SU-57 Fighter New Companion
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An unmanned stealth UAV has flown for the first time along a Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighter, in order to “broaden the [Su-57] fighter’s radar coverage and to provide target acquisition for employing air-launched weapons.”
Russia’s new S-70 “Okhotnik-B” (Hunter) heavy stealth UAV accompanied the Su-57, highlighting a combat support role intended to expand the fighter’s capabilities while shoring up its shortcomings. The drone is being designed with a substantial stealth component, featuring composite surfaces coated with radar-absorbent materials.
The flight of the Sukhoi UAV, which lasted more than 30 minutes was conducted in autonomous mode from an MoD test airfield, according to a Russian Ministry of Defense source. During the flight, the UAV interacted with the Su-57 to test extending the fighter’s radar and target designation range for long-range air-launched weapons outside enemy air defense coverage, janes.com reported.
The UAV boasts a jet fighter-grade AL-31F or AL-41F engine that supports a maximum speed of up to 1,000 km/h.
These stealth and speed features are necessary preconditions for Okhotnik to be able to travel safely alongside the Su-57.
What makes the S-70 UAV such a potent “loyal wingman” drone is the way that its versatile avionics suite can complement the Su-57’s powerful raw performance capabilities.
The drone feeds the Su-57 pilot information in real-time to generate a dynamic picture of the battlefield, functioning as an automated data processing center in the spirit of the F-35’s sensor fusion doctrine.
In particular, the Su-57 can receive targeting information from Okhotnik to cue its very long-range R-37 missiles while remaining far outside hostile airspace. Okhotnik’s armament suite is currently unknown, according to nationalinterest.org, but the UAV possesses two internal weapon bays that Russian defense commentators speculate can be used to carry out low-risk preemptive strikes against missile defense systems.
The two aircraft will be able to communicate by satellite link, thus eliminating range and line-of-sight limitations.
