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The Russian Su-75 "Checkmate" fighter jet reappears in an official photo alongside the Su-57, now equipped with new AL-51F engines. Between propaganda and reality, Moscow is trying to appease foreign markets…
At the Maks 2021 fair, Russian aerospace giant UAC officially presented to the public its new "light" stealth fighter, the Sukhoi Su-75 "Checkmate", designed to position itself primarily in the foreign market.
The new aircraft became widely known in the first months after its official launch, even participating in the Dubai Air Show in November of that year. After that, the Su-75 essentially disappeared from the radar, despite Russian claims of a potential foreign buyer.
Yesterday, October 2, a photo appeared on the UAC's official Telegram channel showing an Su-75 and a Su-57 parked outside on an airport runway, sparking speculation about the possible progress of work on the new Russian single-engine fighter jet.
It is worth briefly examining the "lack of progress" of the Sukhoi machine to help us understand whether it is simply propaganda or not.
During the 14th international air show Aero India 2023, Russia proposed a possible cooperation with India to develop a new tactical fighter. In December of the same year, it was learned that a modification of the Su-75 had been patented and patents had been obtained for a method of reducing the radar visibility of aircraft.
In February 2024, during the World Defense Show 2024 in Riyadh, Moscow stated that the "open architecture" aircraft would be "the most important product for the implementation of projects for the joint development of advanced aviation systems in the Middle East."
In November of the same year, the UAC stated that "despite sanctions, the company continues to develop the fifth-generation tactical fighter". In February 2025, it was announced that Rosoboronexport was promoting the Su-75 "also in the Middle East" and that "consultations on the design, technical characteristics and the possibility of joint development of systems and units" were underway. Over the years, there have been various statements regarding the Su-75's first flight and the start of production: in May 2022, it was reported that the first flight would take place between 2023 and 2024, and that serial production would begin in 2027; a month later, the date was postponed to 2025, while in August the start of testing was postponed to 2024.
The photo released yesterday is most likely a Russian attempt to demonstrate that the conflict in Ukraine has not exhausted all of Moscow's industrial resources, and thus "secure" its target foreign market, while simultaneously seeking to expand it. Therefore, it could be the same model first seen in 2021, but there are some details that suggest otherwise.
The Su-75's rear landing gear doors shown in the photo appear to be slightly different from those observed at Maks 2021: the hinges appear to be of a different brand, more "strong" and above all straight in shape compared to the curved ones seen during the presentation of the new aircraft.
Unfortunately, the quality of the photo does not allow for further observations other than that regarding the FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) sensor located in front of the cockpit windshield, which appears identical in both cases.
However, what is certainly different is not about the new Sukhoi stealth fighter, but about an old friend of ours, the Su-57 (NATO's "Felon"). The photo shows both engine exhaust nozzles, and it is clear that the blades have serrated edges instead of straight ones, indicating that the Russian fifth-generation fighter-bomber is mounting the new AL-51F (also known as Izdeliye-30) engines instead of the AL-41 with which it has almost always been spotted until now, even in the rare images that have shown it in operational activity (Syria and Ukraine).
Let us remember that this should be the final engine for both aircraft and that in December 2024 Russia had published images of a Su-57. /Il Giornale/
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