February 22 According to a Russian News Agency Moscow on February 21, Russian test pilot Evgeny Vrolov said that the Russian S-70 “hunter” heavy attack drone (unmanned fighter) can attack the target in accordance with the instructions issued by the Su-57 stealth fighter.
Frolov is responsible for manipulating the S-70 unmanned fighters from the ground. The full text is excerpted as follows:
According to Frolov, the Hunter unmanned fighter was built by the Rusukhoy Design Bureau based on the concept of “Loyal Wingman”.
It will cooperate with the Su-57 and can use the full set of weapons of the Su-57.” The decision on which weapon to use the Hunter unmanned fighter will eventually be made by the long-manned aircraft (Su-57).
He also said that the pilot did not need to issue voice commands, and that the Su-57 (for Hunter unmanned fighters) would automatically lock and assign targets, and the unmanned fighters would then carry out strikes.
And the Hunter will use the target information provided by the Su-57 to carry out the attack.
Frolov made this introduction in a Russian program.
He said that the control station where Hunter ground operators are currently equipped with the same joysticks, keyboards and several LCD multi-function screens as manned fighters, which display various information transmitted from Hunter’s airborne systems and sensors.
“In the future, this remote control device (which is currently in use) will be completely automatic, and there may not be any more ground control devices, and manual control (drones) may disappear completely,” said Florov.
The S-70 Hunter unmanned fighter was developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and was designed and manufactured according to the aerodynamic layout of the “flying wing”.
According to public sources, the Hunter was 14 metres long, with a wingspan of 19 metres and a take-off weight of 20 tons. Hunter can fly at a maximum speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour and uses stealth materials that can reduce the cross-sectional area of radar reflection (detection signal).
The first flight of Hunter took place on August 3, 2019.
It is reported that in the flight test plan, Hunter’s first prototype has begun to use weapon testing: including a functional simulator carrying air-to-air missiles for test flights, and also bombing ground targets at Ashuluk Range.
According to a Russian military industry source on February 12, the prototype of three other “hunter” drones is currently under construction at the Chikalov Aircraft Plant in Novosibirsk. ( Compilation/Zhong Zhong)
