Sukhoi Su-70 Okhotnik (Hunter)

History of Sukhoi Su-70 Okhotnik (fighter)

Russia's first entry into the heavy unmanned combat aircraft (UCAV) field appears to be the 6th generation Sukhoi Su-70 "Okhotnik-B" ("Hunter-B"). Images of the completed form surfaced in mid/late January, showing a large drone with a three-wheeled landing gear and full-flying-wing configuration being towed by an agricultural vehicle.

Development of the type is believed to have been ongoing since around 2012, with a launch in mid-2018, followed by ground testing. Okhotnik-B is still in the early stages of development and represents a major step forward in Russia's desire to catch up with the West in UAV/UCAV capabilities.

The Su-70 is in the same class as Northrop Grumman's X-47B, a carrier-based drone with flying wings - and looks very similar. When in service in Russia, these aircraft can serve as unescorted escorts for the new generation of Su-57 fighter jets, also developed by Sukhoi.

A true flying wing design, the Su-70 does away with all vertical planes, keeping all control surfaces on the hybrid wing body shape. This includes common surfaces required for ailerons, flaps, and roll, pitch, etc. maneuvers.

Hybrid wing body shapes are a well-accepted approach to indicating a low-profile design with inherent stealth characteristics. The tricycle landing gear assembly has a typical ground handling configuration: two main legs are attached to one front leg. All of this can be retracted to the bottom of the plane to maintain aerodynamic efficiency at high speeds. Additionally, the front legs feature a dual-wheel arrangement, while the main legs feature large wheels, indicating the support needed for such a large, heavy vehicle. The powerplant used is a Sukhoi turbofan engine buried in the rear of the body and exhausted through a circular port at the rear of the vehicle.

Use a single engine configuration. Engines are drawn through trapezoidal air intakes above and aft of the wing nose (as on the X-47B).

An internal arsenal is also assumed, supporting various operational air-to-surface missiles and precision-guided bombs of the Russian Air Force. Other assumptions can also be made based on existing developments in the West: autonomous capabilities of satellite-based inertial navigation systems (INS), real-time mission/system reporting, protected data links, etc.

The dimensions and performance information on this page are estimates by the author and do not represent official information.

The aircraft was actively tested at the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Organization (NAPO), which has experience building other Sukhoi types, such as the Su-34 Defender fighter-bomber.

This article will be updated with new information.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes