircraft’s temperature is to its surrounding atmosphere, the less likely it is to be detected by infrared, heat-seeking sensors.
About the Author: Defense Expert and Analyst Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in 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.
Military Matters
Russia’s Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter Is a Waste of Rubles
