Did the Russian Federation really checkmate the USA?

If you were asked what is the most developed industry branch of the Russian Federation, the first thing that comes to mind would be the arms industry. Especially the aerospace industry… If we do not take into account the attacks of the People's Republic of China in this context in recent years, the only country that had the competence and competence to force the United States of America after the Second World War was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, that is, today's Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. extension RF.

When we look at the aviation industries around the world, we see that the search for the fifth generation fighter aircraft of most countries has been on the agenda lately. Low visibility, if possible, even by the most advanced radars, “invisibility” (stealth technology, as it is known in aviation terminology) is a must for fifth generation warplanes, or in military terms, a requirement. The thing that provides invisibility is the use of materials that absorb radar waves, based on radar cross section (RCS) calculations, which makes the aircraft appear much smaller on the radar, if possible, not visible. Other matters detail.

The first things that come to mind when it comes to fifth generation warplanes: Integrated and advanced mission computers, transferring all data to the pilot in a high-intensity combat environment, advanced integrated sensors (with 360-degree scanning area) and avionics, stealth technology from all directions, and internal ammunition transport. capacity aircraft. They can reach supersonic speeds without afterburner or afterburner. Aircraft such as the F-22 (USA), F-35 (USA and its allies), Sukhoi Su-57 (Russia) and J-20, J-31 (China) are aircraft produced or under development as fifth generation fighter jets.

In today's world, the fifth generation aircraft in real terms is the F-22 aircraft developed by the USA in the 1990s. The F-22 Raptor was produced by Lockheed Martin as a twin-engine fighter aircraft focused on air superiority, designed to provide high stealth with low radar signature.

The new F-22 has been included in the US National Defense budgets since 2010 due to its high cost, delays in Russian and Chinese fifth-generation aircraft projects, the US ban on overseas sales of this aircraft, and the development of cheaper and more capable F-35s. Resources have not been allocated for the production of . Despite the interest of Japan and Australia, it is known that there are currently close to 170 F-22s in the American Air Force, which is the only user of the F-22, which is not allowed to be exported to any country by the USA.

As it is known, the USA keeps the technology of the F-22 as a national secret. He does not sell the plane, but even if he does, it is said that the price will be around 200 million USD, who can buy this plane at this price? As another fifth-generation fighter aircraft that can be seen as a lighter version of the F-22, it has a single-engine F-35 joint attack aircraft, which it once produced with an international consortium, including Turkey. We have the USA trying to sell the export model of the F-35 to all the countries it sees as allies. It's quite a long way. F-35 aircraft are not as fast, agile and advanced as F-22s. However, in terms of production and sales figures, there is an F-35 on the scene, which is a candidate to be the F-16 aircraft of the future in a way. The US administration is trying to pull its price under 100 million USD. As the number of production increases, it is considered certain that this target will be achieved.

While there is a stable situation on the US side, the Russians are trying to close the gap. As a matter of fact, the Russians made their expected moves, checked the USA and The Checkmate was put on the stage for the first time at the MAKS Airshow in Moscow, with a ceremony attended by Putin. It's not even a prototype yet. A mock-up. In fact, the Russians do not intend to produce this fifth generation light class fighter aircraft for themselves, which they named The Checkmate (75 on the mock-up of the aircraft, probably from now on it will be called the Su-75). They already have the Su-57 aircraft, a partial replacement for the American F-22 aircraft. The Su-57 is an aircraft that has problems, that does not yet have full stealth capabilities. They are not currently in the F-22 setting, they have a long way to go. Success seems to be on the horizon in the Su-57, the Russians found the strength to make a new move, or things must have been going so bad with the Su-57 that the Russians felt the need to make a new breakthrough to mask this situation...

The Russians lost a lot of ground in the production of fifth generation fighter jets with the RF, which took the stage again with a loss of 10-15 years, with the effect of the winds of change blowing in the former Soviet lands since the end of the Cold War in 1989, so they had to enter the game late. While the success story of the Su-57, the project of the 2000s, has not been written yet, the launch of the Su-75 aircraft is quite significant. It can also be seen as an effort so that the train does not run, especially the foreign market. aimed at. Despite the delay of the Su-57, the Su-75 can also be seen as a tool that will allow a new success story to be written.

In any case, Russian pride had to be flattered. In the field of defense weapon systems, the world of RF weapons, which has gained a very famous place, especially with the S-400/500s, is far from achieving the same success in the air. At least that's how it looks. Their missiles, which have a very high cruise speed and enable the space dimension, have not yet attracted enough attention of the world. You need a fighter jet. For this reason, taking a stance against the relative superiority of the Western world in the air can be seen as the biggest gain for Putin in the aviation industry. To what extent the Russians will achieve their goals, we will see it all together, but who can say that the Chinese will not attack from behind and pass the Russians?

