The US attempted to construct UCAV with similar performance qualities but abandoned the project after its engineers were unable to overcome technical constraints. According to Yuri Knutov, head of the Museum of Air Defense Forces and military historian, Izvestia.
The AL-31 turbojet engine powers the S-70 Okhotnik, which is projected to fly at 1,000 kilometres per hour and have a range of 6,000 kilometres.
It has electro-optical targeting, radio, and “other forms” of reconnaissance equipment, and its interior bays can carry 2.8 tonnes of armaments.
“It has many characteristics of a sixth-generation drone. It can reach high altitudes and, in the future, outer space, in addition to having limited visibility and supersonic speed. It is, however, dependent on the engines that must yet be developed,” the expert noted Knutov.
Knutov also clearly alluded to the Su-57, Okhotnik, and their faithful wingmen/manned-unmanned teaming’s intended mission profiles.
“The Su-57 can operate a swarm of Okhotnik drones, and this combination opens up significant prospects for completing strategic combat tasks. The ‘Hunter’ is constructed in the same manner as the Su-57. In Ukraine, Su-57 aircraft completed combat missions and returned unobserved,” Knutov explained.
This implies that the Su-57 and the Okhotnik team would either destroy large strategic targets such as NATO command centres and civilian-military targets, or they would pave the way for large bombers such as the Tupolev Tu-160, Tu-22, or MiG-31, which can carry the Kh-101 cruise missile or the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, to release their payload.
Vladimir Artyakov, First Deputy Director General of the Rostec State Corporation, stated that none of the NATO countries had a UCAV system that can compete with the Okhotnik.
The drone has made quick progress, with a variant with a flatter nozzle demonstrated in December 2021 and an indication that serial manufacturing will begin in 2023. President Vladimir Putin received the information from Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov. Chemezov also stated that a new ground control station for the drone was being created, implying that the drone may be available to Russian Air Force (or Voenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii, VVS) troops by 2024.
On August 3, 2019, the experimental prototype took its first flight, which lasted more than 20 minutes. A few months later, a 30-minute fly alongside the Su-57 fighter was reported. Okhotnik performed simulated tests with infrared (IR) and radar-seeker air-to-air missiles to test the UCAV’s fire-control systems at the 185th Combat Application and Training Center in Ashuluk in December 2020, according to RIA Novosti.
According to a January 2021 source, it underwent its first live-fire test by launching unguided bombs on a target at the Ashuluk training area near the Caspian Sea.
The drone is based on MiG’s older Mikoyan Skat and incorporates certain technology from the fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 combat plane. It is expected to operate in the future under the command of Su-57 pilots, similar to the USAF Skyborg programme. The Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B prototype will be unveiled in 2020.
At Truoosh, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to on our site, Truoosh may earn commission.
