S-70 "Okhotnik" UCAV

They can challenge western unmatched air superiority

What unmatched air superiority?

Like over S-400s in Syria?

IF you want to think like an American - think heavily modernized unmanned F-117. It's not rocket science.

   Meow...

But it is so much more than just an F-117... for a start I suspect it has rather better range performance, and it also likely carries a radar for carrying air to air weapons and also using some air to ground ordinance too.

Also the F-117 is a dead end solo invasion/murderbot development, while this is a significant step forward in fighter/air defence.

I’m very hopeful for this drone. If they can get it to carry air to air weapons and pump it out in decent numbers. About 300 of these will do. They can challenge western unmatched air superiority

They are calling it a wingman type drone so I would expect it can carry internally what the Su-57 can carry internally though obviously only half with just one weapon bay instead of the four the Su-57 has.

The S-70 Okhotnik is a heavy attack drone - basically an unmanned bomber. In it's current configuration it does not have the speed to be an effective interceptor nor the maneuverability for air superiority missions. It will be used in dangerous strike missions.

It is an escort drone for fighter bombers... it might carry air to ground weapons, but equally it could carry air to air weapons too... it is no dog fighter... aerodynamically that is obvious, but it can be either a bomb truck or a missile truck for use against an opponent with a numbers advantage... like HATO.

If you want an effective air defense drone you need something like an unmanned Su-57.

Too big and expensive to make sense... for the price of an unmanned Su-57 you could have a custom designed drone that can carry several times more missiles.

A drone optimised for air to air would have engine air intakes on top of the aircraft which hides them from radar on the ground or operating at lower altitudes... an air to air drone would be most effective operating from altitude and reasonable speed to maximise missile launch range and radar horizon... it would not need to be very manouverable but being able to supercruise would be useful and lots of internal weapon stowage of course and decent fuel fraction for endurance would also be good too.

Su35/su30 cannot operate outside s400 nebo m+other multiband surveillance radars umbrella.

Why would it need to?

Russian OTH radars detected US F-35s operating on the border of Iran from about 4,000km away... wouldn't be precise tracking data but would be accurate enough for an Su-35 to use its wing mounted L band AESAs to approach and engage without being surprised.

It has no chance vs f35/rafael/f22 in neutral/hostile airspace as it has no means to detect these planes without being detected first.

And what are these aircraft going to do with that information... all of them are much slower than the Su-35 and have rather shorter flight range and lower operational ceiling... and do not carry up to 14 air to air missiles each in LO condition.

When Su-35s leave Russian airspace, like in Syria, they have S-400 coverage still... it moves with them. S-400 and S-350 and Pantsir are Air Force weapons.

Well it is. They have a huge number of modern planes. Europeans alone have some 500 f-16, 500 typhoon, 140 Rafale and plenty other older jets.

US have a shiton of jet. Much more than european reunited.

It is funny because British ships will cross Russian waters in the Crimea, but seem less keen to cross Crimean airspace...

Air superiority is not just aircraft.

Russia has around 100 su-35, 130 su-30, 150 mig-31 and some tens su-27.

Russia has lots of western aircraft flying near its borders, but not crossing into its airspace.

The irony is that the Russian ground forces don't expect to operate with air cover, but HATO forces depend on it.

That was at the core of their defeat by the Taliban in Afghanistan... with their air power withdrawing three months previously their ground forces and the ground forces of their allies for 20 years were pushed aside easily.... HATO is a one dimensional force... and worse than that... their air power is both their defence and their attack, so it will be worn down very rapidly in any conflict.

That's why Russia is deploying nuclear Kinzhal and Iskanders at it borders right now. It won't fight an unfair war with conventional weapons.

They most likely wont be nuclear armed... they don't need to be...

Russia can face NATO in Nato skies. But it's normal. It's like 30 countries vs 1.

I suspect you meant to say Russia can't face HATO in HATO skies... and I don't really agree.

