MOKVA, May 28 — RIA Novosti. The Russian heavy attack drone S-70B "Hunter" performed firing at ground targets with guided missiles, which are part of the armament of the Su-57 fighter, an informed source told RIA Novosti on Saturday.
The tests showed, the source added, that "the device can effectively hit small-sized camouflaged targets with missiles at different times of the day in any weather conditions."
According to him, the entire series of launches has been recognized as successful.
As a source in the military-industrial complex reported to RIA Novosti in January 2021, unguided weapons – free-falling aerial bombs - have already been used in tests since the first experimental model of the Hunter.
At the end of last year, this information was officially confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which showed a video where a drone drops a bomb on a ground target.
The Hunter strike unmanned aerial vehicle was developed at the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Its length is 14 meters, wingspan is 19 meters, take—off weight is more than 20 tons. The device was created according to the "flying wing" scheme using technologies and materials that reduce its radar and thermal visibility.
At the moment, two devices have been created — an experimental and the first prototype of the S-70B "Hunter". The experimental model has been flying since August 2019, the first prototype (also claimed as the "first flight") was pumped out of the workshop of the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant last December.
The main difference between the two samples in the engine. The second sample of the Hunter has an engine without an afterburner. Such a motor is significantly shorter and fits into the dimensions of the fuselage, which makes it possible to make a flat nozzle, which additionally reduces the thermal and radar visibility of the device. In the first experimental Hunter, the engine significantly protrudes from the tail section due to the length of the afterburner.
According to the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, serial production of heavy attack drones "Hunter" for the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will begin in 2023.