A grainy picture that surfaced Jan. 23 on a Russian web site for aviation enthusiasts purportedly reveals the Sukhoi Okhotnik-B, a new, stealthy unmanned strike aircraft now undergoing runway testing in Novosibirsk.
The image reveals a flying-wing aircraft design with a trapezoidal engine inlet and studded by multiple devices that may include auxiliary inlets and radar reflectors. The aircraft is shown on a runway surrounded by snow.
While no official confirmation was immediately available, the new image appears as state news media report that the flying wing Okhotnik is being tested at the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Organization (NAPO) in central Russia. NAPO manufactures aircraft, such as the Su-34, that are designed by Sukhoi.
It also emerges as new photos appear of the Sukhoi T-50-3, a flight test aircraft for the Russian air force’s Su-57 fighter. The T-50-3 appears in the photo with a new tail flash depicting the silhouettes of the Su-57 and a flying-wing aircraft. The Okhotnik is Russia’s only acknowledged stealthy unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) program.
The Russian Ministry of Defense launched the Okhotnik development program in 2012, according to Russian media sources. The program intended to develop an unmanned aircraft capable of performing surveillance and strike missions.
A reportedly leaked slide presentation from the Russian Ministry of Defense in 2017 revealed the side-view of an aircraft or mock-up labeled the “Okhotnik-B.”
On June 28, Russian news wire Interfax reported that Sukhoi staged a roll-out event for Okhotnik at the NAPO complex.
The Okhotnik is nearing the flight test phase more than a decade after Russia’s first attempt to develop a stealthy UCAV. In 2007, MiG revealed the Skat flying-wing unmanned aircraft system design, but the Russian military had by then reportedly canceled development.
Meanwhile, the Russian aircraft industry has produced several small unmanned aircraft systems and the fixed-wing, medium-altitude Kronstadt Orion, which was unveiled in 2017.