Russia Doesn't Seem Sure the Su-75 Checkmate Will Be Stealth

November 24, 2021 Topic: Su-75 Region: Russia Blog Brand: The Reboot Tags: Su-75Stealth FightersRussian Air ForceDefense

Russia Doesn't Seem Sure the Su-75 Checkmate Will Be Stealth

Will the Su-75 Checkmate really be a budget-busting stealth fighter? Maybe… but it’ll have to fight its way into becoming an actual production fighter first.

Stealth or not, the Su-75 Checkmate is still mostly a paper plane

Russia has made some pretty big claims about the capabilities of this forthcoming fighter, from a top speed of better than Mach 1.8, to a nearly 1,900 mile range, to its 7-ton payload capability, but the most interesting claim of them all is its price. At a price point of just $25-30 million per aircraft, the Su-75 Checkmate would be the world’s cheapest stealth fighter by a wide margin if it ever lives up to its claims.

Russia may have a habit of exaggerating when it comes to military technology, but there’s also no doubt that the nation has fielded some of the most incredibly performing tactical aircraft the world has ever seen. But to date, Russia’s stagnate economy simply hasn’t allowed for their aviation expertise to firmly extend into the stealth domain. Russia’s air warfare doctrine, it’s important to note, does not place nearly as much emphasis on stealth when compared to America’s, and some contend that’s why the nation has not devoted more resources to closing the stealth capability gap.

One could argue that the causal relationship could potentially be reversed, however, with Russia’s air warfare doctrine reflecting their inability to field advanced stealth platforms, rather than the other way around. After all, it stands to reason that if Russia could field better stealth jets, they obviously would (if money were no object, for instance).

But its those dollars and cents that really keep discussion about the Su-75 and its stealth capabilities planted firmly in the hypothetical. Russia has struggled to fund production of their already existing stealth fighter, the Su-57. Though, they recently announced that they expect to receive four new Su-57s this Decemeber, bringing the total tally of these fighters to 17. Of course, production on the fighter actually began a few years ago, with the first production Su-57 taking to the skies in December of 2019… and promptly crashing shortly after takeoff. So, we’ll see how it goes.

Will the Su-75 Checkmate really be a budget-busting stealth fighter? Maybe… but it’ll have to fight its way into becoming an actual production fighter first. Currently, Russia claims production on the Su-75 will begin in 2025. Though, even that date seems to be predicated on Russia’s ability to find foreign investors to fund its development.

To date, actually buying the new jet does not appear to be a sure thing.

“Under a future state program for armaments the Defense Ministry and the Aerospace Force may consider the possibility of purchasing this fighter,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said in September.

Alex Hollings is a writer, dad, and Marine veteran who specializes in foreign policy and defense technology analysis. He holds a master’s degree in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.

This article originally appeared in Sandboxx News.

Image: Reuters