Russia's New Fighter And Other Scenes From The MAKS Air Show

The MAKS 2021 sensation was the Sukhoi LTS light single-engine fighter codenamed Checkmate. This is the airplane Russian industry promises to be better and cheaper than the F-35. In the photo, the fighter has open weapons bays. Most interestingly, the side bay is very large and will not only accommodates close-air combat missiles, but also the beyond-visual range R-77M AAMs.

Checkmate's first victim is the Mikoyan Design Bureau, which has always considered itself the leader in Russia in the light fighter class. Now a Sukhoi fighter has pushed Russian Aircraft Corp. MiG out of this niche; MiG was left with the upgrades and conversions of the MiG-31 interceptor and the illusory project of a future MiG-41. In this photo, a MiG-35 lands in front of the pavilion of the new Sukhoi Checkmate.

The appearance of the Checkmate project is a strong blow to the MiG. In what may be seen as a cry of despair, MiG exhibits three models of their heavy fighter, light fighter and heavy unmanned combat aircraft designs, counterparts of the winning Sukhoi Su-57, LTS Checkmate and S-70 Okhotnik, at MAKS 2021.

Sergey Bogdan, Sukhoi test pilot, shows the landing of the Su-57 shortened to approx. 1,000 ft. thanks to the release of the braking parachute while still in the air.

Two Su-30SM fighters from the Russian Navy's Black Sea fleet presented elements of air combat. Chief of Naval Aviation and Air Defense of the Black Sea Fleet Sergey Saushkin and Irkut test pilot Sergei Ustyukhin sat at the controls, and father and son, Vyacheslav and Yevgeny Averyanov, both Irkut test pilots, were in the rear seats.

A common flight of the Irkut MC-21-310 airliner powered with a Russian PD-14 and the MC-21-300 with American PW1431G-JM engines. The Russian-engined version began flight tests on Dec. 15, 2020 and debuted at MAKS 2021. One major challenge facing the MC-21 project is the need to replace the composite materials of the airplane wing. The MC-21 wing uses fibers, adhesives and pre-pregs from Hexcel Corp. from the U.S. and Toray Industries from Japan, which have now become unavailable due to Western sanctions. The Russians are launching production of their own similar materials, and the first aircraft with a “Russian” wing is to take off before the end of this year.

The Il-114-300 regional turboprop that made the maiden flight on Dec. 16, 2020 and debuted at MAKS in public is actually a repaired and upgraded Il-114 produced in 1994. The first new-production aircraft from the MiG plant in Lukhovitsy near Moscow is promised at the end of 2021. The resumption of production of the 30-year-old aircraft instead of launching a new-generation project proves that the Russian aviation industry has significant problems in this class of aircraft.

A completely new aircraft that debuted at MAKS 2021 was the Baikal LMS-901 light multirole aircraft by Ural Works of Civil Aviation (UWCA) from Yekaterinburg, seen as the successor to the legendary An-2. The first prototype was assembled at Moscow Aviation Institute workshops at the end of June, and its first flight is promised at the end of this year. The LMS-901 is to take nine passengers or a maximum of 14, and fly at cruising speed of 186 mph (300km/h); the maximum range is 1,864 mi. The target price in the basic VFR configuration is set at 120 million rubles ($1.65 million). Director General of UWCA Vadim Badekha declares that by 2030, “the state will buy at least 300" Baikal planes. This is more a government order than a commercial project. In the photo, the LMS-901 is being prepared to be presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin before the opening of the MAKS 2021.

The modernized Ka-52M combat helicopter only appeared in air displays and was not available up close; it was based at the Tomilino airfield belonging to Russian Helicopters, 15 mi. (25km) from Zhukovsky. So far, only two Ka-52M test helicopters exist; the first one made the maiden flight on Aug. 10, 2020. The helicopter has a modernized GOES-451M optoelectronic sighting turret (visible under the nose) and is armed with a new LMUR missile with a range of 9 mi. (15 km). Unfortunately, the missile itself is not in the photo, but there is a datalink antenna to guide the missile – this is the radio transparent bulb at the end of the left wing. The huge rectangular chest next to it is test equipment.

This debuting Mi-172A3 medium helicopter, belonging to the Mi-8 family, is scheduled to lift off the ground for the first time in early 2022. Never before has the Mi-8, although being repeatedly modernized during 60 years since the first flight in 1961, changed so much. The Mi-171A3 version is a hybrid of the lift system [engines, gearbox, transmissions and rotors] of the most advanced current-production Mi-171A2, and the fuselage and landing gear of Mi-38 helicopter. The main novelty in the Mi-38 configuration (and now also the Mi-171A3) is that the fuel tanks are built into the floor of the hold; all existing Mi-8s carry fuel in fixed barrels at the fuselage sides. This reduces aerodynamic drag and increases the speed and range of the helicopter. The Mi-171A3 can also be used for rescue operations, for which a winch and a basket were attached to the door on the starboard side. The first customer, for whom the Mi-171A3 was actually developed, was Gazprom. At MAKS 2021, Gazprom ordered its first batch of 16 helicopters to serve offshore oil rigs in the Arctic and promised further purchases.

The experimental Yak-40LL aircraft with a hybrid powerplant flew at MAKS 2021 for the first time on July 24. The Yak-40LL has a 500kW electric motor in the nose, which supplements the aircraft's two standard turbofan engines. The unique feature of the electric motor developed by SuperOx Company is the use of high-temperature superconducting technologies and cryogenic cooling.

Russian Aerospace Forces had their own exposition at MAKS 2021, including this Tu-95MS strategic bomber. At the rear, the noses of two flying test beds used by the Flight Test Center in Zhukovsky, the Il-76LL for testing various engines and the Tu-154M for testing equipment, protrude. Notice this little spot at the top right. This is a fixed observation post with an Oko (eye) tethered aerostat operated by the Federal National Guard Service or Rosgvardia. Throughout the exhibition, it was hanging over the territory and had its attention tuned to everything.

In front of the Tactical Missiles Corp. pavilion there is a 500-kg (1,102-lb.) KAB-500M guided bomb that can fly up to 25 mi In the rear lies the Grom winged missile that can glide for 75 mi. The novelty is the one in the middle, weighing 2,050 lb and reaching 177 mi., the Raduga Kh-59MKM missile. It differs from the well-known predecessor Kh-59MK only in the type of guidance and the type of the warhead; externally, they look exactly the same. The Kh-59MK is an antiship missile with an active radar seeker. The Kh-59MKM, shown for the first time at MAKS 2021, is used against deep reinforcements, command posts and other targets with known coordinates. The missile is guided by inertial navigation with correction from a satellite navigation receiver. The original tandem penetrating warhead has a package of four pre-charges with a total weight of 88 lb., which crush the first strengthening layer, and the main penetrating charge weighing 705 lb.

A peek at the private bedroom in a Sukhoi Business Jet (SBJ), made from the regional SSJ100 Superjet passenger aircraft. Next to it there is a washroom with a shower cubicle. The SBJ has the widest cabin in its class at 127.4 in. (3.24 m), and its 4,474-mi. range is enough to fly from Moscow to anywhere in Russia, and west to Portugal.