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8 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial

How Much Does It Cost To Insure A Russian-Made Stealth Drone?

David Axe

The Russian defense ministry has insured its new stealth drone and its control station for 1.4 billion rubles. That's $20 million. And it's probably worth every ruble.

The S-70 Hunter-B, a jet-powered flying-wing drone, perhaps is the most significant new warplane to emerge in Russia since the Su-57 stealth fighter that first flew in 2010 and now is in low-rate production.

The Hunter-B first appeared in January 2019 on the ground at an airfield in Novosibirsk in southern Russia. It flew for the first time on Aug. 3, 2019.

The Sukhoi-designed drone zoomed over the airfield for more than 20 minutes at a maximum altitude of around 2,000 feet, according to TASS, the state news organization that also reported the value of the robot's insurance.

It's easy to dismiss the Hunter-B as a developmental dead-end, owing to Russia's poor track record when it comes to fielding unmanned aerial vehicles and the satellite infrastructure that helps controllers on the ground direct a UAV's flight.

But the likelihood of Hunter-B eventually entering front-line service with the Russian air force is "big," said Tom Cooper, an author and independent expert on Russian military. "The Russian military is running multiple UAV-related projects," Cooper said. "Thus the emergence of this project is perfectly normal."

"At this point, it is going to be the heaviest and fastest UAV [in Russian service] if and when fielded,” said Samuel Bendett, an analyst with the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C.

Bendett estimated the Hunter-B's weight at around 20 tons and its top speed at more than 600 miles per hour. The drone is in the same class as a manned lighter fighter.

The Russian air force reportedly is considering assigning Hunter-Bs as robotic wingmen for Su-57 pilots, extending the coverage of an Su-57 flight's sensors and adding to the manned pilots' firepower. On Sept. 27, the sole Hunter-B prototype flew in formation with an Su-57.

The U.S., Japanese and Australian air forces are developing their own wingman drones.

But Sukhoi has its work cut out for it completing the Hunter-B. “A a host of aerodynamic, electronic and high-tech issues need to be worked out,” Bendett said.

And to be stealthy, the drone needs a new engine layout. In its current configuration, the Hunter-B's AL-31F motor projects from the rear of the airframe, creating a major source of radar reflectivity.

Sukhoi has tinkered with a new version of Hunter-B that buries that engine deep inside the airframe, in the same way that Western firms do with their own stealth drones.

As the high-stakes development continues, Sukhoi at least can take comfort that its drone is fully insured.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2020/06/05/how-much-does-it-cost-to-insure-your-russian-made-stealth-drone/#5a88c68023aa

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