The Checkmate: Unique peculiarities of Russia's new fighter aircraft

The new Russian light tactical aircraft The Checkmate or the Su-75 does not have a built-in gun for the first time since the pre-war years. According to Mikhail Strelets, the chief designer of The Checkmate, instead of the built-in gun, the aircraft may carry suspended gun containers. In turn, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, said that the new fighter jet would be equipped with suspended weapons with a total weight of 7.4 tons. Such a decision may be due to the fact that the aircraft is primarily intended for export. The use of the built-in gun requires high qualification of pilots, so the designers refused such an option. In addition, the new fighter is marketed as an open architecture platform that can be easily modified depending on the needs of specific customers.