---
title: "Russia’s Top Secret Heavy Strike Stealth Drone Takes Flight"
description: "Russia's Ministry of Defense just released the first footage of its Sukhoi-S70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter-B) unmanned combat air vehicle taking flight on August 3."
date: "2019-08-07"
modified: "2019-08-07"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-stealth-drone-takes-flight"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "air combat"
  - "drone"
  - "Russia"
  - "the digest"
---

# Russia’s Top Secret Heavy Strike Stealth Drone Takes Flight

![Russia's Ministry of Defense just released the first footage of its Sukhoi-S70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter-B) unmanned combat air vehicle taking flight on August 3.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/russia-stealth-drone-takes-flight.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image:  VK via Twitter\</em\>*

## Combat Air Vehicle

Russia's Ministry of Defense [just released](<https://aviationweek.com/awindefense/russian-unmanned-assault-aircraft-completes-first-flight-reports>) the first footage of its Sukhoi-S70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter-B) unmanned combat air vehicle taking flight on August 3.

The video shows the aircraft taking off, climbing into the sky, turning a few times before landing again — a fairly standard profile for an aircraft's first flight, [according to *The Aviationist*](<https://theaviationist.com/2019/08/07/video-russias-new-su-70-okhotnik-b-or-hunter-b-drone-makes-first-flight/>).

The stealthy drone could offer the Russian military a way to penetrate air spaces without being detected — but there's still a lot we don't know about it.

https://youtu.be/boUaHTI6JxE

The Ministry of Defense made the announcement of the drone's first flight last week, as [*The Drive* reports](<https://www.twz.com/29311/behold-the-first-flight-of-russias-hunter-unmanned-combat-air-vehicle>), claiming that the S-70 flew for 20 minutes at roughly 2,000 feet around a Russian air base.

## Stealth Drone

Futurism [first reported](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/images-russia-heavy-strike-drone>) on the mysterious aircraft in January when images surfaced on Russian social media of the heavy strike drone sitting on the tarmac at an undisclosed location.

Details of the combat drone's specifications are still unknown. But as [*The Drive* points out](<https://www.twz.com/29311/behold-the-first-flight-of-russias-hunter-unmanned-combat-air-vehicle>), it broadly resembles Northrop Grunman's jet-powered [X-47B](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_X-47B>) unmanned aircraft, which is capable of semi-autonomous operation.

**READ MORE:** [Behold The First Flight Of Russia's 'Hunter' Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle](<https://www.twz.com/29311/behold-the-first-flight-of-russias-hunter-unmanned-combat-air-vehicle>) \[*The Drive*\]

**More on the drone:** *[Images Surface of Russia’s Alleged Heavy Strike Drone](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/images-russia-heavy-strike-drone>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)