Preparations for the tests and the first flight have begun
NOVOSIBIRSK, December 14. /tass/. The roll-out of the first flight sample of the newest Russian strike drone (UAV) S-70 "Hunter" took place at the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant (NAZ) named after V. P. Chkalov. Preparations are underway for testing and the first flight of the drone, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko told reporters.
"The rollout of the UAV records the completion of the assembly of the product as a whole, equipping it with all the necessary on-board equipment in accordance with the requirements for aircraft, and the transition to complex ground testing to prepare for the first flight," he said.
During a working trip to Novosibirsk, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation checked the progress of the state defense order for NAZ and held a meeting with the plant's management, where he discussed the execution of state contracts. Krivoruchko supervised the roll-out of the first flight sample of the Hunter, and also inspected the assembly process of the second flight copy.
Development and testing of components
Krivoruchko said that the production of the drone requires a full cycle of development and testing of all components. It is impossible to assemble it from parts available on the market, like many foreign drones.
"Only countries with a developed aviation industry are capable of producing UAVs of this class, providing a full development cycle - from design to manufacture and conducting all types of tests, as well as the development and production of all necessary ground and avionics equipment," Krivoruchko said during a working trip to Novosibirsk.
"Unmanned aerial vehicles of this class cannot be assembled from components available on the market, like, say, a number of foreign analogues," he said.
According to the Deputy Minister, the Hunter is a highly intelligent system capable of solving a wide range of tasks singly, in a group and together with manned aircraft. "Advanced achievements of enterprises and organizations of the domestic military-industrial complex are concentrated in the UAV, which made it possible to provide functionality that is not inferior, but in a number of parameters surpassing the few foreign analogues," added Krivoruchko.
The S-70 drone developed at the Sukhoi Design Bureau is made according to the "flying wing" scheme using stealth technology, which reduces its radar visibility. According to open sources, the take-off weight of the device is up to 20 tons, the maximum flight speed is about 1,000 km / h. Serial deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2024. The Hunter took to the air for the first time on August 3, 2019.
The second flight copy is at the stage of assembly production.
