One of the main reasons for the potential difficulties of the promising Russian Su-75 Checkmate fighter is the very approach to its design. This was stated in an article about the combat aircraft, reviewed by "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy", by Nikolay Chikunov, an engineer at the A.I. Mikoyan Design Bureau.
According to the specialist, Sukhoi's developers focused on maximum unification with the Su-57, rather than on creating an optimal design.
The development process of the Su-75 Checkmate was turned upside down: instead of optimizing the aerodynamic appearance for specific aircraft requirements… We are witnessing an obvious attempt to assemble a "Frankenstein" from "what was available."
Chikunov believes that the use of existing components cannot in itself be considered a drawback, but in this case, the requirement for unification became the decisive factor in choosing the aircraft's layout.
The specialist emphasizes that during the development of the promising MiG-LMFS, the concept of the machine's combat application was first determined, and only then was its aerodynamic appearance formed.
The approximate cost of the Checkmate abroad was estimated at $30 million. For comparison, the basic version of the American F-35 costs $80 million and more.