RUSSIAN S-70 OKHOTNIK

The holy grail of western air forces as we head into an AI driven future, is an effective combat force multiplier.
A force multiplier is something that gives you added capabilities in the 80% range, ideally, but without the cost exceeding around 30% of the primary platform.
The best way for western nations to maximise their limited budgets and magnify their expensive maned fighter jets, is the Loyal Wingman Concept.
Ideally the US is eventually looking to field a pair of drones linked to a single aircraft such as the F-35, that will fly with it carrying additional kit - weapons, jammers, even potentially additional fuel (the US navy is well advanced with such a drone having completed in flight tests refuelling from carriers).
Australia is highly committed and has already ordered Loyal Wingman from Lockheed to be built in Australia.
So, just over a week ago on Saturday 5th October, a bizarre incident happened over Russian occupied Ukrainian air space.
An Su-57 a rare sight itself, was operating with what is believed to be just one of only three of Russia’s equivalent drones.
These drones are not small, they are in essence an unmanned combat jet without any of the pilot supporting features.
The S-70 Okhotnik is a huge delta wing format drone and at some point while flying near the frontlines around Konstantinivka, it broke contact with the Su-57 and started to head into Ukraine.
Afraid that they couldn’t get it back under control and it would end up in western hands, the pilot was ordered to shoot it down. He did so using a missile from around 1.5km away.
The missile hit but while it knocked the drones engine out it didn’t destroy the drone, which fell in one piece - spiralling downwards and hit the ground where it broke into several pieces.
These have of course proved to be of huge interest to Ukraine and its western allies.
You have to ask yourself what the Russians were doing using it over a combat zone when it’s still considered largely experimental. But perhaps that was the point, to see if radars picked it up and how it might perform under hostile EW.
The answer appears to have been badly.
What will be of particular interest is where the sophisticated on board computers, circuits and chips came from, let alone how Russia is approaching this crucial new technology.
The images show the Su-57 shooting down the drone and it falling to the ground.

‘The Analyst’ MilStratOnX
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!