In today’s episode, we are going to talk about Why Russia’s New ‘Checkmate’ has a really big wing?
Keep watching the video to get the answer. In July 20,2021, Russia’s Unified
Aircraft-Building Corporation and the Sukhoi Aircraft Company used the opening day of the
Moscow Aviation and Space Expo (MAKS) to take the wraps off a new single-engine stealth fighter.
The roll-out of this airplane, now called the Su-75 Checkmate Light Tactical Aircraft,
was made the centerpiece of the traditional Day One visit to the show by Russian President
Vladimir Putin. It’s a new design that Moscow hopes will create a niche for its combat aircraft
industry in the export market. Their intent is to upend sales by competitor aircraft built by other
nations the Swedish JAS-39E/F Gripen, the Lockheed Martin F-35. and even the Shenyang J-35, a Chinese
plane in development even longer than the Su-75 by offering a cheaper, Russian-made alternative.
But there are serious questions to be answered about its extraordinary wing size,
because it becomes one of the most interesting features of the Checkmate, possibly an indication
that Sukhoi, the manufacturer, intends to market the plane primarily to the Russian Navy for use
on the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s aging aircraft carrier. Another likely possibility
is that the Checkmate will be sold abroad to nations operating existing Sukhoi fighters.
The big wing could help the Checkmate to fly at high altitudes, where it could make the most of
advanced sensors and weapons. In addition, flying at high altitudes also improves jet engines’ fuel
efficiency, because of the lower temperature and density of the air. The Checkmate is a small plane
and likely does not have a large fuel supply, so operation at higher altitudes could be a necessity
to use the plane in the most efficient way possible. The plane is designed to be stealthy.
In addition to its wingspan, it has angular ruddervators and a divertless
inlet, both of which are common features on stealth planes to reduce radar cross-signature.
Now let's take a look at the Checkmate Design and Performance Details.
General Director Yuri Slyusar and Su-75 Chief Designer Aleksei Bulatov have provided details
about the program. The project has moved beyond the paper design and mock-up stage,
with the aircraft shown this month being an actual prototype demonstrator. Its design utilizes
lessons learned from the Su-57 and is powered by one of the larger aircraft’s two 5th-generation
izdeliye 30 engines. The Russian design team has employed a full complement of high-end
digital resources, with the planform of the aircraft developed using supercomputer-based
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Radar Cross Section (RCS) configuration tools.
Furthermore, the operation of the aircraft is supported by an automated logistics system
called “Matryoska”, a reference to the famous nested, wooden hand-made dolls to symbolize
the ease and modular makeup of the aircraft. Whereas the electronic infrastructure of the
airplane is all open-architecture and makes use of diagnostics systems that are mostly on-board.
This minimizes the quantity of equipment needed on an aerodrome to maintain the aircraft.
Like other stealthy designs, the Su-75 carries missiles in an internal weapons bay.
Information plaques displayed with the prototype state, it carries the
same air-launched munitions employed by both the Su-35 and Su-57. Maximum weapons load is stated as
16,300 lbs. The single-engine produces 24,000 lbs of dry thrust and 39,000 lbs in afterburner.
This should produce a thrust-to-weight ratio of better than 1.00, but questions remain about the
empty weight of the aircraft. The range of the aircraft on internal fuel with no external tanks
is 1,800 miles. The design team also claims that there is a high wing lift efficiency associated
with the design. Particular attention has been given to the “V” shaped vertical tail
which accounts for part of the aircraft’s low RCS.
In terms of price, the unit cost that has been associated with the aircraft is US$25-30 million,
which is the price point that the design team thinks will interest their primary
target customers. This focus on export sales is essential to the program’s success as The
Russian Aerospace Forces or VKS are presently not interested in any single-engine design. But to
date the program is financed with company funds and there is no government support at present.
Another serious question to be answered is about marketing strategy
and the plane’s technical capabilities, which could combine to add the Su-75 to the long list
of military aviation programs that never found life as an export. In recent years,
the only next-generation fighter produced in Russia has been the Sukhoi
Su-57, a twin-engine model with the overall shape of a stealthy aircraft.
The other fighters still produced in Russia like the upgraded MiG-29 (called MiG-35) and the Sukhoi
Su-35 are old designs dating back to the 1980s. They have little appeal in the current day when
competing models are more technologically advanced and affordable. The Su-57 has been
produced thus far in small numbers (only 78 total on order) with the Russian Aerospace
Forces as the only customer, and has proven far more expensive than initially projected.
It was also hamstrung when India, seen as the more promising export customer for the Su-57,
declined to become an R&D or production partner; Russian fighter aircraft programs traditionally
depend heavily on external customers to help launch and finance production.
Hoping to avoid that situation again, Russia proposed cooperation on the development of the
Su-75 to the United Arab Emirates in 2017. An agreement on the two nations sharing the cost
of the program was to have been signed at the November 2017 Dubai Air Show.
But an 11th-hour announcement that Washington would reverse
previous policy and allow allied Arab states to acquire the F-35 scuttled the deal. Still,
a promotional video released just a few days ago reveals that Russia has not given
up on a sale to the oil-rich and financial powerhouse Gulf state. The film opens with a
pilot in the UAE packing up his flight kit after receiving a scramble alert on his smartphone.
This scene is followed by pilots in three countries looked upon by the Russians as the most
near-term customers- India, Vietnam and Argentina receiving a similar return-to-base signal.
They all join up in a group with pilots of a dozen other nations at an aerodrome as the aircraft is
rolled out of a hangar. The message: Su-75 can be another multinational program just like the F-35.
However, the aircraft is not going to be available any time soon. The first flight
of the new prototype is at least two years away. A series-manufactured version at least five to
seven years in the future. And nations that are seen as the best prospects for a foreign sale
may not be in a situation to wait that long. Just that from today and Thanks for watching.