【Military Subplane】Author: Sky Wolf
Recently, there was new information about the shooting down of Russia's most advanced stealth drone S-70 "Hunter". According to a report on the United States "War Zone" website on October 7, 2024, on October 5, an S-70 drone was shot down over Konstantinovka in eastern Ukraine, and as more details of the accident gradually came to light, there is evidence that Russia is likely to be conducting weapons tests on the S-70, including combat tests carrying new gliding bombs, which also explains why such a highly classified stealth drone flew to the airspace on the Russian-Ukrainian border for no reason.
▲The newly exposed wreckage on the ground reveals the truth of the incident
The S-70 Hunter UAV is currently one of the most advanced stealth UAVs in Russia, with a design with a flying wing layout, similar to the B-2 stealth bomber in United States. The S-70 has strong stealth capabilities, is designed to reduce the radar reflection cross-section, has a smooth and smooth fuselage, and is equipped with stealth features such as built-in magazines, knapsack air intakes, and flat engine vents. These designs ensure that it has strong stealth performance in the face of enemy radars, especially when performing tasks at high altitudes, which can greatly reduce the probability of detection.
According to previous videos, the S-70 was directly shot down by a Russian fighter suspected to be a Su-57 while flying at high altitude. This led to a lot of speculation, the biggest of which may have been the loss of communication between the drone and the ground command center or other air platforms, causing it to go out of control, and in order to prevent sensitive technology from being acquired by the Ukraine military, Russian fighter jets chose to launch short-range air-to-air missiles to destroy it. However, the wreckage fell in the Konstantinovka region of Ukraine and was quickly recovered by the Ukraine military, allowing Ukraine to analyze the technical details of Russia's most advanced drones, especially the weapons systems they carry.
▲After the S-70 was shot down, the approximate location of the wreckage that finally fell
Another highlight of the incident was the discovery that the S-70 was carrying a UMPBD-30SN gliding bomb. The ammunition is a relatively low-cost precision-guided gliding bomb, using satellite + inertial guidance technology, with strong anti-jamming capabilities. As an out-of-zone weapon, compared with the previous UMPK, the UMPBD-30SN has been greatly improved in range and accuracy, and the range can reach about 70 kilometers, which significantly improves the combat capability of the Russian army on the battlefield. More importantly, the munition has a very small radar reflective surface, only about 0.05 square meters, which allows it to effectively evade Ukraine's air defense radar systems. The use of such bombs further demonstrates Russia's need for high-precision, long-range strike weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Since the first use of the UMPBD-30SN by the Russian army in March 2024, the ammunition has shown its powerful combat performance in a number of air strikes. The S-70 in this incident may have been the No. 4 prototype and carried at least one UMPBD-30SN gliding guided bomb on the mission, suggesting that the drone is likely testing the real-combat performance of the new weapon, trying to test it as a new air-to-ground weapon for deep target strikes.
▲ Russia's UMPBD-30SN gliding guided bomb and the wreckage found at the scene
After all, Russia has always had a tradition of putting new types of equipment into combat tests in theaters. As early as the civil war in Syria, the Russian army has put new fighters and weapon systems to combat tests, including the fifth-generation Su-57 and various precision-guided weapons. During the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Russian army constantly faces the threat of Ukraine's increasing air defense and electronic warfare capabilities, and drones can rely on their stealth performance to penetrate behind enemy lines and use gliding bombs to hit targets in depth, thereby effectively reducing the risk of their own pilots. Against this background, the combat tests of the S-70 are clearly of great significance.
The front-line deployment tests of the S-70 stealth drone are intended both to verify its stealth capabilities and combat performance, and possibly to lay the groundwork for future arms exports. By testing these high-tech equipment in real combat, Russia can not only obtain valuable operational data, but also demonstrate its advanced weapons technology to attract potential international buyers. After all, with the increase in global demand for UAV technology, stealth UAVs like the S-70 are expected to become the "new favorite" of Russia's arms exports.
▲S-70 and Su-57
However, the downing of the S-70 "Hunter" drone not only reveals the latest progress of the Russian military in the field of drones and its practical use on the battlefield, but also reminds us that even the most advanced weapon systems still have complex operational risks in real combat. Especially on the battlefield in Ukraine, surrounded by strong enemies, electronic warfare, complex communication environments and air defense systems can have a significant impact on the combat effectiveness of UAVs. How to give full play to the potential of the S-70 in real combat and ensure that it will not easily get out of control will be an important topic that the Russian army needs to solve in the future. As Russia continues to increase its investment in drone operations, the future application of the S-70 is still worth looking forward to.