Sukhoi T-75 LTS (CheckMate)

[LMFS]

The Landing gear, looks very real to me, the doors, not so much, still interesting to see.

Good detail. From the way the main landing gear open, it can be theorized that there may be some weapon bay above (at the wing root maybe) they don't want to interfere with...

And we see from the shape of the door, that the lower side of the wing is not flat but has a bump, probably for the folded struts. They seem to go backwards and act as booms for the tail. Maybe it is a flat fuselage (BWB) that will increase internal volume, help with the landing gear and even with quick bays for AAMs... in fact I am seeing what I think is a panel gap where quick bays would be placed above and forward from the landing gear doors

The camouflage is that of the Su-57

 

[Archibald]

I had completely missed that new Sukhoi fighter (or the mockup at least). Pretty exciting indeed - MAKS 2021 smells like a new "Domodedovo 1967 airshow" event (the day the MiG-23 and MiG-25 hit the spotlight).

 

[TomcatViP]

There must be some weight associated with it, looking on the main tire contact to the ground, real or a mockup?

But are they real pictures? You have detouring everywhere and the geometry is weird (it looks as if the main axis changes direction from rear to front).

The sign for weights on wheel on the right mlg looks fake.

 

[tequilashooter]

Going to be losing sleep until the airshow premiers thinking about this aircraft among other space projects they might present.

 

[Trident]

There must be some weight associated with it, looking on the main tire contact to the ground, real or a mockup?

Or low tire pressure. Even a mock-up, at this size and with a functional (as in, can be used for towing it around) landing gear, will be fairly substantial in weight.

Regarding the intake:

 

[LMFS]

One of the pictures suggests that there is a grey image on the tail - maybe a rook?

I think that is a pixelated camouflage like that of the Su-57...

Regarding the intake:

Sharp eye

But are they real pictures?

No, it's Russian mind control at its best

BTW,the plane definitely seems to have a thick transitional section between the main fuselage and the wing proper. Struts seem to be installed there, I wonder how the transition to the LERX will be but it is indeed an interesting feature of the design.

The plane seems to rest very high on the landing gear, this would be consistent with the struts not being anchored directly at the wing level but a bit lower. It would also help with weapons bay door opening and ordnance loading, in case they are ventral. Also a longer nose strut would help with higher loads

 

[Trident]

I'm increasingly convinced that, both in conception and configuration, this thing parallels pre-JSF studies for a light-weight, low-cost fighter with decent stealth. Wing and fuselage configuration resembling the Boeing MRF-24X, tail and intake more like the Northrop MRF-54E (or Boeing's ATF entry, for that matter).

 

[DWG]

So, WHAT do we know about russian procurement in last decade?

Su-57
T-14 Armata
Lider

We see a repeated pattern of promised investment in high-end, high technology projects at defence minister or higher level that just isn't carried through. If you're the company waiting to recoup development costs through production orders that has to leave you feeling exposed.

 

[DWG]

I wonder how much time and money does it take to develop a completely new airframe, provided you have a set of mature systems - avionics, actuators, engines, sensors etc. - that have been proven to work together, like say, in the case of the Su-57.

Eurofighter-lite was perhaps the best example of trying to do that, and the projected savings weren't great. IIRC CALF and ASTOVL were supposed to have some avionics overlap, but they ended up as one airframe with variants. You'll save some of your avionics budget, but not as much as you might expect as FCS etc will need customization plus flight-testing.

 

[tequilashooter]

Technology capabilities for high end products require time. 98% of Nordstrom 2 is done along with some arctic projects. Maybe a little economic boost will give them more projects or production numbers. One of those 3 projects is not like the other mentioned

 

[DWG]

Maybe they are seeing/identifying what they want to see? It will be interesting to see it finally unveiled without all covers... The gear etc looks a lot more operational than I would guess those on a wooden/glass fiber mock-up would be as others have mentioned... Exciting times in aviation!

It's pretty common with mock-ups to use a set of gear from an existing aircraft. They can be real gear, but attached to a mockup.

We need video clips of it moving to judge how much weight/inertia those legs are holding up, stills don't really cut it.

