ロシア、新型ステルス戦闘機公開　米Ｆ３５に対抗

【ジュコフスキーＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシアは２０日、米国のＦ３５戦闘機に対抗して設計された新型ステルス戦闘機を公開した。（写真はロシアの航空ショー「国際航空宇宙サロン＜ＭＡＫＳ＞」で公開された第５世代戦闘機「チェックメイト」の試作機）
　新型戦闘機「チェックメイト」は、ロシアの航空機メーカー、スホイ製で、六つの標的を同時に攻撃できるという。
　首都モスクワ郊外で隔年開催される航空ショー「国際航空宇宙サロン（ＭＡＫＳ）」で公開される前に、ウラジーミル・プーチン大統領に披露され、同氏を「喜ばせた」という。
　国営軍需大手ロステックと、同じく国営の統一航空機製造会社（ＵＡＣ）が共同開発した新型機は、これまで詳細がほとんど明かされていなかった。
　ＵＡＣのユーリー・スリュサリ社長は、「われわれの仕事は、この戦闘機を２０２６年から一斉に顧客に提供することだ」と語った。
　ロステックは、新型機は人工知能（ＡＩ）を含む「革新的なソリューション」を取り入れた第５世代の単発軽戦闘機だと表現している。
　両社は、「強い電気的干渉がある条件下でも、陸海空で最大六つのターゲットを同時に攻撃できる」と説明している。無人機の搭載も可能。さらに、自動操縦の機体も開発中だという。
　スリュサリ氏によると、価格はＦ３５戦闘機の「７分の１」で、２５００万～３０００万ドル（約２７億～３３億円）。向こう１５年間で主に中東、アジア、中南米諸国から３００件近い受注を見込んでいると述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/07/21-15:53）

Russia on Tuesday unveiled its new Sukhoi stealth fighter jet designed to compete with the US F-35 and capable of striking six targets simultaneously.
Dubbed The Checkmate, the plane was first shown to a reportedly pleased President Vladimir Putin before the launch at a biennial airshow outside Moscow.
Reports first surfaced that the jet was being manufactured in May last year.
According to the launch video it was developed in record time.
Few details had previously emerged about the plane that was developed by defence and technology giant Rostec and the state-controlled United Aircraft Corporation.
Our task is for this plane to be offered en masse to customers starting from 2026, general director of the United Aircraft Corporation, Yury Slyusar, said.
Rostec describes the aircraft as a fifth-generation light single-engine fighter jet that incorporates innovative solutions including artificial intelligence.
The jet can attack up to six targets simultaneously on land, air or sea, even under conditions of strong electronic interference, the manufacturers said.
With a price tag of between $25-30 million (21-25 million euros), it will be able to carry drones and launch them during flights.
Slyusar said he expected nearly 300 orders in the next 15 years mainly from the Middle East, Asia and Latin America for a price seven times lower than the F-35.
He said plane is capable of destroying fifth generation foreign aircraft and is designed to withstand the sixth generation systems that may appear in the coming decades.
An auto-pilot version is also being developed.
Slyusar said he believed Putin was pleased when he saw the plane.
Putin praised Russia's aviation industry as he unveiled the biennial MAKS air show earlier Tuesday.
Russian aviation has great potential for development, and our aircraft industry continues to create new competitive aircraft, Putin said.
Putin has made investing in the army and developing new weaponry a priority over his two-decade rule.
Russia has boasted of developing several weapons that circumvent existing defence systems, including the Sarmat intercontinental missiles and Burevestnik cruise missiles.