Russia shoots down own drone in costly military mishap
The Russians shot down their own S-70 drone, likely due to a loss of communication, according to the British Ministry of Defense. "They probably waited until the last moment to decide to shoot it down," suggests London.
4:26 PM EDT, October 15, 2024
The British Ministry of Defense reported this on the X platform, citing intelligence data.
British intelligence noted that on October 5, the Russians shot down their own S-70 Okhotnik drone while it was flying near the front lines in the Donetsk region. "Most likely, Russia lost control over the unmanned vehicle and decided to destroy it to prevent it from falling into enemy hands," reads the report.
British intelligence analysts speculate that the Russians waited until the last possible moment to decide to shoot the drone down. The order must have been given after all attempts to regain control were exhausted.
Russian defeat. "Delay of the S-70 program"
"This shows another costly and disgraceful failure in the development of Russian weapons, which will delay the S-70 program," believes British intelligence.
It should be noted that the S-70, developed by the Sukhoi company, has been in development for at least ten years and was observed during tests at a Russian airbase in Akhtubinsk. The S-70 was supposed to incorporate stealth technology to be as difficult as possible for enemy radars to detect. The drone was intended to carry out strikes from long distances and potentially bypass enemy radars and air defense systems, reports the Ukrinform agency.
The drone was also designed to work in conjunction with the Russian fifth-generation fighter, the Su-57. Ukrainian analysts recently reported that the production of the Su-57 has been halted due to problems acquiring Western components necessary for the aircraft's construction.
