At the Dubai Airshow 2025 in the UAE, JSC Sukhoi's chief test pilot, Sergei Bogdan, told russian media when russia's latest Su-75 Checkmate fighter jet will make its first flight. It is reported that two prototypes are almost ready and undergoing final preparations.
The first is intended for ground testing, while the second is intended for initial flight testing. Plans to build these two prototypes in 2025 were announced earlier in February.
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The chief pilot notes that the first flight is scheduled to take place in early 2026. The Su-75 was first unveiled in 2021. At that time, it was stated that it had been developed in a year. The first flight in 2026 would mark six years since the Su-75 Checkmate's development began.
However, even if the first flight takes place next year, this does not mean that serial production will begin soon. It is worth noting that the Su-57 first flew in 2010, entered serial production only in 2019, and is still undergoing improvements.
However, the key issue holding back serial production of the Su-75 is simply that there is little demand for it. The Su-75 was developed specifically for export to countries in Africa and Asia, but despite this, it has attracted little interest.
A special unmanned version of the Su-75 was also demonstrated at the Dubai Airshow 2025. A patent for such a drone was filed back in 2023, along with two other variants. In addition, an optionally piloted configuration was achieved through the use of a removable cockpit section.
The Su-75 is the first single-engine fighter jet produced by russia in a long time. The last one was the MiG-23, which was followed only by twin-engine jets based on the Su-27. In addition, the Su-75 is inspired by the 1990s Northrop MRF-54E concept, developed alongside the YF-23, the competitor to the YF-22 that later evolved into the F-22 Raptor.
It has the following characteristics: maximum take-off weight of 18 tons, including 7.4 tons of combat load, flight range of up to 2,900 km, flight speed of about 1.8 Mach (2,200 km/h), and a service ceiling of 16.5 km. It is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
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