Foreign customers display their interest in Russia’s cutting-edge Checkmate single-engine fighter jet, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Monday.

"Yes, customers display interest in the fighter. I can say that over these two years we have made certain adjustments to the project to maximally adapt it to the needs of customers interested in the single-engine aircraft," the deputy PM told reporters.

In particular, Russian engineers have made adjustments to the aircraft’s layout, control and armament systems, he specified.

"This relates to the design, control and aircraft armament systems. That is why, a lot of work has been carried out in this regard using the initial Checkmate version presented here [in the United Arab Emirates] as the basis," Manturov explained.

The Checkmate light tactical fighter developed by the Sukhoi Aircraft Company (part of the United Aircraft Corporation) was unveiled at the MAKS 2021 international airshow that ran in the suburban town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow. The new combat plane's foreign presentation took place at the Dubai Airshow 2021 in the United Arab Emirates. The new combat plane created by Russia’s state tech giant Rostec at its own initiative is a derivative of the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter.

Commenting on the possibility of foreign partners joining the project, the deputy prime minister said that "such ideas and proposals" were on the agenda but in the near term there were plans to produce the Checkmate fighter in Russia.

"But, as I have said, this process will take into account the upgrades that were prompted to maximally adapt the aircraft to the customers’ needs," the deputy prime minister said.