The Russian Aerospace Forces are receiving Su-57 fifth-generation multirole fighters with the AL-41F1 engine. According to the contract, UAC must supply 76 aircraft. When will the Su-75 "Checkmate" light tactical aircraft start entering the army? This question was posed by Military Review expert Matthew Elmers.
The question remains: will the Su-57 replace the Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters?
Author Matthew Elmers suggested that the MiG-29 could be replaced by the low-observable Su-75 fifth-generation multirole fighter with a single engine.
Will the Su-75 "stealth" fighter become serial or is it a dead end? Creating a modern fighter makes no sense if it is not initially built with versatility in mind.
According to Elmers, Russian aircraft engineers have picked up on the "miniaturization" trend. With their small size, fifth-generation fighters in stealth mode will be able to carry many bombs and missiles in internal compartments.
Russia is focusing on reducing the cost of aviation technologies, which is why the Su-75 has one engine.
But the "victorious march" of single-engine fighters did not take place, despite all the advantages of this configuration. A two-engine configuration was chosen for the European sixth-generation fighters Tempest and NGF (being created under the FCAS/SCAF program), which will appear closer to 2040.
Su-75 characteristics:
- Engine — AL-41F1, "Product-30"
- Maximum speed without afterburner — Mach 2
- Practical range — up to 2900 km
- Takeoff weight — 18 tons
- Combat load weight — 7.4 tons
- Air-to-air missiles — R-77, R-74M
- Air-to-surface missiles — Kh-38, Kh-59, S-13, KAB-500
Fighter characteristics are taken from open sources
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