A menacing Russian combat drone was shot down over Ukraine last week — and is expected to provide valuable insight into the country’s newest deadly weapon.
The S-70 drone, dubbed “Okhotnik,” or “Hunter,” was shot down by a Russian fighter after apparently going astray in eastern Ukraine Oct. 5, according to videos on social media. It left a house blasted to smithereens in its wake.
The 22-ton, unmanned aircraft has an estimated range of 3,700 miles. It can carry bombs and rockets and work in conjunction with Russia’s Su-57 fighter jets, one of which was escorting it when it was struck.
The drone is believed to have been under development since 2012, but had yet to be used in the two years of war between Russia and Ukraine.
Its failure signals a blow for the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military, which is evidently not ready for widespread use of the drone.
Russia was so keen to keep the Okhotnik out of enemy hands, it fired a missile at the crash site to destroy the wreckage, but Ukrainian forces salvaged what they could.
The remnants could provide “tremendous insight” into their enemy’s technology and its collaborations with Iran on weaponry, a former Pentagon official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Ukraine and Russia have not commented on the incident.
Meanwhile, a recent investigation found Russia recruited about 200 African women to work in a factory assembling Iranian attack drones to use against Ukraine.
Some said they were “misled” about what they believed would be a work-study program, and described grueling work, chemicals leaving their skin pockmarked and itching, less pay than promised and constant surveillance.
Ukraine is also currently investigating the death of a journalist who went missing in August 2023 while reporting in the occupied portion of the country.
Officials confirmed the death of Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, in what they called “illegal detention,” on social media Thursday.
With Post wires
