One Russian military historian said the Okhotnik could go into space, although suitable engines have yet to be invented.
Yuri Knutov, Russian military historian and director of the Museum of the Air Defense Forces, in a comment to Izvestia, said that the Russian S-70 Okhotnik drone can operate as a “slave” Su-57 fighter jet, equipped with an AI system and capable of reaching high altitudes and in the future – It has the ability to reach “outer space”. It is only necessary to develop suitable engines for this … Journalists from eurasiantimes.com decided to find out if Knutov was right when he spoke of a “space” drone.
What is known about the drone “Hunter”
To date, it is known that the Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle is equipped with the AL-31 turbojet engine, which should provide a speed of 1,000 km / h and a flight range of 6,000 km. Also, the creators of the UAV placed equipment on the ship that makes it possible to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance. At the same time, the weight of the payload, which should be understood as ammunition, is 2.8 tons.
At the same time, Knutov claims that Okhotnik can reach space if new engines that have not yet been created are installed on it. Knutov also said that the UAV could operate together with the Su-57 fighter jet and even as part of a swarm. According to him, “The Su-57 can control a swarm of Okhotnik drones, and this combination opens up great opportunities for solving strategic combat missions. Okhotnik is made in the same way as the Su-57. And in Ukraine, the Su -57 aircraft, with missions He decided to fight and came back undetected.”
Journalists of eurasiantimes.com concluded from Knutov’s statements that he implied the possibility of destroying major strategic targets such as NATO command centers with the help of Su-57s supported by a swarm of Hunters. Or consider Knutov’s tips as follows: The Su-57 and S-70 (“Hunter”) will be able to pave the way for large bombers such as the Tu-160, Tu-22 or MiG-31, which can carry Kh. -101 or hypersonic missiles “Dagger”.
According to Knutov, the USA once tried to develop UAVs with similar performance characteristics, but abandoned the project when its engineers could not cope with the task assigned to them.
A flatter version of the drone was introduced in December 2021, after which it was announced that it would go into full production. This was announced to President Vladimir Putin by Sergey Chemezov, Director General of Rostec. He also noted that a new ground control point has been developed for the UAV. Later, Andrey Elchaninov, vice-president of the college of the Military-Industrial Commission of Russia, later stated in a separate interview that aircraft and drones can interact “not just with each other”. A July 27 TASS publication stated that the Russian Federation is currently developing a two-seat Su-57 to control a swarm of Okhotnik fighter jets “to destroy air and ground targets.”
But since then, the deadlines have been delayed twice: first to 2022, then to 2023.
As an American expert evaluates the UAV “Hunter”
The expert on drones and Russian military technology is skeptical about the “space” capabilities of the S-70 Okhotnik. According to him, it was originally developed as an air defense “storm”.
Therefore, it is likely that the Su-57 and S-70 groups will be used to suppress air defense. The Americans have the same concept – drones led by the F-35 should attack air defense systems.
“People who are not directly involved in the project talk about the space flights of the S-70 and therefore should be taken with suspicion. I think one of the proposed functions of the Okhotnik UAV is to suppress air defense. The American expert, in an interview with the EurAsian Times, was originally designed.” .
As for the possibilities of space flights, or rather, flights at an altitude of about 50 km in the stratosphere, an American military analyst said that this is theoretically possible, but so far the Russian side has not provided any evidence of such behavior. tests.
We previously reported that Ukrainian developers have made a UAV for the police based on the Leleka-100 drone.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.