For quite some time, there have been rumours that Russia is trying to hard sell its single-engine, stealth fighter light combat aircraft (LCA) Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate to India. A few months ago, Rostec, Russia’s state-owned defence corporation, the parent company of Sukhoi, had even announced that it reduced the selling price for 'Checkmate'—the Russian equivalent to the US F-35 Lightning II—, especially for India.
Now, recent media reports indicate that Russia is actively pursuing talks with Indian defence officials, expressing willingness to offer Transfer of Technology (ToT) for this advanced variant of Sukhoi Su-57, equipped with open architecture configuration and artificial intelligence tech.
IDRW reports that during Aero India 2025, there will be much focus on Su-75 Checkmate.
Su-75 Checkmate is designed keeping the export market in mind, and the ToT would make the fighter aircraft “nearly Indian” as Russia would not have its production line. The production of the aircraft is expected to begin around 2026-2027.
The sales pitch from Russia, which used to be India's biggest arms supplier before the sanctions imposed in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict forced New Delhi to diversify its sources for procuring arms, comes even as India is actively developing its own fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Russia is eager to cement its government-to-government deal with India with Su-75 Checkmate.
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A realistic price of $50 million would make Su-75 Checkmate—which would be below the production cost of Sukhoi Su-30MKI, built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited—an attractive option for India, which is looking to match the capabilities of China's Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters.
“A cost-benefit analysis needs to be carried out before any commitment. Russia needs funding and development partners for the project; can India get more out of the deal? Also, the question that needs answering is will the project affect ‘Atma-Nirbharta’ (self-reliance),” a few months ago, EurAsian Times quoted Air Marshal Anil Khosla (retired) as saying.