On December 14, the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association (NAPO) in southwestern Siberia rolled out the second prototype of a future series of the S-70 Okhotnik (= fighter) flying wing combat drone (UCAV) from the Sukhoi Design Bureau, part of the state-owned aircraft construction conglomerate UAC.
“The presentation of the UCAV marks the completion of the assembly of the system as a whole, equipping it with all the necessary on-board equipment in accordance with the requirements for the device and the transition to complex ground tests and preparation for the first flight,” said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko. In Moscow, his boss, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, said that with first flights and tests completed, an order from the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) could be expected next year. https://militaeraktuell.at/schachmatt-suchoi-zeigt-neuen-lts-fighter/ Overall, this latest S-70 derivative appears to represent a leap forward in Russia’s ability to execute elusive technologies even in production-ready manufacturing capabilities, even if it still lags behind some of its competitors – such as Taranis (UK) or Neuron (Dassault + Saab). As has generally been the impression over the past decade that Russian industry has lagged behind in this high-tech sector – or that the Russian military has for some time attached little importance to it and thus hardly any such developments have been initiated. However, following the presentation of the MQ-1 Predator-like Orion-E device by Kronshtadt in Dubai recently, the presentation of the 20-tonne device with a 20-metre wingspan was another ambitious step towards closing this gap.
Known since 2019
The very first prototype flew for the first time on August 3, 2019, followed by a formation flight with a Sukhoi Su-57 – a similar manned-unmanned-teaming approach is also being pursued by Airbus Helicopters and Schiebel – In the Russian version of the “loyal wingman” concept, the S-70 was equipped with air-to-air missiles (without propulsion and warhead but with functional electronics) to test a deployment procedure that envisages the S-70 finding distant enemy air targets and (also) engaging them after the Su-57 pilot has decided and given the go-ahead. At the beginning of 2021, weapons integration tests were then carried out at a test site near Astrakhan, during which Okhotnik carried unguided bombs in the two internal weapon bays, each holding 1,000 kilograms, and dropped them on ground targets.
However, the first design still had some external “conspicuous features” that made it difficult to detect (on enemy radar) from all directions of illumination (all-aspect low observability). This was especially true for the uncovered exhaust nozzle of the turbofan engine, which was obviously derived from Sukhoi jets. The heat signature of this first design would “glow” like the GUM department store. As for the engine used, it was apparently AL-41F, whether it is the same for the second one behind the much more stealth-like flattened exhaust outlet remains unknown for now. While the surface of the first design was heavily impaired in terms of radar reflection by extensive and coarse dielectric antenna surfaces, air intake scoops and various measuring probes and instrument transmitters, these have now largely disappeared from the outer shell. Apart from a few sunken rows of rivets, the surface is relatively flawless all round. A pair of air data probes still remained, but these would probably also be omitted in a future series version. Similar to the difference seen on the PAK-FA between the T-50 prototypes and the refined production-representative Su-57.
The aircraft now shown features distinctive blue and gray colored panels along the leading edges of the wing and nose. The leading edge in particular is crucial for the management of low detectability. It is expected that these areas will be treated and coated with radar absorbing material (RAM) and radar wave attenuation structures will be used under the outer hull, which will remain transparent for certain bandwidths. The drone must then also be completely painted and could eventually adopt the “pixelated” pattern shown on a model at MAKS this year. The flat exhaust slot that has now been realized could also be seen on this model for the first time.
Perhaps a little too ambitious?
Okhotnik is clearly still a long way from frontline operations and the ambitious timelines of series production at NAPO from 2024 (where Su-34s are currently being built) set during the roll-out appear – from today’s perspective – perhaps impossible to meet. There are still significant hurdles to overcome, including ensuring that the UCAV fulfills its low observable ambitions and functions as an effective composite weapon system, enabled by command-and-control software and data link architecture. However, Russia is rapidly gaining useful operational experience since engaging in Syria since 2015 – albeit with more modest drone designs.
The development of finer stealth technologies and series-production industrial capabilities for the – now revised – S-70 is certainly of considerable benefit to the Russian aerospace industry in general, since – as Sukhoi/UAC boss Yuri Sljusar assured the author in Dubai – it is still working on designs for newer and latest-generation fighter aircraft. And, of course, the Su-57E export version, which Sljusar is interested in exporting. Certainly, part of the potential for these developments also lies in the efforts surrounding the Okhotnik and other unmanned systems based on the same or similar external design. For example, the eagerly awaited new PAK-DA strategic bomber to replace the Tu-22 and Tu-95, which is also expected to be a flying wing aircraft – like the new US B21 bomber. That is, if it ever actually materializes.
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