Russia’s S-70 Hunter Drone – Another Not-So-Wonderful Russian Wunderwaffen

As Kyiv Post reported, video clips emerged on social media on Saturday, Oct. 5 showing a Russian Su-57 (NATO: Felon) twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft shooting down an experimental Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV drone), which it was escorting after it began to malfunction.

According to radio intercepts from the Russian flight control center, the drone did start to malfunction and when the Su-57 pilot was unable to regain radio control and as concern grew that the drone was about to enter Ukrainian-controlled airspace he was ordered to use a short-range air-to-air missile to bring it down.

The drone crashed in Kostyantynivka and, contrary to reports on the day, the drone did crash in an area controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) who recovered the wreckage and took it away for investigation.

Initial assessments suggest that, as so often during the ongoing war with Russia, Moscow’s claims about the advanced technology and capabilities of their latest weapons are found to be “overstated” and it seems the S-70 was one of those.

The Kremlin has touted the S-70 UCAV as the unmanned, stealthy wingman to its fifth generation Su-57 multirole fighter aircraft. Initial examination appears to reveal that it does not actually include stealth materials and the manufacturing tolerances necessary for that and nor does it contain AI-powered communications or guidance systems.

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According to a Ukrainian expert cited by the military issues website Defence Blog  the UCAV was nowhere near as sophisticated or advanced as advertised. He said, “This is no advanced combat drone. It’s more like a glider equipped with basic flight capabilities and radio controls.”

While much of the wreckage was damaged by fire after it crashed into a house on the ground, much material that can provide potentially useful technical intelligence has already been obtained, including one almost intact wing.

The remains of a Russian UMPB D-30SN 250 kilogram (550 pound) aerial glide bomb was found among the wreckage likely to be one of the S-70’s supposed 2.8-ton payload of guided and unguided missiles and bombs tit is said to carry.

The fact that the S-70 which, with the Su-57 were based at the Akhtubinsk Air Base located about 600 kilometers (375 miles) from the front line, was carrying at least one live bomb suggests this was more than just an operational test flight. The mission was likely to test its capabilities in a “live firing” combat situation - if so, it failed.