MOSCOW, 2 Dec-RIA Novosti. The decision to launch aircraft missiles at enemy aircraft by the Hunter drone will be made by the pilot of the su-57 leader aircraft. This was told to RIA Novosti by military expert Viktor Murakhovsky, commenting on the beginning of tests of the strike drone in the fighter version.
As an Agency source in the military-industrial complex reported earlier, the Russian military began flight tests of the S-70 Hunter UAV in the fighter-interceptor version. The device performed several successful sorties with air — to-air missile simulators to evaluate the coupling of its onboard electronic systems (avionics) with ammunition guidance heads.
As Murakhovsky explained, the main purpose of the Hunter UAV being created is to work in a master/slave pair, where the role of the leader aircraft is performed by a 5th-generation su-57 manned fighter.
"S-70 "Hunter" will act in this bundle as an advanced echelon, which allows you to detect the enemy at distant borders and open fire on it with air - to-air missiles. However, the decision to use missiles will be made by the pilot of the leading su-57 fighter, " the military expert said.
According to Murakhovsky, the specialists of the Sukhoi design Bureau now face a difficult task to work out the interaction between the su-57 and the Hunter.
"There are several stages: pairing the missile with the UAV's avionics, then analyzing the data on Board the Hunter, transmitting this data via a communication channel to the su-57 fighter, displaying it on the pilot's indicators in the cockpit, plus passing reverse control commands to the UAV, in particular, permission to launch weapons," the expert explained.
Murakhovsky added that in the future, the Hunter should be able to operate not only in a pair with one manned fighter, but also in a link of three aircraft or even as part of a squadron of 12 vehicles.
In addition, the expert notes, the drone will be created specifically for striking ground targets, including for suppressing anti-aircraft missile systems of the enemy's air defense system.
The Okhotnik developed by the Sukhoi design Bureau is to become the first heavy drone with strike functions in the Russian Aerospace forces. The device is made according to the "flying wing" scheme with the use of materials that reduce radar visibility.
According to open sources, the strike UAV has a length of 19 meters, a wingspan of 14 meters, its take-off weight is 20 tons, and the maximum speed is about 1000 kilometers per hour. The first flight of the Hunter took place on August 3 and lasted more than 20 minutes.
