Russian’s Loyal Wingman; Stealth Drone Shot Down Over Ukraine
A Russian drone was recently shot down over Ukraine. This is a big deal because the drone is a new type of technology that can be very dangerous in a war. The Russian drone is called a “loyal wingman” because it is designed to work with other planes and drones in a team. It is also hard to see on radar, which makes it very dangerous. But now, it’s been grounded… in pieces. The implications are quite dangerous.
Who pulled the trigger? How will Russia respond? Will this escalate tensions even further? Read on to find out what this could mean for the future of the conflict.
The Incident: A look at the circumstances leading up to the drone being shot down.
In the video footage released by Russia, one of the three sixth generation Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B is seen flying alongside Su-57 fighter jets. To many militaries, this war machine is the advanced future of air power.
Following the recent shot down of one of the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B, this is seen as a huge blow to Vladimir Putin war machine. The loyal wingman was shot down by it’s accompanying Su-57 when it went out of control over Ukraine which is one of the biggest embarrassment suffered by the Russian air force.
After the wingman was shot down by Su-57 Felon, the Russians hit the crash site with an iskander ballistic missile which are very scarce and quite expensive and diverting one from the campaign against Ukraine cities which was a high priority target. There are several other reasons why Russians wants to put an end to the West from laying their hands on the drone wreckage. Any surviving equipment left on the ground will likely be a gift for reverse engineering teams keen to unlock any secret technology.
Reactions from the air force community:
A former Pentagon official told the news media the wreckage could provide very important information into the State of Russian drone and stealth technology as S-70 is yet to be a series production. The official further mentioned that the drone doesn’t show any obvious advanced low observable technology. Lab analysis will be required to assess the materials used in its construction.
He speculated that the wreckage might help confirm several rumours of any recovered technology after the U.S air force RQ-170 drone crashed in Iran in 2011 has been reversed engineered by either Iran or Russia to be tested out on their drone projects. Iran has been found supplying Russia with drones for patrol and attack since the beginning of Ukraine campaign.
It’s not clear why Russia shit down the drone but there’s a possible lost of control over the aircraft during the test over Ukraine. It’s also possible the aircraft was conducting a live operational test to see how it performed against Ukrainian air defenses.
