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Russia appears to have lost one of its new S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) drones this weekend.
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The suspected drone crashed in eastern Ukraine, but the cause is still unknown.
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Its loss is not just a blow to Russia; it could be a major intelligence victory for the West.
A plane believed to be a new heavy Russian combat drone crashed in Ukraine this weekend. Its loss would not only be a major blow to Moscow; it could be a significant intelligence victory for Kiev and its NATO partners, including the US.
Russia has not built many of the S-70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter) drones, which made their combat debut during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Video images showing the suspect circulated on social media on Saturday S-70 crashes from the sky while leaving a trail of smoke, an indication that the aircraft had suffered some form of damage. Photos later showed those of the plane wreck on the ground.
The wreckage of the Russian plane was discovered in Kostjantynivka, a city in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, just a few kilometers behind the front lines. It is unclear what type of mission the drone was performing when it crashed.
The exact cause of the crash is unknown, but there is speculation about what might have happened. Neither Russia nor Ukraine have publicly commented on the incident.
Conflict analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said some Russian sources claim Moscow accidentally shot down the S-70 during a friendly fire incident. Open-source intelligence accounts on social media reinforced this theoryclaiming that the drone was shot down by one of the few in Russia Fifth generation Su-57 fighter jets.
On whether the downing of the plane was accidental or intentional, other Russian sources have suggested that the drone operators lost control of the plane and shot it down on purpose to prevent Ukraine from gaining access to the plane’s advanced technology system, the analysts wrote in a Sunday research.
Business Insider could not immediately verify any of the theories, but Ukraine has access to the wreckage based on photos taken at the crash site.
Samuel Bendett, a consultant at the Center for Naval Analyzes and an expert on drones and Russian defense issues, said the apparent loss of the S-70 is a “significant victory” for Western intelligence since it has long been the flagship from Moscow. than a decade.
Photos taken at the crash site show that Ukrainian forces are already examining the suspected wreckage of the S-70, a scenario that Russia – or any military – would likely prefer to avoid with new and sensitive technology.
“It is believed to have the best resources and investments, materials and products, including microelectronics and other key components,” Bendett told Business Insider.
Bendett said NATO countries, which are ahead of Russia in developing unmanned combat aircraft, are likely working on their own designs. Getting your hands on this aircraft could provide insight into its operation, but also into its weaknesses and the best way to counter this. Moreover, because there are not many S-70s, the loss of one could set back Moscow’s program, although it “will not stop its continued experimentation with such designs,” he said.
The S-70 ‘Hunter’, which is similar in shape to the US Army’s RQ-170 Sentinel built by Lockheed Martin, is under development since early 2010 and made its maiden flight in 2019. Only two of the jet-powered drones – which weigh around 20 tonnes and have a wingspan of 20 meters – have been thought to have been built.
Both Ukraine and Russia are heavily dependent on drones for their warfare, even though they have mainly used them mass production, cheap drones instead of heavier and more expensive systems.
Bendett said Ukraine and Russia deploy drones with impressive ranges that can cause major damage and problems for air defense, which the S-70 was intended for, but that some other drones can perform these tasks for a fraction of the price.
This poses a dilemma for Moscow, Bendett said. Should it continue developing the S-70 even though the few it has are at great risk, or should it devote more resources to long-range attack drones that are much cheaper? The answer remains to be seen.
Read the original article Business insider
