New Russian war plane has Mideast orders in sights

DUBAI: Mideast governments could figure among customers for Russia’s new Sukhoi stealth fighter jet, a top Rostec executive told Arab News.
Known popularly as “The Checkmate,” the aircraft was inspected by President Vladimir Putin ahead of Moscow’s biennial airshow on Tuesday.
Designed to compete with the US F-15 fighter jet, few details had previously been made public about the plane made by Rostec, Russia’s defense industry manufacturing conglomerate and United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
Victor Kladov, Rostec director for international cooperation and regional policy, told Arab News the aircraft had high export potential.
“This included singling out countries of the Middle East among potential customers,” he said.
Earlier, UAC General Director Yury Slyusar told Russian TV the plane had a combat radius of 1,500 kilometers and shortened takeoff and landing.
He expects as many as 300 orders for the plane over the next 15 years, mainly from the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
“Market appetite for advanced aircraft such as “the Checkmate” is strong in the Middle East, particularly if workshare and investment opportunities can help to satisfy local offset and industrialization policies,” said Charles Forrester, a regional lead analyst at Janes, a defense intelligence provider. “The desire to have sovereign control over advanced capabilities is a key part of this, particularly given the challenge of supply chain security in the face of export controls from foreign partners.”
The plane is expected to cost between $25 million and $30 million according to Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov.
Russia has invested heavily in its defense sector in recent years and has targeted exports to the Gulf states where it has been highly visible in regional arms fairs.
However strong US ties to the region have sometimes hampered its marketing push in the Arab world — with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) deterring potential clients.
“From an operational perspective, a number of militaries in the region are undertaking the process of refreshing their aircraft fleets that were acquired in the 1990s and 2000s, in order to deploy new capabilities, improve interoperability, and reduce maintenance costs. For some countries, such as Qatar and Egypt, this has involved significant increases in fleet sizes and capabilities. Changing threat dynamics, such as new anti-aircraft missile technology, have also meant that new capabilities are required to maintain an edge over their potential adversaries,” added Forrester.