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Stealth Fighters, Satellite-Hunting Missiles – India Likely To Acquire ‘Highly Advanced’ Russian Military Hardware

Even as Russia bets big on India when it comes to the potential export of its super-advanced CheckMate stealth fighter jet and S-500 air defense system, their production timeline and commercial viability remain a big question.

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Recently, Dmitry Shughaev, the director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical (FSMTC) indicated that Russia is likely to supply even the S-500s to both India and its arch-rival China and even discussed the Su-30s as the Indian Air Force operates the MKI variant.

India is an old strategic partner, we have signed a contract for the S-400, and they will receive the first division of this system by the end of the year. Therefore, it is absolutely logical that they would be interested in requesting the S-500 from us in the foreseeable future.

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S-500 Missile. Via Russian MoD

When this system is delivered to the Russian Armed Forces in the required volume, it will also be possible to export it. We consider India, as well as China, and all those states with whom we have long-standing partnerships and predictable relationships, as future owners of this new system. The question is when this will happen, time will tell. We will consider potential applications on a case-by-case basis.

Shughaev also added that many countries want not only to buy Russian equipment but also to acquire our technologies.

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“The states, which recently were mainly importers of arms and military equipment, are increasingly announcing their ambitions to develop their national military-industrial complex. In general, we are quite successful in this area, having concluded many contracts for the licensed production of various types of Russian weapons abroad. For example, the same Su-30MKI in India. 

Checkmate Jet

Russia had showcased the Checkmate jet at MAKS 21 International Aviation and Space Expo. It is a single-engine, fifth-generation supersonic fighter jet, which boasts advanced stealth technology.

The EurAsian Times had previously speculated that the Indian Air Force might be a potential customer, which is in dire need of modern warplanes to replace its aging fighter fleet and the depleting squadron strength.

Long-term buyers of Russian military hardware like India, China, and Vietnam could be prospective customers of the Checkmate, which has been designed with export in mind.

The manufacturer has made clear its intention to build 300 single-engine light tactical fighter jets over the next decade and a half based on the aircraft’s demand in the global defense aerospace market.




The Sukhoi ‘CheckMate’. (via Twitter)

On CheckMate, Shughaev said – We have not been in the market of single-engine fighters for a long time. Naturally, Checkmate still has to go a certain way before becoming an export product, but today it is clear that the declared characteristics are at the level of existing foreign competitors and even surpass them.

Therefore, taking into account the fact that the price is declared to be very competitive, I believe that it will be in demand in its segment.

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The EurAsian Times had earlier reported how at $25-30 million per model, Checkmate would cost less than half of Saab Gripen ($85 million), while also being substantially cheaper than the US’ F-35 ($115 million), French Dassault Rafale ($115 million) and Russia’s Su-57 ($100 million).

A Marketing Gimmick?

While Checkmate’s stated goal is to provide an affordable stealth fighter and if met, then it would likely be a gamechanger in global power play. The questions remain, can it realistically achieve its said objective whilst remaining profitable?

Russia’s ability to pull it off has been called into question, however, it is poignant to note that Russia has proven experience in designing and developing a stealth fighter.

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