Tass: Russia to discuss cooperation with India on the Checkmate fighter project

"A delegation of representatives of our aircraft manufacturing companies is going to Aero India. We plan to discuss cooperation on fifth-generation aircraft. In particular, there is an intention to invite Indian friends to join the Checkmate light tactical fighter project", - the source told TASS.

The International Aerospace Exhibition Aero India 2023 is scheduled for the period from February 13 to 17. The event is held every two years, and Russia actively participates in the air show. In 2021, more than 200 samples of Russian military products were demonstrated at the exhibition.

The Checkmate light fighter is a development of the Sukhoi company, and was first presented to the public at the MAKS-2021 air Show, and then at the Dubai Airshow 2021. The fighter is made using stealth technologies. It is based on advanced developments, including an open architecture for building in the interests of the customer, AI technologies. It is possible to place air—to-air and air—to-ground aircraft weapons on its board. The single-engine aircraft is capable of accelerating at a speed of Mach 1.8, its combat radius is 3 thousand km. The first batch of Checkmate fighters is planned to be produced in 2026. As Kommersant notes, referring to the statement of the head of Rostec state Corporation Sergey Chemezov in 2021, its cost is estimated at $ 25-30 million.