The United Aircraft Corporation of Rostec State Corporation has demonstrated the S-70 Okhotnik heavy strike drone equipped with a flat jet nozzle for the first time. The aviation complex has a reduced radar visibility and will receive a new ground control station.
The United Aircraft Corporation of Rostec State Corporation has demonstrated the S-70 Okhotnik heavy strike drone equipped with a flat jet nozzle for the first time. The aviation complex has a reduced radar visibility and will receive a new ground control station.
The UAV was created by Sukhoi as part of development work under the Okhotnik program. The new model was unveiled at the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association Plant named after V.P. Chkalov.
Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexey Krivoruchko attended the event. He noted that the Okhotnik is a highly intelligent system capable of solving a wide range of tasks individually, in a group, and together with manned aircraft.
“The UAV incorporates the advanced achievements of enterprises and organizations of the domestic military-industrial complex, which allowed for the functionality that is on par with, and in some respects superior to, the few foreign counterparts,” said Alexey Krivoruchko.
The technologies perfected on the prototypes will be used to create other advanced aviation systems, both manned and unmanned.
“The new Okhotnik has a flat thrust nozzle as its main feature, which reduces its radar signature. In addition, a new ground control station is being created for the drone, designed to meet the army’s requirements. These solutions will significantly increase the capabilities of the aircraft,” commented Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec State Corporation.
Work on the Okhotnik program has been underway at Sukhoi Design Bureau since 2011. The first flight within the framework of the program was performed in August 2019 by an experimental prototype with a traditional jet nozzle. The debut flight lasted for 20 minutes. In the same year the prototype performed its first joint flight with the fifth-generation fighter jet Su-57.
“The S-70 is a promising aircraft platform with great potential to develop a new advanced family of unmanned systems based on it. The work under the Okhotnik program is one of the key areas for the Sukhoi Company and the UAC. The development of the unmanned aerial vehicle program meets all the challenges of our time and the needs of our customers. We are doing our best to complete tests and to launch serial production as soon as possible,” commented Yury Slyusar, CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation.
The delegation of the Ministry of Defense also inspected the state of production of the drone’s next prototype, toured the Su-34 assembly facility and held a number of meetings on the key aspects of ongoing programs.
