The drone S-70 Okhotnik: the new multirole of Russia and its allies?
The United States owns 185 F-22 5th-generation aircraft. From 2006 to the present, 400 F-35s have been manufactured for the United States, Australia, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Holland, Norway, and England. These planes are prepared for use during long-range invasions of their own territory.
Russia did not adopt the same method as the United States, with a massive endowment of 5th generation planes. Instead, Russia has invested heavily in C4 I systems (Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Intelligence), coupled with radio-electronic warfare systems and defensive weapons to provide an impenetrable stronghold. A2 / AD (anti-access / air exclusion). C4 I weapons are S-400, S-500, anti-ship systems from the K-300P Bastion-P, KALIBR and Zirkon cruise missiles on ships and submarines, and so on. Radio-electronic warfare equipment prevents aerial and space surveillance, blurring detection and guidance systems on enemy attack craft (1RL257 Krasucha-4, 1L267 Moscow-1 and Borisoglebsk -2 ).
Russia estimated that it could build the A2 / AD bastions using modernized aircraft and a limited number of 5th generation planes, together with a larger fleet of heavy, unseen the radar. The Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle) is a variant of the Mikoyan Skat project that uses 5th generation technologies. The propulsion is carried out by a post-combustion engine AL-41F, used on Su-35 S. The Sukhoi S-70 weighs 17.6 T, a wingspan of 19 m, a cruising speed of 1000 km / h. The maximum flight distance is 6,000 km. The main mission of the T-70 is the conquest of air supremacy in a restricted area, by disabling the radar network of AA missile systems, that is to say the creation of a secure penetration corridor for aircraft. fourth-generation aircraft. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the S-70 will use Su-57 aircraft as a joint coordination platform during missions.
The United States can not abandon the production of F-35 aircraft to use attack drones instead, so Russia expects the S-70 production to find a large niche in the international market. However, it is unclear how much money Russia will finance this project. Indeed, from 2015 until today, no funds have been allocated to mass production of the new series of armored vehicles (T-14 tank, T-15 infantry fighting vehicles, Kruganets and the vehicle armored personnel carrier Bumerang).
The benefits of using Russia's S-70 Okhotnik drones are more noticeable in the event of a rejection of an attack by a NATO carrier naval air fleet. The modifications to the S-70 permit the use of K-77M hypersonic air-to-air missiles, with a maximum range of 200 km, against AWACS aircraft and enemy fighter planes taking off from aircraft carriers.
Simultaneously, the S-70 "watches" the timing of launching Tomakawk cruise missiles from surface ships and submarines. Cruise missiles are vulnerable immediately after the launch of the sea, when they can not execute maneuvers of changes of direction and altitude.
Aircraft carriers, helicopter carriers and armored machinery and heavy equipment transport vessels are easy targets for Kinzhal mini missiles. These missiles have a speed of Mach 10 (12 000 km / h), the time available to enemy interception missiles is a few tens of seconds and their reaction probability is less than 7-8%.
The S-70 program began in 2011. In November 2018, the S-70 Okhotnik was tested in autonomous mode, running on the track at 200 km / h, and on May 16, 2019, it flew a few meters away. above the track. The drone was to enter the Russian army in 2020 and will be produced at least 400 to 500 copies, replacing the former aircraft MiG-29, Su-24 and Su-27. Since Syria serves Russia as a testing ground for new technologies, we expect that before being admitted to the Russian army, several S-70 Okhotnik drones will be deployed at the Russian base in Latakia. Because of its wide range of action, the S-70 will test its "invisibility" on the American radar, over the Persian Gulf. However, Russia has been throughout the flight tests of Su-70 Okhotnik outside the scheduled schedule. There are at least two reasons for this.
1. During President Putin's visit to the Akhtubinsk Flight Test Center (Astrakhan region), US spy satellites made structural changes to the S-70. Instead of having two faired compartments as planned, the second prototype Su-70 Okhotnik now has four compartments, larger than those on Su-57, which allows it to ship 3.5 to 4 T of weapons. The S-70 can be armed with guided bombs, anti-ship missiles, cruise missiles or anti-radar missiles. At the same time, the S-70 Okhotnik can also take a hypersonic air-to-ground missile, specially designed for Su-57, that is to say a smaller Kinzhal.
2. In an interview with "Military.com" at the Paris Air Show in June 2019, MiG spokeswoman Anastasia Kravchenko revealed another secret detail. She claimed that the equipment compatibility of the 4+ MiG-35 generation aircraft was coordinated with the Okhotnik S-70 UCAV, which is similar to the 5th-generation Su-57 aircraft. . Kravchenko's statement is plausible because the new "Izdeliye 30" engine of the Su-57 aircraft will complete its flight tests and will be approved after the year 2022. Only in the period 2023-2028 will it be delivered the 76 Su-57, commanded by the Russian army. Until 2028, MiG-35, although visible on radar, can serve as a mission coordinator for S-70 drones.
How so far we are only at the stage of announcements, it remains to be seen if the S-70 Okhotnik will confirm the expected technical-tactical characteristics and whether the replacement of aircraft by drones is a viable solution. Unlike man-made planes, the remote command line of the drone can be hacked, the enemy could take control and capture it. As happened on December 5, 2011 with the US "invisible" UAV RQ-170 Sentinel, captured by Iran to land in Kashmar, in northeastern Iran.
As a sensitive article, Russia will only export Okhotnik to trusted partners. If the S-70 becomes reality, for strategic reasons, Russia could deliver the miG-35 and the S-70 to Syria. Belarus, with which Russia can block the Suwalski corridor, in case of NATO aggression from the Baltic countries, will also be on the list. Venezuela can also receive the MiG-35 / S-70 Okhotnik tandem to counter a simultaneous invasion by sea and land by the Americans, with the help of Colombia and Brazil.
Valentin Vasilescu
Aviation pilot, former Deputy Commander of the Military Forces at Otopeni Airport, graduated in Military Science at the Academy of Military Studies in Bucharest 1992.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL_wEi-ZLdw
