Belarus And Russia Strengthen Defense Ties with Joint Su-75 Stealth Fighter Production Plan
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Russia has confirmed that it is working on joint production of the Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter with Belarus, with the prototype now in final assembly and moving into bench testing ahead of an expected first flight in early 2026. The move deepens Russia Belarus’ defense integration and aims to position their Union State as a lower-cost alternative supplier of new-generation combat aircraft to markets that cannot or will not buy Western fighters.
On November 20, 2025, Russia confirmed on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2025 that it is working on joint production of the Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter with Belarus, according to Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev, as reported by RIA Novosti. The announcement comes as the program approaches a crucial phase of ground and bench testing ahead of its first flight, giving the project renewed credibility after several years of delays. The latest reporting by Army Recognition mentioned that the prototype is now on the final assembly line and moving toward bench-testing milestones, a key step before full-scale flight trials. For both Minsk and Moscow, the stakes go far beyond the success of a single aircraft: the Su-75 is intended to reposition the Russia–Belarus Union State’s defense-industrial complex in the highly competitive market for new-generation combat aircraft, directly on NATO’s doorstep.
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The Su‑75 Checkmate prototype has entered final assembly and bench testing as Russia confirms joint production with Belarus at the Dubai Airshow (Picture Source: Russian Social Media)
The Su-75 Checkmate is conceived as a light, fifth-generation tactical fighter, single-engined and designed with low observable characteristics to reduce its radar signature. Developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau within Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the aircraft is intended from the outset as an export-focused platform rather than a direct counterpart to the heavier twin-engine Su-57. The Su-75 is planned to combine a lower acquisition and operating cost with the ability to carry more than 7,000 kg of weapons, housed in internal bays and on external hardpoints. Projected performance figures include a top speed of around Mach 1.8, a combat radius close to 3,000 km, and a service ceiling of about 16,500 meters, allowing it to perform air superiority, air defense, ground attack, and long-range maritime strike missions. The design also emphasizes a modular architecture, enabling different avionics suites, electronic warfare systems, and weapons configurations to be integrated according to customer requirements, a key selling point for markets in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and potentially Latin America.
From an industrial development standpoint, the Checkmate program formally began in 2021, when Sukhoi unveiled a static demonstrator at the MAKS Air Show, followed by its international debut later that year at the Dubai Airshow. Early Russian projections anticipated a maiden flight as early as 2023, but this timeline progressively shifted to 2024 and then 2025 due to sanctions, fiscal constraints, and competing wartime production demands. In their most recent statements at the Dubai Airshow in November 2025, Russian officials confirmed that the prototype has entered final assembly and is undergoing bench and rig testing ahead of ground trials, with the first flight now expected in early 2026. Within this framework, the inclusion of Belarus as an industrial partner is positioned as a pragmatic measure to share development costs, mitigate production risks, safeguard the supply chain under sanctions, and expand the program’s industrial footprint beyond Russian territory.
Moscow seeks to market the Su‑75 as a lower‑cost alternative to the U.S. F‑35 and Chinese efforts such as the FC‑31, while offering greater industrial adaptability than the Su‑57. Its single‑engine design promises reduced acquisition and operating costs and a simplified logistics burden, an attractive proposition for air forces unable or unwilling to sustain the expenses of large twin‑engine platforms. The Checkmate’s modular architecture, permitting integration of avionics and electronic‑warfare suites supplied by partners such as Belarus, is intended to enable configurable standards aligned to diverse budgets and doctrines, reminiscent of how the Soviet MiG‑21 was produced and licensed across allied states. This strategy could give the Su‑75 a competitive edge in markets sympathetic to Russia, where price, technology transfer, and local industrial participation often weigh as heavily as platform performance. Nevertheless, unlike the F‑35, which benefits from a multinational industrial base and substantial program funding, the Checkmate must still convert claims into firm export orders and prove its ability to transition from prototype to serial production amid significant economic and technical challenges.
If realized, the joint production of the Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter in Belarus would carry significant strategic consequences for Minsk, Moscow, and the surrounding region. For Belarus, participation in this next-generation stealth fighter program would mark a substantial qualitative advancement for its aerospace industry, enabling the development of expertise in critical domains such as avionics, optics, and electronic warfare systems. Moreover, it would further integrate Belarus into the Russia-Belarus Union State framework by deepening interdependence through Russian supply chains and long-term defense cooperation. For Russia, delegating part of the Su-75 production to Belarus would strengthen Minsk’s strategic alignment, partially circumvent sanctions by leveraging Belarusian industrial capacities, and signal Moscow’s continued commitment to deploying and exporting a fifth-generation fighter despite ongoing wartime pressures and diplomatic isolation. On a regional scale, the establishment of a stealth fighter production facility mere hundreds of kilometers from Poland, the Baltic States, and Ukraine introduces a new security dimension, intensifying NATO concerns even as the program remains in a pre-operational phase, with critical test campaigns anticipated from 2026 onward.
By linking the industrial future of the Su-75 to Belarus just as the fighter approaches ground and bench testing ahead of its first flight, Moscow is delivering a political and strategic message as much as an industrial one. If the program meets its announced milestones for 2026 and its promises of modularity and joint production are fulfilled, a Su-75 assembly capability in Belarus would firmly embed the Union State at the heart of Russian aerospace value chains and give Moscow an additional tool of influence in emerging markets, while placing a symbol of fifth-generation airpower on the eastern edge of Europe. Conversely, further delays or difficulties in turning this announcement into concrete contracts and hardware would reinforce the perception that the Checkmate remains, for the moment, more a vehicle of strategic communication than a fully realized weapons system.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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Russia has confirmed that it is working on joint production of the Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter with Belarus, with the prototype now in final assembly and moving into bench testing ahead of an expected first flight in early 2026. The move deepens Russia Belarus’ defense integration and aims to position their Union State as a lower-cost alternative supplier of new-generation combat aircraft to markets that cannot or will not buy Western fighters.
