A prototype of Russia's new Sukhoi Checkmate Fighter is on display during the presentation at the MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Salon, in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, on July 20, 2021

DUBAI - Russia will begin mass-producing its new single-engine, fifth-generation fighter jet Checkmate in 2026, Yury Slyusar, the general director of the Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), said on Sunday.

"The first flight of the fifth-generation fighter Checkmate is planned for 2023, serial production — in 2026," Slyusar said at the Dubai Air Show in the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, simultaneous production of several cutting-edge fighter jets has already been started by a plant in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia's Far East region, according to the official.

"The Komsomolsk-on-Amur plant has started building several Checkmate [fighters] at the same time," Slyusar announced.

The Checkmate is a fifth-generation light fighter jet, developed by the Sukhoi designer bureau (part of state corporation ROSTEC) and first unveiled at the MAKS-2021 international aviation and space salon in the Moscow Region in July.