Ready for Next Generation Warfare: First Footage Emerges of Russia’s Su-57 and Okhotnik-B Stealth Jets in Joint Flight

The role Russia’s new Okhotnik-B flying wing stealth drone was intended to perform has been cause for considerable speculation - which only grew when an image on the aircraft was first seen on the tail fin of one of the country’s prototype Su-57 next generation fighter jets. With the first images of the drone having been unveiled in July 2018, the platform made its first flight on August 3rd 2019. It is intended to enter mass production by the mid 2020s to serve both as a ‘wingman’ for the Su-57 and as an independent platform for strike and possibly even air to air operations. Like the Su-57, the platform is reportedly intended to receive an entirely new engine with a lower heat signature and greater thrust and fuel efficiency in future iterations - and currently uses engines based on enhanced fourth generation technologies.

While the insignia on the tail of one Su-57 prototype indicates that the Russian Air Force may have been training to operate the next generation fighters with the Okhotnik-B for some time, the first footage of a joint flight of the two jets emerged only in the final week of September 2019 - and was widely heralded as a potentially highly auspicious sign of the evolution of Russian airpower. The test flight was announced on September 27th, with the Russian Defence Ministry stating: "As part of the ongoing test program, the Okhotnik-B drone performed a flight in the automated mode.” It further noted that the drone would “broaden the fighter's radar coverage and to provide target acquisition for employing air-launched weapons.” Providing information using its sensors may only be a first step for the Okhotnik-B as a wingman to the Su-57 - a fighter which continues to test new technologies for future integration from interception proof data links and artificial intelligence to hypersonic missiles and lasers.

The Su-57 is reportedly intended as a sixth generation air superiority fighter to engage upcoming American platforms such as the Air Dominance Fighter which are expected to enter service in the mid 2020s. The Russian Air Force's schedule for inducting the aircraft into service has been accelerated considerably in 2019, possibly in light of new information on the American programs, and this is likely in turn to affect the schedule for production of the Okhotnik-B. It is highly likely particularly in light of the Okhotnik-B’s reported air to air capability that the wingman drone will be able to deploy weapons alongside the Su-57 - the synergy between which will make them considerably more capable than the sum of their parts. China and the United States are notably also investing in their own ‘wingman’ drones, with programs such as the Dark Sword and Skyborg potentially assisting J-20 and F-35 fighters respectively in future battles.