On Sep. 27, 2019, in fact, the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) Unmanned Combat Aircraft System (UCAS) and the Sukhoi Su-57 Frazor flew demonstratively together from Akhtubinsk air base.
The interesting video in this post shows the two most-modern aircraft systems of Russia performing first joint test flight.
On Sep. 27, 2019, in fact, the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) Unmanned Combat Aircraft System (UCAS) and the Sukhoi Su-57 Frazor flew demonstratively together from Akhtubinsk air base.
“The Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle has performed its first joint flight with a fifth-generation Su-57 plane,” Russian Defense Ministry said.
According to TASS, both aircraft took the air as part of the ongoing flight test program for both airframes.
During the flight, the interaction between the Okhotnik and the leading aircraft was tested for expanding the Frazor’snradar field.
The flight was conducted in automated mode. “As part of the ongoing test program, thenOkhotnik drone performed a flight in the automated mode in its full configuration, entering the airborne alert area,” the ministry said. During the flight, the drone and the Su-57 fighter practiced interaction “to broaden the fighter’s radar coverage and to provide target acquisition for employing air-launched weapons,” the ministry added.
Noteworthy the footage features the S-70nopening its weapons bay too.
The joint flight lasted more than 30 minutes.
The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told TASS at the MAKS-2019 international aerospace show in August that delivery of the Okhotnik stealth heavy attack drone to the Russian Military begin in 2025.
As the vice premier’s office pointed out, the Okhotnik will serve as a “universal baseline platform for carrying advanced air-launched weapons, onboard reconnaissance systems, and other equipment, which will allow constantly expanding the drone’s functional capabilities during the serial production.”
A source in the defense industry told TASSnthat the S-70 Okhotnik would perform several more test flights this year.
“The program of the Okhotnik’s flight tests stipulates several more flights with the sequential complication ofnflight assignments,” the source pointed out.
The drone will perform one of its flights in a partially autonomous mode: an operator on the ground will give onlynseveral commands, the source said. “A possibility is also envisaged for the drone’s completely autonomous flight without the operator’s participation when it takes off, performs its program and lands only under the control of its own guidance system.”
Photo by Russian Defense Ministry