Seen during early trials, the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik UCAV is now seemingly engaged in real-world combat operations over Ukraine. (Russian MoD)
Russia is flying its Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) on real-world missions over Ukraine, footage and imagery posted online appear to show.
Footage showing what is purported to be an S-70 being shot down by a Russian manned combat aircraft (reported to be a Sukhoi Su-57 Felon; this this could not be positively ascertained from the video) at high altitude was posted to social media on 5 October.
Russian news channels quoted unnamed officials from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Russian Federation as saying that the S-70 had malfunctioned during a test and evaluation flight, prompting the manned combat aircraft accompanying it to shoot it down for safety reasons (there had been no official comment on the incident from the Russian MoD at the time of publication).
However, subsequent imagery of the crash site that was under the control of Ukrainian ground forces showed the UCAV to be carrying munitions, indicating that it was being used for combat operations. What looks to be the nose section of a single partially destroyed glide bomb was photographed by Getty Images.
As previously noted by the Russian MoD, the S-70 serves as a ‘sensor-amplifier' for the Su-57, flying out ahead of the manned aircraft and using its onboard sensors to feed information back to the pilot. If confirmed, this would be the first known operational sortie for the S-70 and also the first known loss for the type.
While Russian (and formerly Soviet) combat aircraft are afforded NATO reporting names, the S-70 has not. A NATO spokesperson responded to a Janes
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
