Russian Stealth Attack UAV "Okhotnik" Drops Bombs from Internal Bay

The Russian Stealth attack drone, S-70 released a bomb from its internal bay hitting a ground target accurately at the Ashuluk range as part of flight tests.

The S-70 drone, also called "Okhotnik" (“Hunter”in Russian) dropped unguided aerial bombs of 500 kilogram caliber from the inner fuselage compartment; Ria Novosti said quoting a military source.

The next round of tests will involve firing of air-to-air missiles. Test launches of combat missiles at air targets should be performed in the second half of this year, the source said

The S-70 is designed to team up with the Su-57 stealth fighter jet and penetrate highly protected air defenses without risk to the Su-57 manned jet.  

The source did not state when the bombing took place, but noted that these were not the first tests to destroy ground targets.

The source stressed that "the newest sighting and navigation system installed on the Okhotnik makes it possible to use free-falling ammunition with an accuracy approaching that of a high-precision guided weapon."

The stealth drone is capable of autonomously hitting ground stationary and restrictedly mobile targets with previously known coordinates, including when receiving external target designation in the air.

The Okhotnik attack unmanned aerial vehicle is developed at the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It has a length of 14 meters, a wingspan of 19 meters, and a take-off weight of 20 tons. Its first flight took place on August 3, 2019.