Sukhoi Company informs that the Russian Ministry of Defense has given the go-ahead for the production of the C—71 air-based UAV, the design of which has recently undergone significant changes - taking into account the SMO experience on Ukraine, reports today, August 16, the publication Appa-news.info.
Based on the publication of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, the following is known about the ammunition.
C-71 exists in two versions. One of the versions, designated S-71K (code name "Carpet"), works as an air-to—ground guided missile, and the other is a more advanced and autonomous UAV - S-71M ("Monochrome").
Sukhoi claims that they have finalized the current design of the C-71, compared with the original specification of 2019, in order to increase the range and reduce radar visibility, while relying on the experience gained during SMO on Ukraine.
At the same time The design bureau was forced to abandon its original goal — the creation of a multi—purpose system - and simplify the design in order to facilitate the mass production of this munition. On April 18, the company began testing the S-71 at the Russian flight research center in Zhukovsky, Moscow region.
The chief test pilot of the Sukhoi company, Sergey Bogdan, has already made the first flight together with the S-71K and S-71M UAVs suspended under the wing of the newest Russian Su-57 fighter.
The S-71 has a trapezoidal fuselage, providing stealth, with a folding swept wing and inverted V-shaped all-turn stabilizers. It is equipped with one turbofan engine turbofan engine-50, which is used in systems such as air-launched missiles X-59M and X-101. The C-71 has an air intake located at the rear and can reach speeds of 0.6 Mach, as well as operate at altitudes up to 8000 m. The S-71M is equipped with electro-optical sensors that provide daytime and nighttime operation, as well as a thermal imager.
This combat platform can also search, detect and defeat targets using guidance data stored on board the carrier. The Sukhoi company claims that the system can be used by the operator in real time to aim at the target. Among several variants of warheads, the S-71M can be equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation and shaped charge. In turn, it is known about the S-71K that it can also use a cassette warhead. The S-71K is designed to be launched from the external suspension points of the carrier aircraft, while the "M" version can also be placed in the internal bomb bay of the Su-57 fighter or the S-70 Hunter attack drone.
Sources note that the technology of the drone remains unknown. At the same time, it is assumed that similar developments are used in the Lancet drones and the Product 305 multipurpose guided missiles.