Su-57 and S-70 Ochotnik
Photograph. mil.ru
The Rostec concern has published a report in which the latest Russian fighter jet – the Su-57 – has received a new communication system. It enables safe cooperation of an unmanned machine with four S-70 Okhotnik combat unmanned aerial vehicles, the lenta.ru portal reports.
War in Ukraine – Defence24.pl special report
Cooperative security is a result of the greater range that unmanned aerial vehicles can detect from an unmanned machine. It should be up to 1500 km. This means that when the Su-57 is in a safe zone, it can send its unmanned subordinates to areas under the control of aviation or enemy air defenses.
Information about the new system surfaced on April 21 this year. The developer of the new element of the Su-57 (S-111) communication system is Polity, a part of Roselectronica. The Russians claim it was created using artificial intelligence, which may explain why it was produced so quickly. The need to modernize the S-111 system was announced two years ago – in July 2021. Artificial intelligence is also to be used in inter-aircraft communication system.
Communication between the Su-57 and Ochotnik is to take place at high and very high frequencies, and the fully modernized system is designed to improve communication between the Su-57 and ground command systems and ensure the highest reliability, efficiency and resistance. Enemy interference.
It is not clear how much of this information is the result of propaganda and how much is actual progress in the work. However, given Russia’s current situation and the need for effective new generation fighter jets, it cannot be ruled out that the project has been given high priority and huge resources have been invested in it. Thus, significant progress may have been made.
Interestingly, last year the Chinese 5th generation J-20 fighter was displayed in a two-seater version, with three large GJ-11 combat and reconnaissance drones, with the same dimensions and construction as the S-70 Ochotnik. In turn, the Americans are currently combining the new unmanned fighter aircraft of the NGAD program (but the F-35) with two unmanned aerial vehicles. The Russian assumptions, by far, link to the largest mass of manned aircraft.
Such ambitious assumptions may be a result of Russia’s technical and financial situation, which has so far been able to introduce only 10 Su-57s into service, and the long-term plan envisages introducing only 76 of these aircraft by 2028. Meanwhile, the Chinese have already delivered 200 J-20s, and the Americans have several hundred F-35s in the US Air Force.