Russia’s defense industry is set to unveil a “fundamentally new aircraft” later this month.
Russian defense giant Rostec published a Youtube video on Tuesday teasing a new fighter jet that is expected to be unveiled at the MAKS-2021 aviation exhibition. The trailer featured a blurry, long-distance shot of an aircraft, accompanied by B-roll footage of what appears to be —namely, the United Arab Emirates, India, Vietnam, and Argentina—reacting to the announcement. All four of these countries have been in talks with Russia or they are currently in talks with the country over prospective weapons sales, suggesting that the fighter will be marketed as an export product. The thirty-second trailer is saturated with chess references, centered around the black knight piece—that same chess piece is prominently featured on the splash page for the new fighter, which displays a countdown timer for the MAKS-2021 event. The messaging is cryptic but highly consistent: several days ago, the Twitter page of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) posted an edited photo of a giant black knight piece floating over a landscape, along with a caption that said, “Guys, everything is simpler than you think.” This could mean any number of things, though, perhaps the UAC is making a playful reference to the unclassified U.S. UFO report that was released in late June. Read More…