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Another thing to point out is that this aircraft is facing remarkable hurdles already. I honestly doubt this is a working prototype, meaning that if it's just a mockup, it will take 10 years at the least to construct a prototype, certify it and get it into production. For instance, does Russia have the funds to produce two fighter aircraft? There are also a number of competitors as well: F-35, KF-21 and TFX, as well as its older brother the Su-57. Do the nations who were suggested in the teaser even want to order it? Or would they prefer MiG-29s? The more I think of it, the more I think it's a prestige project. This seems to be a private initiative, meaning the company is spending its own money on this program, so if no orders roll in, they're at great risk of losing money.The next possibility is that this is being developed for the Russian Navy as a carrier fighter. Far-fetched, but possible. We will have to wait and see.

 

[Roland55]

Back to the aircraft - I wonder why they are building all this hype and secrecy? As much as the gear looks real I'm starting to think if it was actually a flying prototype we would have seen spyshots of it by now under construction or flying...?

Well, when was the first time we saw the SU-57 (or the Armata), according to partners that followed the whole thing it was seen flying a month before its presentation.

The Gear does look very realistic, but the fact that one of the wheels is deflated (or under pressure) kinda bugs me, Same thing with the gear doors, one would expect that those would close while the gear is down. Another thing that also bugs me is that in the pic with part of the tail exposed, it just looks like a solid thing, no rivets or anything.

My best guess are:

• Mockup (most possible scenario)

or

• Static prototype (like the recently shown FC-31)

There might be a real engine there, who knows !

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Agreed.


In regards to the way the Russians are building up the hype, I'm not surprised. They've been doing it since the end of the Second World War. Look at the way they showed off their prototypes, like the MiG-23 and MiG-25 at Tushino in the late Sixties. Look at the way they kept the Flanker so secretive. Look at the way they released videos of the T-50 (now Su-57), but kept information about it quiet until it was formally designated as Su-57 (this is from what I can remember, I can't remember anything much about the T-50 before it became Su-57). To say the Russians are masters of hype would be a massive understatement. They put a lot of effort into it. And it pays off. It gives their aircraft a mystique that will never die off in the West.

 

[BLACK_MAMBA]

The Gear does look very realistic, but the fact that one of the wheels is deflated (or under pressure) kinda bugs me, Same thing with the gear doors, one would expect that those would close while the gear is down. Another thing that also bugs me is that in the pic with part of the tail exposed, it just looks like a solid thing, no rivets or anything.

My best guess are:

• Mockup (most possible scenario)

or

• Static prototype (like the recently shown FC-31)

There might be a real engine there, who knows !

On Mirages at least the doors close when the aircraft is "alive" and hydraulics charged but they are opened by the ground crew to access equipment inside hence on the ground their gear doors are almost always open when there is no hydraulic pressure. Thus open gear doors are neither here nor there for me in indicating mock-up or prototype.

The exposed tail with no visible seams as you pointed out however does point towards a mock-up to a large extent...

 

[Roland55]

The Gear does look very realistic, but the fact that one of the wheels is deflated (or under pressure) kinda bugs me, Same thing with the gear doors, one would expect that those would close while the gear is down. Another thing that also bugs me is that in the pic with part of the tail exposed, it just looks like a solid thing, no rivets or anything.

My best guess are:

• Mockup (most possible scenario)

or

• Static prototype (like the recently shown FC-31)

There might be a real engine there, who knows !

On Mirages at least the doors close when the aircraft is "alive" and hydraulics charged but they are opened by the ground crew to access equipment inside hence on the ground their gear doors are almost always open when there is no hydraulic pressure. Thus open gear doors are neither here nor there for me in indicating mock-up or prototype.

The exposed tail with no visible seams as you pointed out however does point towards a mock-up to a large extent...

Could be a good explanation, but its the first thing that i saw that stands out, the color gives it away. As for the tail... unless they painted over and got some weird coating that hides rivets, looks too "one piece" to be real.

When you mentioned Mirage, this came to my mind, probably a great example as the inner doors close as soon as the gear completes deployment.

^the last MIIIC to fly btw

 

[Tass]

Some speculation on what it might look like

 

[TMA1]

I think it also could be this

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

I think it also could be this

This is pretty consistent with the shape.
More user art from Paralay forums:

 

[helmutkohl]

Zephyr is a pretty good Japan based aviation artist! he made great sketches of Tempest and FCAS as well

 

[Archibald]

Zephyr is a pretty good Japan based aviation artist! he made great sketches of Tempest and FCAS as well

I'm reminded of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_88

Beautiful artwork !

It looks like a X-32 and X-35 offspring, really. The intake for the former, the rear end from the latter.

Get a weird feeling looking at it. The cockpit and nose section looks like they are hanging precariously above that huge gapping intake. I hope they are strongly attached, otherwise they may be sucked into it...

