According to CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar, partners from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America displayed interest in the new fighter at the MAKS air show

MOSCOW: Countries of the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America have shown interest in Russia’s latest Checkmate single-engine fighter jet unveiled at the MAKS-2021 international air show, CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation (part of the state tech corporation ROSTEC) Yuri Slyusar told Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper on Friday.

"Partners from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America displayed interest in the new fighter [Checkmate] at the MAKS air show," the chief executive said.

Russia’s new fighter integrates the latest technologies in military aircraft-building, he stressed.

"The plane can be customized as it features open architecture, which helps mount equipment of different producers on it. The aircraft was from the very outset designed for employing practically the entire range of air-launched weapons, including future armaments," the head of the United Aircraft Corporation said.

The Checkmate’s unmanned modification will be popular among customers, he said.

"We believe that it [the unmanned version of the Checkmate fighter] will be popular among customers because it will help raise the combat system’s all-view awareness and survivability and give an opportunity to use new tactical methods," Slyusar said.

Russia’s New Light Tactical Fighter

Russia’s state tech corporation ROSTEC unveiled the latest domestic single-engine fighter dubbed Checkmate at the MAKS-2021 international air show that ran in the suburban town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow on July 20-25. The new plane created by RSOTEC at its own initiative, is a derivative of the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter.

The new single-engine fighter is based on stealth technology and is outfitted with an inboard compartment for airborne air-to-air and air-to-surface armaments. The fighter will carry a payload of over 7 tonnes and will be capable of striking up to six targets at a time.

The Checkmate fighter will be capable of flying at Mach 1.8 (1.8 times the speed of sound) and will have an operating range of 3,000 km. The aircraft will be outfitted with a highly efficient powerplant. The new fighter is expected to take to the skies in 2023 and ROSTEC plans to launch the combat plane’s serial production starting in 2026.