New Information Emerges on Russian Plans to Arm its Stealth Drones

Following its unveiling in January 2019, Russia’s Okhotnik stealth drone has been an object of considerable speculation - with a number of sources claiming that it was being developed primarily as a ‘wingman’ for next generation Su-57 and MiG-35 fighters and other sources postulating that the aircraft would see widespread service as an independent strike and air to air combat platform.

The drone makes use of a flying wing design resembling the American RQ-170 and MQ-25 and the Chinese Sharp Sword, and is expected to deploy weapons developed by the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation. Weapons systems under development for the drones will reportedly weight from 50kg to 100kg. The aircraft saw its first flight in August 2019, but has yet to make any confirmed flights when fully armed.

Director of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation Boris Obnosov stated regarding the development of weapons for next generation Russian drones that the company had sought a contract to develop weapons for Russia’s next generation drones - rather than developing the drones themselves. He stated: “at one time, they [Defence Ministry] wanted to offer us the project for developing drones, but we did not take it, because the level of competence of our specialists in this field is low. As for ammunition for drones however, we are actively working in this direction… We are working on several projects. For example, we work closely with the Kornstadt company on their devices and with the Sukhoi Design Bureau on a heavy shock drone.»

While the Okhotnik was not named specifically - Russian sources have since widely speculated that this was one of the main platforms for which the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation had been tasked with developing armaments. The platform could potentially deploy cruise missiles such as the Kh-59 and new air to air missiles such as the R-37M.

Source - Military Watch

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