Russian attack UAV s-70 "Hunter" in the future will be able to act as an interceptor. As part of the flight tests, the "Hunter "for the first time made a series of flights with air-to-air missiles as weapons.
In November 2020, observers several times saw an unequal duet in the air over the Ashuluk military training ground in the Astrakhan region: the silhouette of a new Russian fifth-generation su-57 fighter and a slightly smaller flying wing. The latest was the new Russian stealth drone S-70 "Hunter", which first took to the air in August 2019, and in the fall of the same year was seen as a" faithful wingman " along with the su-57.
Russian UAV S-70 "Hunter" before takeoff
According to RIA Novosti, the tests, which began recently at the airfield of the Valery Chkalov state flight research center on the Northern outskirts of Akhtubinsk, should familiarize the s-70 "Hunter" attack UAV with one of its future roles. It is claimed that for the first time, the Hunter received air-to-air missiles with active infrared and radar homing heads as weapons. So far, mock-up missiles were used, without warheads and engines, but with fully functional electronics.
According to experts, the installation of weapons on the s-70 "Hunter" UAV indicates the beginning of a new phase of testing. If previous test flights focused only on the General functions and behavior of the drone in the air, now, obviously, we will talk about specific scenarios of its possible application.
Flight in pairs: su-57 fighter and attack UAV " Hunter"
According to the data, one of these scenarios provides for the joint use of the "Hunter" and the su-57 to intercept enemy aircraft. Guided by the su-57 pilot, the drone detects remote air targets and opens fire on them with air-to-air missiles. At the same time, the decision on the use of weapons remains with the su-57 pilot.
According to the source of RIA "Novosti", the flights performed allow us to assess the compatibility of the avionics of the s-70 "Hunter" UAV with missile control systems and the leading su-57 fighter.
Based on the materials of the resource flugrevue.de
