A Russian jet has shot down the prototype of Moscow’s new fight drone, the Hunter S-70, presumably in a ‘friendly fire’ incident however extra doubtless intentionally.
Videos circulated on-line on Saturday present a missile intercepting an unmanned plane mid-air earlier than it plummets to earth, and a missile being fired from one other plane.
Military specialists have speculated from photographs of the wreckage that the plane was a Russian Hunter S-70 drone and that it was doubtless shot down after operators misplaced management of it throughout a take a look at flight over the occupied Donetsk Oblast in japanese Ukraine.
Justin Bronk, senior analysis fellow on the Royal United Services Institute assume tank, mentioned it will be “a stunningly embarrassing failure and one which also reveals they must have been conducting test flights near the front”.
Likely reply: Russians misplaced management of “Hunter” Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B UCAV throughout take a look at flight & order was given to shot it down. https://t.co/TIjvTSq1dQ
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 5, 2024
Andriy Kovalenko, the top of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, initially recognized the downed craft as an Su-34, however later mentioned on Telegram it might have been a Hunter drone.
More would grow to be clear, Mr Kovalenko mentioned, after investigation of the wreckage.
The downing of such high-value {hardware} highlights coordination and communication failures inside the Russian armed forces.
The S-70 is a brand new stealth unmanned fight aerial automobile – half of Russian efforts to modernise its navy capabilities.
It could be very giant, with a wingspan of 19 metres, and can be utilized for each reconnaissance and precision strikes.
Under growth since 2009, the drone underwent state testing in 2023 and mass manufacturing was anticipated to start this yr.
Mr Kovalenko mentioned that three S-70 drones have been manufactured to date, and three extra are underneath growth.
In June 2020, Russia’s Tass information company reported that the drone was insured on the time for loss, disappearance or harm for over $18 million.
Debris from the incident fell someplace close to the town of Kostiantynivka, damaging a number of homes, native media reported. There had been no accidents.
Russian channels are but to substantiate the downing.
Yurii Ihnat, a former spokesman for the Ukraine air power, additionally warned on Saturday of the menace posed by “unidentified” Russian drones.
Ukraine is just not at all times in a position to establish the sort of drones getting used till they've been shot down, he added.
Moscow has stepped up assaults by unmanned aerial craft in latest weeks.
Cities and cities throughout Ukraine had been focused each day in September, with assaults following an identical sample throughout the first week of October.
