For years, the Russian military claimed that their Sukhoi Su-57 aircraft was a fifth generation stealth fighter, capable of meeting and possibly exceeding the attributes of the F-22 and F-35 in the air superiority role. Yet, even with that lofty billing, it was never made clear how Sukhoi planned to mask the heat signature put out by the aircraft’s two huge NPO Saturn engines slung behind the aircraft and whether or not they had mastered the art of making, maintaining and repairing the radar absorbent material needed to coat the aircraft’s exterior surfaces.
Be that as it may, Sukhoi seems to be making another stab at the stealth aircraft market by rolling out preliminary images of its Okhotnik-B – an unmanned strike aircraft that purportedly seems to have mastered the art of operating within the demanding conditions of low observable flight. At this point, little is known about the aircraft, although the Russians like to show off their military wares under development well ahead of their actual deployment as a means of keeping the West on their toes. The aircraft looks very similar to Northrop Grumman’s X-47B and Boeing’s X-45C Phantom Ray, sporting a beefy undercarriage, hidden internal weapons bay, and forward mounted sensor suite that likely mounts both an active and passive radar array to detect enemy threats. Its entirely possible that Russia may integrate the aircraft into its upcoming Victory Day Parade, held annually on May 9th, which oftentimes serves as their principal venue for unveiling new hardware. As a guess, the Okhotnik-B will likely carry the Russian hypersonic missile as its principal armament, which, because of its Mach 7+ speed is designed to out run any missiles fielded by the west aimed at intercepting its flight.