Your problem is that you see air defence and air attack as being aircraft centric. Russia would never just use aircraft for such things... there would be missiles and aircraft and also probably sub launched things too.

Russia isn't a one dimensional creature the west used to speculate they were... I remember watching exercises in the west where the west would be in position and then "enemy tanks" would come and when they were defeated the "enemy" would send in their air power because their ground forces had just failed.

Reality is that you could get the lot... artillery and armour and air power all at once all working together.

In the air force, the West has a 10 to 1 advantage over Russia.

Attacking forces need a numbers advantage, what the west lacks is a defence that is not based around fighters and AWACS aircraft because much of that will be destroyed in the attack so when they shift to defence they will be in serious trouble.

Russia, if it wants to compete with nato air force, needs to field at least 2000 hypersonic missiles that can target precisly aircraft bunkers in matter of minutes. And use it only to target the aviation.

Targeting AWACS and JSTARS and inflight refuelling aircraft would be where they start, and fuel stores and fuel trucks and support equipment would likely be next along with the few air defence systems they operate.

Yes but that doesn't keep US force far away. It can always park it fighters 500km away and use it to jamm and launch cruise missiles which some will go through russian IADS.

The combination of airborne radars (fighters and AWACS and other platforms) together with ground base SAMs means not much is getting through the Russian IADS at all and 500km away with fighters... how long will they last? That will be well within upgraded Iskander range and also well within Zircon and Dagger range.

Most will be used to target HQ and strategic targets like weapon storages, fuel tanks, military bases. Very low number will actually be launched against parked planes.

So WTF is the use of all these thousands of aircraft if your countries are going to be obliterated around them?

This air superiority that HATO is supposed to have is supposed to protect HATO countries from air attack and you admit that only the hardened aircraft shelters with aircraft in them will be safe because of their numbers... that is not air superiority... that is ground dominance... for Russia.

Also once war starts planes will constantly move left and right and will be hard to target.

If they spend all their time hiding from Russian attack missiles then they are zero use as defence of HATO...

Have you ever saw the airports in nato country ? They are huge. To destroy them with conventional weapons you will need a lot of bombs/missiles. And even then it will be repairable.

If they don't get anywhere near Russian airspace why should Russia care... they are no threat flying around France or Germany looking for another airfield to land and hide.

Things like the S-70's first job will be to take out airstrips and parked aircraft. It doesn't take much to put any parked modern combat aircraft out of action. and the same goes for an airstrip. You don't need to destroy an airport you just need to damage the airstrip - even just a little damage would be enough to put any NATO aircraft out of action.

The terminal guidance systems on modern cruise missiles are amazingly accurate and could easily be fitted with a cassette warhead of cratering munitions which it releases one at a time down the full length of the runways... plus a few land mines as a surprise for the runway repair crew...

With a 5,000km flight range the S-70 could have an enlarged version of the KMGU-2 munitions dispensers... they could redesign it to a 3 version that is intended for use from an internal weapons bay so it does not need fins or a pointy nose and its shape can be optimised to fill the weapon bay and carry the most possible munitions. Not just cratering munitions but also special material that will clog up a jet engine if ingested...

They are probably at the point where they could fit a scramjet motor to a drone to get its flight speed up to mach 5 or 6 and its flight altitude up to 30-40km or so to make it a difficult target.... a Gefest & T bombing system that releases super heat treated FAB bombs like the ones designed for the MiG-25RB, but more so for an even higher altitude and airspeed release... the impact speed from 40km altitude and mach 6 release speed might mean the filler could just be concrete with the speed penetrating dozens of metres into the runway and totally obliterating the foundations...

But even the stuff they have already like Dagger and Iskander should be plenty to keep HATO away from Russian Air Space and that is what air dominance is all about.

Obviously it would quickly deteriorate to nukes which makes it all meaningless, but in terms of air defences the west has the aircraft numbers but not really anything else like IADS or missiles or SAMs in the same numbers.