By Staff Correspondent
Work is in progress on the designer documentation for the light fighter jet Checkmate. Its serial production will begin in 2027,” Rostec corporation’s CEO Sergey Chemezov informed at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
So far, a prototype has been created and designer documentation is being developed. “We borrowed the onboard equipment and the engine from the fifth-generation fighter Sukhoi-57, but reconfigured them somewhat,” Chemezov said, adding that Rostec was creating the plane on its own money without drawing budget funds.
He hopes that the Defense Ministry will agree to purchase the plane. Sergey Chemezov also presented the Company’s 2021 annual report to Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of the key achievements of the Corporation is a 9.9% increase in its consolidated revenue, which amounted to 2.06 trillion rubles in 2021, and an increase in the share of civilian products in its sales mix, which amounted to 45.5%.
It may be recalled that Sukhoi (part of Rostec State Corporation’s United Aircraft Corporation) has patented a new light single-engine aircraft code-named Checkmate.The patent confirms that the Russian-design aircraft is superior to known foreign analogues in terms of both flight and field performance.
In addition, Russian designers have improved the Checkmate’s stability and control while maintaining its high aerodynamic performance and stealth characteristics. The new patent also states that the Checkmate’s engine can be fitted with a thrust vectoring nozzle moving in the vertical plane that is aligned with the aircraft body axis and is used for flight control and trimming. A prototype of the fifth-generation Checkmate fighter jet was first unveiled last July at the MAKS-2021 air show.