 

[Tass]

I think it also could be this

This is pretty consistent with the shape.
More user art from Paralay forums:

Maybe...the one I posted matches the model on Borisov's desk

 

[helmutkohl]

I think it also could be this

This is pretty consistent with the shape.
More user art from Paralay forums:

Maybe...the one I posted matches the model on Borisov's desk

I think you are correct

whle Zephyr164 does nice art work..
he does take a lot of stylistic interpretations

for example his FCAS drawing. he took a bit of liberties in modifying the wings and especially engines

 

[GARGEAN]

Su-57
T-14 Armata
Lider

So you are just ignoring whole load of opposite examples and nitpicking few that are fitting your narrative, and then you imagine "funding problems" to push that narrative further. Yeah, pointless. Let's not clutter this thread further.

 

[GARGEAN]

Look at the way they released videos of the T-50 (now Su-57), but kept information about it quiet until it was formally designated as Su-57 (this is from what I can remember, I can't remember anything much about the T-50 before it became Su-57).

Possibly you weren't paying too much attention)) It occupied headlines for long before Su-57 designation became official. Sometimes being called Su-50 even.

 

[Tass]

Latest pics...


One more

 

[TomcatViP]

The probility for that being a mockup just increased (see the inlet lip void of any structural reinforcement).

 

[haavarla]

Sooo.. it would "seem" this baby has the same MLG, and Verticals(all moving), atleast the base seen is similar the Su-57. And most likely ending up with similar engine. So its a cross hybrid with shared parts?

 

[FighterJock]

The probility for that being a mockup just increased (see the inlet lip void of any structural reinforcement).

Damn it, I was wanting to see an actual prototype being revealed. Oh well I suppose you can't have everything.

 

[Roland55]

I might be nitpicking too much, but could that be a mockup for an external fuel tank?
Again, the landing gear, looks extremely realistic (the light on the top left is also an interesting addition). The intake....well..seems like one piece, soo... yeah, mockup

 

[Hood]

I'm so glad they left the tarp unwrapped just enough to settle the intake position, they must have known thousands of nerds like us were going to fret all weekend until we found out!

 

[Trident]

I might be nitpicking too much, but could that be a mockup for an external fuel tank?

With its own jet engine slung underneath? Nah, Kh-59MK2 anti-ship missile

 

[Scar]

Obviously, this is the most interesting air intake solution i ever seen at our Russian airplanes.
My intriguemeter is out of scale...

 

[LMFS]

Comments to this quick&dirty outline of the features below the tarpaulin? The intake is ventral as in Borisov's model, the F-35 like feature is a pointy LERX to me, as in MiG izd. 33.

What appears outboard of the intake is simply bodywork, thicker than the wing and thinner than the fuselage. If you look from the sides you notice that there is a certain thickness along the sides of the fuselage all the way to the tail. The position of the main landing gear doors and some pictures from behind evidence that the struts are anchored below the height of the wing. Of course, some thickness is needed to store the wheels and struts. I notice that strange position of the doors is not coincidence and may serve the purpose of clearing the opening of other bay doors above, like quick bays for instance, which would be restricted on ground if the landing gear doors open the conventional way.

 

[Geo]

I might be nitpicking too much, but could that be a mockup for an external fuel tank?

With its own jet engine slung underneath? Nah, Kh-59MK2 anti-ship missile

No "MK2". Only MK.

 

[Roland55]

I might be nitpicking too much, but could that be a mockup for an external fuel tank?

With its own jet engine slung underneath? Nah, Kh-59MK2 anti-ship missile

Well, i thought it was just a fan haha, now i kinda see it better!

 

[GARGEAN]

I'm so glad they left the tarp unwrapped just enough to settle the intake position, they must have known thousands of nerds like us were going to fret all weekend until we found out!

Yup. When they want to hide something - they really hide it.

 

[GARGEAN]

I might be nitpicking too much, but could that be a mockup for an external fuel tank?

With its own jet engine slung underneath? Nah, Kh-59MK2 anti-ship missile

Kh-59MK2 (also known as Kh-69) is more of a tactical CM than dedicated AShM tho.

PS: doesn't look like it tho. Not square enough.

 

[BLACK_MAMBA]

The probility for that being a mockup just increased (see the inlet lip void of any structural reinforcement).

No structural panels/seams visible on X-32 intake either...

 

[TomcatViP]

?!?
Don't you see that this inlet is an enclosed volume and not a folded sheet of metal?

The bracings are internal.