Now the Air Force knows that no country can win the war with fourth generation warplanes. Demand has increased for tactical warplanes that can perform integrated missions with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have low invisibility, are equipped with artificial intelligence systems and rich sensors, have a high weapon capacity, and have a better operating radius than F-16-like aircraft. In such an environment, the RF did not want to meet the needs of its allies and leave a gap in favor of the USA in the arms market, so it felt the need to take the stage with the “The Checkmate” project. As it is understood, studies are being carried out so that the first Checkmate will take its place in the skies in 2023. RF aims to produce a total of 300 checkmates over the next 15 years, i.e. by the end of the 2030s, after moving to the mass production phase (the said year 2026). In the past, although RF preferred to showcase the first prototypes of some aircraft projects at the fairs organized for this kind of aerospace industry, it preferred to postpone the transition to the mass production phase in time. Of course, time will tell if there will be a similar situation for The checkmate. However, since RF has chosen to launch this aircraft with a very ambitious sales pricing, it can be said that it will likely go into mass production: Russian aircraft are considered quite cheap compared to American aircraft. After the Su-57, which has a sales tag of 40 million USD, the 25-30 million USD pronounced for the Su-75 is an incredible figure. A figure that we can almost call "cheaper than water" has been put forward for this type of aircraft. Of course that's the price of the naked plane. Time will tell how much of the system and sensors it will be placed on. Even at this price, it's a much cheaper offer than most fourth-generation aircraft. This is a price that will make it difficult to sell F-35s to other countries. In a sense, the Russians broke the game. For countries that cannot produce such aircraft but see it as a need, it seems that Russia has made a good opening lately. In the final analysis, the success stories to be recorded in the serial production of the aircraft will be discussed in the decision mechanisms of the potential buyer countries when the time comes.

During the Putin period, RF has focused on the arms industry and aims to generate serious income from arms sales. It is thought that especially the Middle East, Latin America and Pacific Asian countries can make demands for the checkmate. According to Aviaport analyst Oleg Panteleev, it is considered that such a light-class fifth-generation fighter aircraft will be tried to be brought into their air forces by countries with not very large borders. As an example, we can say that countries such as India, Pakistan and Argentina can buy these planes to deploy to air bases in high mountain areas. Because, in the introduction of the aircraft, it was stated that it will have the ability to take off in a short distance even from high altitude bases.

Checkmate aims to use the ammunition carried by conventional warplanes and to be a stealth capable aircraft. It seems that the air-to-air missiles that it can carry in the stealth mode, that is, in the body, are limited to five. Systems such as the x-band N036 Byelka active scanning AESA radar system and the 101 KS Atoll IR search tracking sensor, which are designed for the use of the Su-57 and are a necessity for fifth generation aircraft, are allowed to be used in Su-75 aircraft to be sold to other countries by the Russians. It is not yet clear whether he will. The name of the engine to be used in the Su-75, which is designed as a single engine, is not yet clear. The Izdeliye 30 engine, which is known to have been designed for the Su-57 and which it is trying to develop for invisibility, is not yet ready for mass production. When ready, priority will probably be given to Su-57s. This aircraft, like other fifth generation aircraft, is expected to reach super cruising speeds at high altitudes and be more stingy in fuel use than fourth generation aircraft. Although the Checkmate was introduced as a light class aircraft, it is understood that it also aims to serve in the hunting bomber role and is designed to use a wide range of RF weapons and ammunition. No doubt such a flexible production approach will enable more countries to consider this aircraft and be willing to buy it.

Will there be a checkmate against The Checkmate by the Chinese in the next few years?

Ammunition Forecast of Su-75 Aircraft

RVV-MD (R-73M) in the class of missiles within visual range (Within Visual Range - WVR) for Air-Air; It is envisaged to carry RVV-SD (R-77-1) missiles beyond sight (Beyond Visual Range - BVR) (possibly export models).

A wide range of Air-Ground guided munitions is envisaged as listed below. For now, we have created our list using technical abbreviations.

  - Kh-38MLE (SAL); Kh-38MTE (IIR)

  - Kh-58UShKE (ARM)

  - GROM-E1 & -E2 (GPS)

  - Kh-59MK (AR) - Kh-31PD (ARM)

  - Kh-35UE (SARH) - KAB-250LG-E (SAL)

  - K08BE (GPS) - K029BE (GPS)