On October 5, near Konstantinovka in the Donetsk frontline in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s most advanced S-70 “Hunter” (Okhotnik-B) flying wing drone was chased by a Su-57 fighter jet and was then shot down at close range by a missile. This downing marked the first public live-fire demonstration of the Su-57, with the loyal wingman being inadvertently targeted.
The footage captured the two aircraft flying in parallel for some time, with the trailing aircraft firing a short-range air-to-air missile that hit the leading aircraft. Subsequently, the trailing aircraft made a sharp turn and departed the scene. Due to the conspicuous white smoke trail, the entire chase and takedown process was vividly captured on the ground and quickly circulated online in the form of numerous images and videos. Initially, it was thought to be a Su-25 attack aircraft or Su-34 frontline bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces. However, analysts soon noticed that this aircraft was more sophisticated – it was Russia’s latest stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, the S-70.
The S-70 is a heavy attack and reconnaissance drone developed jointly by Russia’s two leading aircraft design bureaus, MiG and Sukhoi. Positioned as the “loyal wingman” to Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57, the S-70 is designed to support reconnaissance and long-range strike missions. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the new S-70 drone boasts radar stealth capabilities, thanks to its flying wing design and special materials and coatings. Since 2022, the S-70 has been undergoing extensive combat testing on the battlefields in Ukraine.
Embarrassingly for the Russian military, the downed S-70 crashed in Ukrainian-controlled territory, allowing Ukrainian forces to promptly arrive at the scene, examine the wreckage, and remove vital remnants. Despite Russian attempts to destroy the S-70 wreckage with Iskander-M tactical missiles, they were too late. For Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies, this could potentially be a valuable windfall.
Furthermore, the S-70 likely incorporates many technologies from the Su-57. If the West manages to decrypt the S-70, they could gain insights on how to counter the Su-57, revealing the true secrets that Russia aims to conceal. This development may also involve implications for China’s stealth aircraft technology, suggesting a lineage of shared knowledge.
In the past, the United States also experimented with a flying wing layout unmanned combat aircraft, the X-47B, but ultimately abandoned it. Currently, the US is testing loyal wingmen drones with conventional layouts featuring stealth capabilities, unlike the flying wing design.
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