PPRuNe Forums - Checkmate: new Russian military a/c to be unveiled at MAKS

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- - Checkmate: new Russian military a/c to be unveiled at MAKS (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/641590-checkmate-new-russian-military-c-unveiled-maks.html)

Doesn't look overly stealthy to me, more like a V-tail F-16?

I do get the impression that the Chinese in particular play the long game, whereas us in the West are preconditioned to think in 4- 5 year cycles? Maybe that is because we are used to all changing after every election? Therefore , nothing actually seems to get done.

Well if it ever gets into production I know what the NATO reporting name should be:

The Fugly

Interestingly TASS published an article that the designers of the Checkmate "corrected the shortcomings of F-117". I'd say thats a bit... lame. They are really stating that Checkmate and F-117 are aircrafts of similar level.
I thought it was supposed to overcome F22 and F35.

Here's a translation of the article.
https://tass.ru/ekonomika/14166303
MOSCOW, TASS, MAR 24, 07:01 Updated 07:07
Checkmate will take into account the shortcomings of the American F-117A Nighthawk fighter
According to the text of the patent, the shortcomings of the American stealth fighter are poor takeoff and landing characteristics, as well as insufficient stability and controllability of the aircraft.

The developers of the new Russian single-engine fighter Checkmate, when creating it, took into account and corrected the shortcomings of the American stealth fighter Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk. This is stated in the text of the patent (available to TASS) for a light tactical aircraft (LTA), published by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property.
The document compares the domestic LTS with the American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk aircraft, which has low radar visibility. "However, the disadvantage of this aircraft is poor takeoff and landing characteristics, as well as insufficient stability and controllability of the aircraft," the text of the patent says.
It emphasizes that the task of the Checkmate LTS developers was to eliminate the shortcomings of other well-known aircraft of a similar level. "Thus, the technical result, to which the claimed invention is directed, is to increase the stability and controllability of the aircraft without deteriorating the characteristics of radar visibility," the document says.

About aircraft
The F-117 is an American single-seat subsonic tactical stealth strike aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It was intended for covert penetration through the enemy's air defense system and attacks on strategically important ground targets. The first flight was made on June 18, 1981. 64 units produced, the last serial copy was delivered to the US Air Force in 1990. The aircraft participated in five armed conflicts. In 2008, aircraft of this type were completely withdrawn from service, both for financial reasons and due to the adoption of the F-22 Raptor.
The reduction in visibility for the F-117 was mainly achieved due to the specific angular shape of the hull, built according to the concept of "reflector planes", composite and radar-absorbing materials and a special coating were also used.

LTS Checkmate developed by the Sukhoi company (part of the United Aviation Corporation of the state corporation Rostec) was first presented at the MAKS-2021 air show. The foreign presentation of the fighter took place at the Dubai Airshow 2021 in the UAE. The first flight of the Checkmate is scheduled for 2023, and the start of series production is scheduled for 2025.

Checkmate includes all the most advanced developments, including an open architecture for building in the interests of the customer and unique artificial intelligence technologies. The aircraft is made using stealth technologies, equipped with an intra-fuselage compartment for air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. The payload weight exceeds seven tons. The fighter will be able to simultaneously hit up to six targets. The speed of a single-engine aircraft will be Mach 1.8, and the combat radius will be 3,000 km.

Yeah - obviously the F-117 wasn't in the public domain in 1981, but if it had been I don't think Lockheed would have impressed anyone by claiming it corrected the shortcomings of the de Havilland Mosquito.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasta (Post 11205183)

I wonder what the RCS of a Mossie is????

The size of two spinning props I would think. The T11 on the other hand I remember as being very sneaky when head-on.

Production to commence in 2027

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiloB (Post 11205228)

The size of two spinning props I would think. The T11 on the other hand I remember as being very sneaky when head-on.

Haha. If you refer to the dual seat Vampire then from my experience hearing ATC/talking to ATC GCA controllers complain it was bloody near impossible to see it in the rain. TIN wings & laminate balsa wooden fuselage - ah the BeeKnees radar return at certain angles. :} http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7441332 OR 93762_1345888030.jpg (1200×819) (jetphotos.com)

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ea483cc9db.jpg

The Buccaneer was very difficult to see on radar. Mind you, that was because it was normally below 50-100ft.

More than one way to skin a cat….

G-KZ: Good afternoon Bournemouth, G-KZ, a Tiger Moth holding 4 miles north at 1500ft for a display slot of minute 50.
Bounrnemouth radar: Roger G-KZ, no contact on radar.
G-KZ: That’s because I’m made of wood!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Brown (Post 11082732)

Well if it ever gets into production I know what the NATO reporting name should be:

The Fugly

Considering their post Ukraine finances, I'd call it the Cheque Bounce!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpazSinbad (Post 11232223)

Ah, the Vampitre T11 ... as flown by Marshall's pilots to train we GCA students, using the 2 MPN11 trucks at Sleap. I don't recall them being difficult to see, but perhaps part of our training was using the kit to its best advantage? I do remember on Talkdown giving one a 'radar advisory' on a large flock of birds about to cross the glide path ahead of him, so discrimination must have been fairly good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MPN11 (Post 11232340)

How was it in the rain in jolly old EngerLand? I would have to do some research to find the single GCA type unit at Nowra, which had to be towed around to the duty runway - so... if the wind/runway changed one had to wait and wait and wait so we jettsetters had a low level visual approach to NAS Nowra to befuddle the pundits. Often us junior Vamp Pilots had to wait whilst the new A4Gers used the GCA in foul weather <sigh> therefore before we ran out of fuel a low visual approach was de rigeur.

There were 'polarisers' or 'rain plates' that abated the effect of rain, albeit not completely. I operated the MPN11 in wet foggy Lincolnshire for a year or so without giving up!

However, we digress. Back to invisible Russian aircraft *cough*

Ha. At last I'm getting A GIST of who people were back in the day from this thread: The AN/FPN-36 Quad Radar - PPRuNe Forums

This was the GCA unit at NAS Nowra that I was referring to earlier: GCA (Quadradar) FPN-36. 3 page PDF attached from March 2022 SLIPSTREAM of the RAN FAAAA:

https://issuu.com/slipstream2/docs/slipstream_mar_2022

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....24e654c621.jpg