On November 20, 2025, Russia confirmed on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2025 that it is working on joint production of the Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter with Belarus, according to Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev, as reported by RIA Novosti. The announcement comes as the program approaches a crucial phase of ground and bench testing ahead of its first flight, giving the project renewed credibility after several years of delays. The latest reporting by Army Recognition mentioned that the prototype is now on the final assembly line and moving toward bench-testing milestones, a key step before full-scale flight trials. For both Minsk and Moscow, the stakes go far beyond the success of a single aircraft: the Su-75 is intended to reposition the Russia–Belarus Union State’s defense-industrial complex in the highly competitive market for new-generation combat aircraft, directly on NATO’s doorstep.
The Su‑75 Checkmate prototype has entered final assembly and bench testing as Russia confirms joint production with Belarus at the Dubai Airshow (Picture Source: Russian Social Media)
The Su-75 Checkmate is conceived as a light, fifth-generation tactical fighter, single-engined and designed with low observable characteristics to reduce its radar signature. Developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau within Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the aircraft is intended from the outset as an export-focused platform rather than a direct counterpart to the heavier twin-engine Su-57. The Su-75 is planned to combine a lower acquisition and operating cost with the ability to carry more than 7,000 kg of weapons, housed in internal bays and on external hardpoints. Projected performance figures include a top speed of around Mach 1.8, a combat radius close to 3,000 km, and a service ceiling of about 16,500 meters, allowing it to perform air superiority, air defense, ground attack, and long-range maritime strike missions. The design also emphasizes a modular architecture, enabling different avionics suites, electronic warfare systems, and weapons configurations to be integrated according to customer requirements, a key selling point for markets in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and potentially Latin America.
From an industrial development standpoint, the Checkmate program formally began in 2021, when Sukhoi unveiled a static demonstrator at the MAKS Air Show, followed by its international debut later that year at the Dubai Airshow. Early Russian projections anticipated a maiden flight as early as 2023, but this timeline progressively shifted to 2024 and then 2025 due to sanctions, fiscal constraints, and competing wartime production demands. In their most recent statements at the Dubai Airshow in November 2025, Russian officials confirmed that the prototype has entered final assembly and is undergoing bench and rig testing ahead of ground trials, with the first flight now expected in early 2026. Within this framework, the inclusion of Belarus as an industrial partner is positioned as a pragmatic measure to share development costs, mitigate production risks, safeguard the supply chain under sanctions, and expand the program’s industrial footprint beyond Russian territory.
Moscow seeks to market the Su‑75 as a lower‑cost alternative to the U.S. F‑35 and Chinese efforts such as the FC‑31, while offering greater industrial adaptability than the Su‑57. Its single‑engine design promises reduced acquisition and operating costs and a simplified logistics burden, an attractive proposition for air forces unable or unwilling to sustain the expenses of large twin‑engine platforms. The Checkmate’s modular architecture, permitting integration of avionics and electronic‑warfare suites supplied by partners such as Belarus, is intended to enable configurable standards aligned to diverse budgets and doctrines, reminiscent of how the Soviet MiG‑21 was produced and licensed across allied states. This strategy could give the Su‑75 a competitive edge in markets sympathetic to Russia, where price, technology transfer, and local industrial participation often weigh as heavily as platform performance. Nevertheless, unlike the F‑35, which benefits from a multinational industrial base and substantial program funding, the Checkmate must still convert claims into firm export orders and prove its ability to transition from prototype to serial production amid significant economic and technical challenges.
If realized, the joint production of the Su-75 Checkmate stealth fighter in Belarus would carry significant strategic consequences for Minsk, Moscow, and the surrounding region. For Belarus, participation in this next-generation stealth fighter program would mark a substantial qualitative advancement for its aerospace industry, enabling the development of expertise in critical domains such as avionics, optics, and electronic warfare systems. Moreover, it would further integrate Belarus into the Russia-Belarus Union State framework by deepening interdependence through Russian supply chains and long-term defense cooperation. For Russia, delegating part of the Su-75 production to Belarus would strengthen Minsk’s strategic alignment, partially circumvent sanctions by leveraging Belarusian industrial capacities, and signal Moscow’s continued commitment to deploying and exporting a fifth-generation fighter despite ongoing wartime pressures and diplomatic isolation. On a regional scale, the establishment of a stealth fighter production facility mere hundreds of kilometers from Poland, the Baltic States, and Ukraine introduces a new security dimension, intensifying NATO concerns even as the program remains in a pre-operational phase, with critical test campaigns anticipated from 2026 onward.
By linking the industrial future of the Su-75 to Belarus just as the fighter approaches ground and bench testing ahead of its first flight, Moscow is delivering a political and strategic message as much as an industrial one. If the program meets its announced milestones for 2026 and its promises of modularity and joint production are fulfilled, a Su-75 assembly capability in Belarus would firmly embed the Union State at the heart of Russian aerospace value chains and give Moscow an additional tool of influence in emerging markets, while placing a symbol of fifth-generation airpower on the eastern edge of Europe. Conversely, further delays or difficulties in turning this announcement into concrete contracts and hardware would reinforce the perception that the Checkmate remains, for the moment, more a vehicle of strategic communication than a fully realized weapons system.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
